This might be a great time to enjoy a luxurious getaway in Ireland. The Times Online reports that rooms at many of the nation's five-star establishments are going empty prompting some good deals. The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation told an Oireachtas tourism committee this month that as many as 20,000 of the country's 50,000 hotel beds are vacant at any one time.

The Shelbourne in Dublin reopened last year after an expensive renovation with rooms that started at €315 a night. Now the luxury hotel is one of several luxury hotels in Ireland offering guests free nights as it attempts to ride out the recession. customers who spend two weekend nights at the Shelbourne earn a free third night, with rates starting at €229 a night per person double occupancy. The Four Seasons in Dublin is also offering a third night free with any two night stay between December and April, and rates starting at €225. At the Ritz-Carlton in Powerscourt, Co Wicklow, American Express cardholders who stay three nights in a row get the fourth night for free. The hotel was offering rooms for between €450 and €500 a night but now rates run at €275 for a weekend night and €215 midweek and the hotel is offering value-added packages.

Overall rates in Ireland are at a six-year low and it is believes that hotel occupancy will continue to drop as the global recession continues. The timing is unfortunate, Ireland's recent tourism boom led to the addition of at least 8,000 new rooms overall in 2007 but now many of those hotels are struggling to pay the costs of rapid expansion leading to the discounted rates which will likely be in place for a while.

Holidays in New York City can be a lot of things: charming, classic, thrilling ... overwhelming, chaotic, expensive. While some travelers arrive in search of the quintessential Silver Bells experience, others may want to discover something new or stick within a budget. Luxist's friends at Nancy J. Friedman Public Relations, Gabrielle Etrog Cohen and Gina Masullo, came up with a comprehensive list of places to go and things to do for all NYC travelers as well as package deals, including hotels.

THE FAMILY: Crowd-pleasers for all ages-within a budget.

The show: The Off-Broadway production of The Gazillion Bubble Show is the first and only interactive stage production of its kind, complete with fantastic light effects, lasers, and jaw-dropping masterpieces of bubble artistry.

The sites: Gawking at the Macy's displays, a visit with the polar bears in Central Park, photo ops at the Rockefeller Center tree.

The meal: Dim Sum Go Go offers more than 24 kinds of dumplings, plus four variations on the dough-wrapper theme, four sauces, and microwave-safe takeout containers. Kids will love the creative finger food and parents will love the dim sum delicacies (beet flavored dumplings?).

The hotel: Apple Core Hotels -- a family-friendly vibe in the city's most exciting neighborhood.

The deal: Apple Core Hotels invites guests to explore New York -- including a trip to Toys "R" Us Times Square to create a stuffed animal at the Filled-With-Love interactive design shop. Apple Core's "Filled with Love" package is available January 2 - February 14, starts at $159.99 and includes accommodations in the heart of New York City, stuffed animal and breakfast, and in-room coffee. Children under 13 stay free.

For more packages, click on the continued link.

Why should the human members of your family be the only ones who get to enjoy the perks of taking a vacation? In most cases when the family goes on vacation the pets are either left behind in an empty house or they're taken to a cramped and crowded boarding facility -- either way they pretty much just survive until the vacation is over and life returns to normal.

But what if you could take them to a luxury hotel of their own? Elmtree, in London, is offering just that service. Elmtree is a new luxury pet hotel that offers all the usual boarding amenities like individual kennels, accommodation of any special diet requirements, and daily walks, plus they also have an on-site grooming parlor, luxury pet bedding options (if you don't want to bring your own), exercise and play rooms, and even in-kennel web cams so you can keep constant tabs on your pet while you're away. Sounds like Fido and Frisky might actually have a good time! Prices start at £20/day for dogs and £12/day for cats.

Want to vacation like a rock star? In December, Eden Rock – St Barths will unveil the Villa Rockstar, a private villa for rent that features the only private recording studio on the island. The hotel has partnered with Oceanway Recording Studios of Hollywood, CA to create the perfect musical retreat. The 16,000 square foot Villa Rockstar includes a circular bathroom tiled in white gold, a private 20-seat Cinemascope screening room fitted with THX-approved sound components and a a Land Rover and a new Mini Cooper available for guests. There are four suites and two additional cabins, two pools with a bar, a private gym, putting green, pool table and a croquet lawn as well as a personal butler. Rates Villa Rockstar start at 15,000 euros per night.

This year's election night is guaranteed to be a historic event. The Omni hotels are offering a haven for those who want to watch the returns in a crowd. The hotels will be turning their lobbies and lounges into election night headquarters. From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Omni's "Election Night Returns!" events will have festive red, white and blue displays and Fox and CNN on multiple large-screen TVs. The hotels will have an election themed menu featuring burgers, nachos, red and blue cocktails and of course, a slice of all-American apple pie. You can also sign up for a drawing for a return weekend stay in the Presidential Suite.

[via LA Times]

Hip young hotelier Gregory Peck (right) is causing a stir on the New York scene with his new boutique property, the Cooper Square Hotel. The Carlos Zapata-designed 21-story white glass tower, which embodies Peck's concept of beautifully-rendered "Downtown Luxury," is slated to open at the end of the month. The Cooper Square features an urban oasis of a garden, multistory bar, library and screening room; Chanel recently threw a party there for Keira Knightley's new movie The Duchess.

Peck, 34, (no relation to the actor) is also the founder of the Crescent Hotel Group which owns the Crescent Hotel in Beverly Hills and the Crescent San Francisco, which is currently under construction on Union Square and will open next year. He spoke to Luxist about his unique vision and where he thinks the hotel business is headed:

Why are your hotels better than the competition's?

Well, first of all we don't simply try to be better than other hotels. We have a strong point of view on the type of experience we want to provide our guest and that varies from property to property, but always with the goal of trying to entice the senses while insisting on highly personalized service and always stressing having people feel a deep sense of comfort. And we want people to enjoy themselves; that sounds obvious but I think some hotels put their image and form ahead of simply creating a culture within the hotel that encourages people to enjoy their experience in a casual sort of way.

We accomplish all of this really the old fashioned way - hard work. It starts with intense planning up front. We spend a lot of time developing a unique concept and a narrative for what we want the hotel to be and then we execute it, painstakingly focusing on ever detail of the process. We think of each project differently, trying to understand its market, the environment, the people who will stay there and the experience we want to create.


What makes your projects stand out in particular?

Hopefully a few things - one is we want people to simply recognize that we operate at a high level, that the design is beautiful, the service is very personalized and the entire experience works. We want people to understand that we are passionate hoteliers. Otherwise, I think our overall personality should come out in the properties. That's really about there being a sense that we are down to earth, and we want ourselves and we want our guests to have fun, and we want everyone to feel pampered by people who are more life friends than servants.

Where do you think the hotel business is headed?

I think you are going to see more people like us doing innovative projects. People in this country in particular are sophisticated enough that they are demanding more special hotel experiences than what is offered at the flag properties. There will always be people that seek the comfortable in what they are familiar with at the flag properties but there is a whole segment of culture that wants something that is more emotional, something more enjoyable. Currently, I think that only 3% of the hotel rooms in this country are considered independent or boutique, implying that there is a huge market to tap into. More and more, you will see people like us pushing to innovate in the hotel industry.

On October 1 I heard from a couple commenters that the Leading Hotels of the World promotion that offered luxury hotels rooms for just $19.28 (to celebrate their 80th anniversary) was a bust. Commenters complained of not being able to log in and secure their discount rooms. It seems they were not alone. The company has issued a press release apologizing for the situation, citing the overwhelming response to the promotion as being a factor in the website error. They have confirmed that everyone who pre-registered for the promotion is currently being contacted by email and will be sent a form which will allow them to re-attempt to secure reservations at the promotional $19.28 rate via email.

But then that plan fell through too. The promotional website now has a message that says in part that "although our original back-up plan provided a viable solution for the 150,000 people who were registered, it was met with some confusion over submission procedures and timing. In addition, we have become increasingly concerned that a large number of non-registered respondents plan to submit forms which would inundate the system and greatly diminish your chances of securing a USD 19.28 rate."

What next? The company says they are working on another solution that will be fair for those who registered and they will email details on this next week.

The Wealth Bulletin has compiled a new list of the World's Top Ten Most Expensive Hotel Rooms, and the first and second both cost over $30,000 per night. And despite glum economic prospects, demand for these costly suites is as strong as ever, with waiting lists stretching from now until the end of December. Also worth noting is the appearance of Dubai (the Burj Al Arab's Royal Suite, above) and Moscow hotels on the list, which would have been unheard of just a couple years ago. Here are the Top 10:

1. Ty Warner Penthouse, Four Seasons, New York; $34,000 per night
2. Royal Penthouse Suite, President Wilson Hotel, Geneva; $33,000 per night
3. The Presidential Suite, Hotel Cala di Volpe, Costa Smeralda, Italy; $21,000 per night
4. Royal Suite, Burj Al Arab, Dubai; $18,000 per night
5. Royal Armleder Suite, Le Richemond, Geneva; $17,500 per night
6. The Ritz-Carlton Suite, The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow; $16,500 per night
7. The Royal Suite, Four Seasons George V, Paris; $16,000 per night
8. The Imperial Suite, Park Hyatt-Vendôme, Paris; $15,500 per night
9. Brook Penthouse, Claridges, London; $10,000 per night
10. Penthouse Suite, Hotel Martinez, Cannes; $9,300 per night

The famed pink and white 1960s Acapulco hotel Las Brisas has just pronounced its $20 million makeover complete. Perched high above Acapulco Bay, the renovated hotel now boasts glass ceilings in guest rooms, new outdoor seating French-terrace style and various interior updates like new flat screen tvs and plush linens.

Many guest rooms have sweeping ocean views, which have kept the place popular over the years. That and the cute pink and white Jeeps they use to ferry guests back and forth from the hotel.

Check out the changes and many of the original '60s details in the gallery.

A few weeks ago Guerlain opened a spa in the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City. The spa "ensures a comprehensive luxury experience for every Waldorf guest." On the menu are eight kinds of massage, four kinds of facials, six kinds of body treatments, and five men's treatments, as well as hand and foot therapies, makeup application and all-day and partial-day getaway spa experiences. The spa also has a boutique and personal training studio.

I'm no beauty maven, but I've had massages and lots of facials, and what's described on the site seems no more special than what's offered at any other upscale spa, except for the use of Guerlain products and exquisite descriptions of services. I've no doubt the products add a level of luxury that's likely missing from a run-of-the-mill salon-type spa on the corner. But does Guerlain do a better job for what I assume to be a big pricetag? I don't know. I might have to check it out!

The final and most luxurious phase of the chic The London NYC hotel's major renovation was completed with the recent opening of its duplex Penthouse suite. The 2,500 sq.-ft. spread is located on the hotel's 53rd and 54th floors, making it the highest hotel suite in New York City, according to the company. The $15,000 per night pricetag for the space, which boasts plush living areas showcasing modern design and a luxe marble bathroom, also includes the following amenities: daily afternoon tea; a bottle of vintage champagne; an evening at The Chef's Table , located in the inner sanctum of the hotel's Gordon Ramsay restaurant for an eight course tasting menu; and access to a personal concierge and a private car and driver daily. See the gallery for more.

For just one day, if you are quick you can get two nights in a luxury hotel room anywhere around the world for under $20. The Leading Hotels of the World are celebrating their founding year by offering a one-day-only sale that begins Oct. 1 at noon GMT (that would be 8 a.m. on the East Coast) and lasts for 80 minutes, offering rooms for $19.28. You can only book two nights and must travel between Nov. 1–Dec. 15, 2008 but you do have your choice of more than 90 participating hotels around the world in the Leading Hotels of the World network. Check their website for preregistration details.

[via LA Times]

Some vintage 1907 Heidsieck champagne that's been sitting on the bottom of the ocean for the past 80 years is being sold for $275,000 a bottle at the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow.

Over 200 bottles of the long-lost, perfectly-preserved bubbly were salvaged from a shipwreck off the coast of Finland, Russian newspaper Komersant reports. At the time of the accident in 1916 the wine was on its way to the Russian Imperial family.

The Ritz-Carlton, where top suites go for upwards of $15,000 a night, is now offering them at $275,000 a bottle, making it the world's most expensive champagne. Sounds like the perfect drink for all those oligarchs.

Just in time for leaf peeping season a new resort has opened on Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, New York. The High Peaks Resort is located on the site of the former Lake Placid Hilton and is offering couple-centered packages including "Romancing the Peaks" which features two nights accommodations; bottle of wine, fruit and chocolates upon arrival; two High Peaks bathrobes; room service or breakfast for two in the dining room each morning, and three-course dinner for two at the Reflections Restaurant. The hotel also has extensive banquet facilities which can accommodate up to 800 guests and is hoping to cash in on the area's scenic beauty as a wedding destination.

The resort includes a "floating" lobby with a two-sided stone fireplace, three indoor and outdoor pools; a fitness center with the latest equipment, and spa with array of treatments. Located at the resort directly on Main Street is the Dancing Bears restaurant with street-side seating, casual dining and great beverages. The Reflections Restaurant has an outdoor patio overlooking Mirror Lake and regional menus of fresh, healthy cuisine that utilize local produce and the finest fish and prime meats from New York and Canada.

There are 79 guestrooms with double queen beds and 54 with king beds, several with fireplaces, whirlpool tubs and direct waterfront access. All have European-styled bathrooms with natural stone tiled walk-in showers, granite vanities and Molton Brown of London amenities; work desks; flat screen televisions; wireless and wired high speed Internet access, and multi-function music systems with MP3 players and movies.

Among amenities like 24-hour multi-lingual concierge service and Selene marble baths, the Upper East Side's Lowell New York does not neglect your pampered pet when it comes to luxe service. Room service is available around the clock for pup and owner alike, and the pet menu serves up such dishes as filet mignon tartar and buffalo marrow. Custom orders can be prepared on a whim, and if it's just a snack that's in order, the hotel has gone to the trouble to import Pure Fish Skin Chews from Iceland.