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The Plaza is offering iPads in each of its guest rooms and suites. The program, which launched in January, makes the landmark hotel on Central Park South the first hotel in the world to provide guests services and room controls using iPads and Intelity's ICE (Interactive Customer Experience) software to all of its guests.

The Plaza's iPads feature a multimedia video welcome and provide guests easy, touch screen access to control their entire hotel experience. At the touch of a screen, guests are able to order room service, make restaurant reservations, communicate directly with the concierge, request wake-up calls, explore NYC destination guides, and even check airline schedules and print boarding passes (which are promptly delivered to their room). Guests can even use the iPad to control the lights in their room as well as the heat and air conditioning systems.

"Before in the guest rooms, we had another digital panel that controlled the lights, the temperature and some guest services," Shane Krige, general manager of The Plaza explained to Luxist. "But it wasn't sophisticated enough for what we wanted to do. So we teamed up with Intelity to devise the software for the program."

If you ever gave any thought to writing for Luxist, this is your chance! We're looking for a luxe-loving writer to join our team! We are looking for someone willing to contribute a couple of posts per day on topics like fast cars, fancy furnishings, hot travel destinations, luxury gadgets, high-end wine, food and cigars. You should enjoy writing about topics like these and be capable of expressing yourself in a clear, engaging way. You don't have to be a professional writer, or even have your own blog, but it certainly doesn't hurt to be familiar with blogs and the style of writing we use. And for anyone who might still be wondering, we do pay our writers.

We're extremely flexible about the schedule, but we are looking for someone who can commit to writing several posts on a weekly or daily basis. To apply, we need:

• Three sample posts (original material, please, not links to existing posts on a blog)
• A few words about yourself and why you're interested in writing for us
• Your contact info
• Your location and scheduling, including a ballpark number of posts per week

No attachments, please. Put everything in the body of your email. Once your application is complete, send us an e-mail at leadsATluxistDOTcom.

This home looks like it belongs in Florida or Los Angeles but it is actually located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The 10,000 sq. ft. home sits on 10 acres of property on a private hilltop for views of the surrounding countryside. The five-bedroom home has Italian marble fireplaces, chandeliers, soaring ceilings, a large formal dining room, gourmet kitchen and built-in plasma televisions. The home has smart house technology and there is an elevator and grand Italian marble staircase. There is also a separate 2,200-square-foot guest house. The home is for sale by owner for$15 million furnished.

Over on Time Zone there are pictures of the latest version of Vacheron Constantin's Malte collection for women. The latest model, Ref. 83505 is a moonphase power reserve model with 184 diamonds. It measures a ladylike 29mm, is water resistant to 30 meters and has a transparent caseback. The movement is the Vacheron manual wind caliber 1410, with 22 jewels beating at 28,800 bph and with a power reserve of 40 hours.%uFFFD It's attractive but I prefer the Ref. 83500 (shown after the jump). It has similar features but at 32 mm, it's a touch larger, uses less diamonds (only 82) and has, in my opinion, a much more attractive dial.

This home is called the "talk of the town" for good reason. It's the most beautiful and noteworthy home on Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka. The home includes waterfalls, fountains, indoor and outdoor pools and lake views from a variety of angles. It has a large barrel vaulted ceiling that is back lit with fiber optic lighting. The home is five bedrooms and has more than 24,000 square feet of space with a home theater, two offices, media room, home gym and more. The home islisted at $8.9 million.

It's time again for the Naples, Florida home tour. The  2006 Greater Naples Luxury Home Tour which takes place in February features homes from $1.5 million to $3.8 million located throughout Collier and Lee counties. The self-guided tour of luxury model homes built will include the Nautilus I model from Koogler Homes. The home is lcoated on the waterfront in Cape Coral and has nearly 6,000 square feet of space with details that include a foyer with 26-foot ceilings, a kitchen with a custom walk-in butler's pantry and a half-bath, a veranda with a covered outdoor living room and kitchen, and a swimming pool and spa with lighted fountains, cascading waterfalls and a pool bar.The home also features a  interactive, multi-room audio/visual system. A tour passport to check out this and the other nine model homes in the tour costs $20 in advance.

[via Naples News]

The holidays aren't even over yet and already the sales have begun. We'll be bringing you some temptingly discounted treats over the next few days. eLuxury's sale offers 40% off brands like Marc Jacobs and Fendi. This Fendi evening bag is blue velvet shearling with tiny rhinestones and gold patent leather piping and handles . The golden frame reveals a deep blue satin lining. It originally sold for $1,210 and is on sale for $729.

Didn't get the princess treatment this Christmas? You can make up for it with this diamond tiara. Bond Street antiques dealers S.J. Phillips recently got in this Belle Epoque diamond garland tiara. It's Swedish c.1910 set with graduated double swags and ribbon tied bows. It is listed in their £40000 category. Their site is a treasure trove of fine silver, vintage jewels and all sorts of intriguing antiquities.

The latest watches from Invicta are the Lupah Espadon series. The new case designs feature over-sized lugs, colorful dials, thick-rounded hands, and color-coordinating crowns. There are four models in the Espadon family: the unisex Espadon and Espadon Chronograph, and the two Baby Lupah Espadons with a square or round case, shown here. All models are available in a variety of colors. The Baby Lupah Espadons have a Swiss 585.2 FE caliber quartz movement and a 37.2mm diameter.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and joyous tidings of the holiday from Luxist. We are hoping you are having a great day. We will be posting on a limited schedule for the next day or so but be sure to be with us next week for a features including a look at charitable organizations for sending your year-end donations to and some predictions for next year's hot trends. And, if you are so inspired, be sure to post pictures of your holiday loot and decorations to our Luxist Flickr Pool.

In order to celebrate Fountain Pen Hospital's 60th anniversary, Stipula Pen Company of Italy has created the Blue Dusk Limited Edition. The pens are done in blue resin with sterling silver trim. They are selling 60 numbered fountain pens and 30 rollerballs. The fountain pens have Stipula's 14 kt gold nib, available in fine, medium and broad. Both pens can be purchased as a set for $395.

Wow, this little piece of heaven is featured on Europastar and is called Gaïa 23°27'. The watch was created by  Anatole Le Grand Edouard. The Gaïa 23°27' is a jewelry watch that features a bracelet of pink gold spheres that are slightly flattened on the interior. The main sphere, which has a diameter equal to 500 millionths of the diameter of the Earth, features an automatic calibre movement which is set off center and inclined to 23°27' which is the angle of inclination of the Earth’s rotational axis to its elliptical plane. The watch is full of celestial themes like comets, planets and stars rendered in diamonds, rubies and colored sapphires. The center is supposed to invoke the sun (although it reminds me a bit of a bloodshot eye). A total of 440 diamonds and 519 gemstones went into the piece and the tiny dial is actually a 2.32 carat ruby cabochon with a hole in the center. The watch is the first model in a limited series of 22 pieces.

The Detroit News features an elegant little bed and breakfast in Detroit. The Inn at 97 Winder is a 11,000 square-foot Victorian mansion which has been lovingly restored to its former glory. The home was originally built in 1876 but had been stripped of most of its chandeliers and fireplaces and was in a not-so-hot area of town when Ghassan Yazbeck and wife Marilyn Nash-Yazbeck bought 97 Winder in 1986. Now the home's location, near to Comerica Park, Ford Field, GM, Compuware, Cobo Center, Detroit Opera House, Orchestra Hall, casinos, museums make it an ideal place to have an inn. The home is furnished with antiques and each of the eight bedrooms has a different theme. Current rates are $275 to $350 per night and some rooms feature a spiral staircase leading to a turret with views of downtown Detroit.

An article in the Rocky Mountain News led us to the ultimate in winter sleeping luxury, cashmere sheets. The sheets, from  Manrico have, according to the company, thermoregulating features which means that they help maintain the ideal body temperature. The sheets cost $5800 for a king size set and can be ordered in a small range of eight  colors including white, gray, orange and black. Apparently Donald Trump sleeps in these.

The LA Times has an interesting article on the "high-low" trend on Rodeo Drive. Once one of the most elite shopping areas in the world, the shopping area has been making itself more accessible to the masses. They recently opened a bebe store and are working to make the area more "mall-like." But don't get too concerned, a DeBeers store recently opened too. Openings for next year include Omega Watches, Dior Homme, Graff jewelry and Harry Winston. The mix of high and low reflects our modern world in which luxury shoppers are equally comfortable atboth Gucci and Target . But as the LA Times notes, Rodeo Drive seems to no longer draw the celebrities the way it once did. Any given day on Rodeo Drive brings more tourists than star power and even the paparazzi seem to lurk more on Robertson where Kitson and other trendy stores are located. Is Rodeo's push to attract the masstige market making it less of the ultimate place to shop or should they be doing even more to attract the mid-range shopper?