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LUXURY TRAVEL with a Twist

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FOR A TRENDY VACA, SPICE UP ALL THAT PAMPERING WITH A DOSE OF INDIANA JONES
By The Travel Snob for Fashiontribes.com
Photo: Luxury Travel Magazine

Globetrotters with a taste (and budget) for the good life are seeking out ever more splashy vacations & exotic experiences, and luxury travel is booming. However, instead of merely visiting a destination, these sophisticated travelers want to interact with foreign cultures, learn a little something, and even acquire new skills. And they want exclusive accommodations, amazing culinary experiences, and extraordinary service – so many high-end hoteliers are now venturing into the world's most exotic, far-flung locations.

"Specific countries that are seeing explosive luxury hotel development include The Maldives, Bhutan, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and China in Asia; Turkey, Oman and Dubai in the Middle East; Bora Bora and Fiji in the South Pacific; St. Lucia and Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean; Brazil and Argentina in South America; Moscow, Croatia and Estonia in Eastern Europe," says Christine Gray, Editor of Luxury Travel Magazine - an online resource of 6,000 luxury hotels and ultimate travel experiences including grand-luxe resorts & lodges, ranches, pampering spas, island hideaways, country houses with fine food and wine, wilderness safaris, mountain-top retreats, luxurious trains and cruises, and private yachts dropping anchor in enchanting places. "Italy remains the big favorite in Europe with significant new luxury hotel openings this year in Capri, Tuscany and Sicily."

Even getting there is an opportunity for adventure, whether it be on a dogsled, motor yacht, at a private airstrip or helipad, 4WD, or a canoe. Of course, personalized, intuitive service awaits, with high staff-to-guest ratios, personal butlers, 24/7 concierge service await – and distinctive design. "Luxury hotels are increasingly being designed by world-famous architects such as Frank Gehry's Hotel Marques de Riscal, which opened a few months ago in Spain. Brad Pitt's favorite architect, Rem Koolhaas, is designing a new hotel in Beijing to open in time for the 2008 Olympics and famed architect Ricardo Legoretta is designing an intimate hotel in Mexico," says Gray, noting that designers like Armani, Bulgari & Versace are lending their names to new projects, as are celebrity chefs like Alain Ducasse who opened L'Andana in Tuscany and Le Domaine Des Andeols in Provence recently. "Some of our favorite new distinctive hotels that have won this year's Luxury Travel A-List Awards include Anatolian Houses in Cappadocia and EV Hotel in Bodrum, both in Turkey, Jade Mountain in St. Lucia, Le Domaine Des Andeols in Provence, J.K. Place in Capri, Gramercy Park Hotel in New York and Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort in Monaco."

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