The over-the-top Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi is offering a $1 million, week-long stay which it claims is the world's most expensive holiday package. The Palace Suite package includes first-class airline tickets, a chauffeur-driven Maybach for the week, a personal butler, daily spa treatments, and day trips via private jet, the Gulf-based Khaleej Times Online reports. The offer is being made as an attempt to earn the hotel a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records, and part of the proceeds will be donated to charities in the U.A.E., the paper reports. The luxe day trips include jetting to Iran to weave Persian carpets and to Bahrain to dive for deep sea pearls, which will then be set for you in custom-designed jewellery.

It's true! Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital, previously home to famous names like Normal Mailer, Edie Sedgewick, and the guy who shot John Lennon (Mark David Chapman), is getting a remodel and soon will be a luxury hotel. Built in 1931 it's pretty perfect for the remake, with its location in Manhattan along the East River, its Italian Renaissance style, and even its "H" layout with hotel-sized rooms on long corridors.

Bellevue hasn't treated psych patients since 1984 when it was transformed into a homeless shelter, and now the plans for yet another renovation are well underway. No word yet on when they hope to have the hotel finished, but hopefully there's a developer locked in by the end of the year so renovations can get started by the middle of 2009.

Knowing all the history (and insanity) that happened in those walls, will you stay there?

We've covered a $150,000 hotel offer in New York but if your Christmas travels take you to Japan, you can hole up in the a luxury hotel in Tokyo for a one-of-a-kind Christmas that costs $130,000. The Mandarin Oriental Tokyo is offering a Christmas suite that is decorated with a small tree with diamonds. The package also includes a bath with fresh roses, vintage champagne, and a breakfast with truffles. The package comes with limo service, a spa treatment and a gourmet dinner that is served in the dining room of the presidential suite. Much of the money you spend you get to take home with you, in the form of diamond jewelry worth around $108,000.

Little Rock, Arkansas is getting a new touch of luxury from an old landmark. The Capital Hotel, which has been around for 130 years, has re-opened after two years and $24 million in renovations. The hotel has maintained the classic looks of the foyer and the bar but have upgraded the infrastructure including the kitchens, plumbing, heating and air systems. All the rooms were also redesigned. The rooms feature Frette bath linens, Chaz Stevens bed linens, LCD TVs and high-speed and wireless internet. Half of the 94 rooms start at under $200 a night. There are also luxury great rooms and suites that include separate tubs and showers and double vanities. The four large suites, that are the size of an average home rent for about $760 a night.

[via KATV]

In many large cities, you will find beautiful historic hotel properties situated on prime real estate. Some have been abandoned and risk being demolished while others are still operating, but lack the amenities necessary to attract luxury customers. Rather than tear them down and start from scratch, a new trend sees hoteliers renovating and upgrading their properties to offer the best of both worlds - first class accommodations along with historic charm.

One such property is the Book-Cadillac Hotel in Detroit. Built in 1924, the hotel was once a destination for presidents and movie stars, but fell into decline in the 1980's. Having stood vacant for more than twenty years, it is now being reincarnated as the 455-room Westin Book Cadillac Detroit. Scheduled to open in late 2008, the property will feature condominiums, retail and restaurant space and provide full-time employment for more than 450 workers.

Even those with less illustrious histories are getting a new lease on life. In 1946, The Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta was the site of the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history, but after undergoing a $28 million renovation has reopened as the 4-star Ellis Hotel on Atlanta's famed Peachtree Street. Oklahoma City's Skirvin Hotel has benefited from a $55 million renovation and is now the Skirvin Hilton.

Visitors to Boston can enjoy an unusual experience staying at the Liberty Hotel, formerly the Charles Street Jail. Once considered "unfit for human living", the renovated property celebrates its roots by retaining some of the jail cells amid the luxury accommodations. And after a $10 million renovation, Seattle's century-old Alexis Hotel is now a luxury destination in the heart of downtown, offering modern amenities in an art-filled atmosphere.

The Detroit Free Press has an interesting article on the JW Marriott Grand Rapids, a $100 million, 24-story luxury hotel set to open this week. The hotel has 337 rooms including the Founders Suite which rents for $2,500 a night. it is hoped that the new hotel will help the city compete for convention and meetings business. The Free Press resorts that the hotel had orginally planned to turn the 19th floor into a women-only enclave. The idea was shelved after criticism and the 19th floor rooms which include amenities such as a shaving stool in the bathtub for legs, ionic hair dryers and soft chenille bedspreads will now be open to both sexes. All rooms include a Steelcase office chair and a technology pack so that the 37-inch flat screen TV in the room can be used as a computer monitor or gaming screen.

The main theme of the hotel relates the the five cities of Grand Rapids: Omihachiman, Japan; Perugia, Italy; Bielsko-Biala, Poland; Ga District, Ghana, and Zapopan, Mexico. The rooms and public areas feature photographic images of these cities as well as artwork created by artists from these cities. The Mixology lounge on the 23rd floor which will feature an iPod DJ some nights and the Six One Six restaurant offers gourmet fare. Other amenities include a fitness facility with a heated pool, a helipad,a ballroom, board rooms and a business center. Rooms start at $229 per night with rooms on the concierge floors going for $40 to $50 more.

The latest luxury brand to plan a hotel chain is Baccarat. The hotels will have between 80 to 250 rooms per property and of course the hotels will have fine furnishings including Baccarat chandeliers. Details are scant at this point. We know that the first Baccarat hotel will be in Wailea, Hawaii and open in 2010. This property will have 193 condo-hotel rooms from one-bedroom to four-bedroom residences. Other Baccarat hotels in the offing will include properties in the Caribbean, Europe and the Far East.

[via Hotel Chatter]

The fabulous Russian billionaires will have a new place to party in Moscow when the Ritz-Carlton opens up on July 1. The new Ritz-Carlton will be a $350 million, 334-room hotel with an imperial Russian facade.

The hotel includes Jeroboam he restaurant of three star Michelin chef Heinz Winkler. A separate wine room, Petrus, will be available for small groups to choose from the expansive wine and rare spirits collection such as a shot of Macallan Fine and Rare Collection vintage 1969 whisky for $400. The restaurant will serve the Tsar's Breakfast which costs $700 per person and includes a bottle of Crystal champagne, an omelet with Kobe beef steak, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and truffles, foie gras with caramelized apple and pain brioche, 56 grams of Beluga caviar with blinis, sour cream and quail eggs and more.

The rooftop bar is the O2 lounge which has a glass dome, black tile floor, red velvet cocoon chairs and white leather furnishings and will serve food by chef Seiji Kusano who whips us sushi creations such as a gourmet roll prepared with Beluga caviar and blue fin tuna, garnished with gold leaf. In the Lobby lounge, the vodka sommelier can help guests choose from a wide variety of vodkas. The hotel also includes a spa and fitness center for working off all that food and booze. They are offering a summer special through August with rooms starting at $385 (plus 18% VAT) which is nearly half of the usual price.

The previously-managed Hilton property was partially reopened in February, after extensive renovations, by new managers: Kempinski Hotels. This 110-year-old establishment (Europe's oldest) has once again worked their magic by completely refurbishing and modernizing the property which, in my opinion as a frequent visitor, was long overdue. The architectural and interior designs at this five-star luxury hotel are now more elegantly modern yet still cozy and inviting. With its warm-wintry-white tones and expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, both the public and private areas seem to capture the beautiful sense of space and natural light which exists from being conveniently located on the Quai du Mont-Blanc, facing Lake Geneva. It is sure to attract some new and exciting clientele with its contemporary feel, as the other luxury hotels in Geneva are quite traditional in comparison. The new design will include the duplex-style "Geneva Suite" -- one of the largest suites available in the area with its own private spa and gym, not to mention incredible views encompassing the city, the lake, and the Swiss Alps. The second and final opening phase should be complete by end of May which will double the amount of rooms and include new restaurants, a nightclub, and cutting-edge conferencing facilities. So if you hurry, you can take advantage of their "soft-opening" reduced rates and stay in a deluxe lake-facing room with 24-hour room service, plasma-screen TV, high-speed internet, and a small balcony on which to enjoy the fresh mountain air, for approximately USD$523 (CHF 632).

If a trip to Tibet is in your future you're not alone -- due to recent upgrades the area is currently experiencing a dramatic increase in international interest and tourism. As a result, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide is planning to open a St. Regis Resort in Lhasa, which will be the first of its kind to open in the area in over a decade. Scheduled to start hosting guests in 2010, the 169 bed luxury hotel will offer the same services guests of the St. Regis New York have become accustomed to, including the famous English-trained butlers who will quietly and efficiently anticipate your every need and personalize your experience around the clock.

Lavish bedrooms, the city's best views to gaze upon, and largest of bath tubs to soak are just a few of the perks of the World's Sexiest Penthouses. Our buddies at Gadling shows us Condé Nast Traveler's list of these ultra penthouses. Take the Skylofts at MGM Grand in Las Vegas for instance, at $10,000 per night, which includes the room-sized "immersion chambers" (large showers dousing you with waterfalls, steam, and rain). There is also the Presidential Suite in Intercontinental Hong Kong at $11,215 a night, where you can rest in infinity pool while staring at one of the most beautiful skylines in the world.

The New York Palace Hotel in Budapest opened this week after undergoing an €80 million renovation that not only updated the interior, but built on an entirely new wing. The hotel was originally an office building, built in 1894 for a New York insurance company. It was purchased from the Hungarian government in 2001 by Boscolo Hotels for only €8 million. The redesigned luxury hotel is extremely elegant, with a glassed-over courtyard and walkways full of gilt and marble. According to Boscolo, all of the textiles and furnishings come from Italy. The Hotel's New York Cafe has reopened as well, offering guests a taste of history, as it was a famously popular meeting place for artists and writers before World War II. Rooms start at €290 and the two royal suites start at €2,500 per night.

The addition of the new wing, which is still not entirely complete, will bring the total number of rooms up to 180 from the current 107, as well as adding conference facilities and a parking garage.

A property that began as a boar-hunting camp in 1625 has evolved into Roman Camp Country House Hotel, a historic hotel on the banks of the river Teith in Trossacks National Park in Scotland. The Roman Camp Country House Hotel recently spent six figures on an upgrade that included equipping rooms with satellite TV and broadband and bathrooms that include travertine marble, spa baths, heated floors and power showers. The hotel has 14 bedrooms and other traditional country manor features such as a library, conservatory and drawing room. Rooms start at £125 and include breakfast.

[via Europe Travel]

We first heard about this hotel last summer and now it is finally open for business. The Merchant Hotel in Belfast, Ireland has transformed the former headquarters of the Ulster Bank, on Waring Street into a luxury boutique hotel of 21 bedrooms and five suites. It took two years to restore the property and the company behind the project, Beannchor spent more than £400,000 on antiques and artwork. Rooms cost from £220 to £600 for the grand suite. Rooms have air-conditioning and flat-screen televisions. Each bedroom is named after a different Irish writer. There is also a  commercial gallery in the hotel lobby, showcasing the work of Northern Ireland's best artists. Guests can also hire the hotel's Bentley Arnage.

With the 2006 World Cup coming up, teams are making their travel arrangements to stay in Germany for the duration of the 64-game tournament. The German team does not have far to go, but will be staying at the Schlosshotel im Grunewald, a 5-star luxury hotel in Berlin. It is situated in what was formerly the seat of the von Pannwitz family in 1914, essentially a palace that was known for its elegance and extravagance. The hotel offers 42 rooms and 12 suites, all with full amenities that include a wide array of personal technologies, from the standard minimum of three telephones and two lines per guest room to high speed wireless internet access.

The largest room is the Kaiser suite, which is fit for a king at 5-rooms and nearly 2,000 square feet. It is furnished in historic, antique elegance with silk sofas and marble bathrooms. The suite runs about $3,600 per night.