But the marketing campaign to sell the former home of recruitment entrepreneur Bob Biddle at The Melburnian on St Kilda Road for more than $10 million is almost as extravagant as the property itself.

Three top chefs, including celebrity masterchef George Calombaris, will tonight make use of its twin kitchens to cook for a VIP launch.

About 50 guests will watch the sunset from the lawn of its private roof garden, which has a heated lap pool, observation deck and views from Port Phillip Bay to the Dandenongs.

Among them will be the girlfriend of footballer Lance Franklin, model Kasia Zachwieja, who starred in one of two YouTube films made to promote the sale.

Ms Zachwieja will wear a fuchsia gown for tonight’s launch, but in case of emergency, the apartment’s dressing room is stocked with spare Chanel clothes and Manolo Blahnik shoes.

Real estate agent Kay and Burton is investing in the kind of campaign that has not been seen since the caviar and string quartets that accompanied the sale of luxury property during the 2007 property boom.

The global financial downturn hit the top end of the residential market hardest and sales are still comparatively quiet, with the lack of activity reflecting decreased demand and vendors’ unwillingness to put quality stock on the market.

But house prices in Melbourne’s most expensive suburbs made a major comeback in the June quarter to recover most of the value lost in last year’s slump and drive overall price growth, according to Australian Property Monitors.

Some agents see the apartment’s listing for sale as a symbol of returned confidence in the upper end.

The Melburnian, on the site of the former Prince Henry Hospital, has been among the city’s best-performing buildings for capital growth since it was completed in mid-2002, according to RP Data.

Designed by the architects of Federation Square, it has been home to some of Melbourne’s rich and famous, including footballer Matthew Lloyd, former chairman of the IT group Senetas, Francis Galbally, and a member of Melbourne’s judiciary.

Mr Biddle, who founded nursing agency Origin Healthcare, paid a record $5 million when he purchased off the plan in 2000.

Victoria’s record for an apartment is believed to be $18.2 million, paid late last year by a mystery buyer for the sub-penthouse at Salta’s redevelopment of the old Mercy Hospital in East Melbourne, which is due to open next month.

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Restoration work on the 6,000-square-foot suite will “bring back the original essence of the design,” Samara Diapolous, Fairmont San Francisco’s public relations consultant, said.

“The crown jewel of the suite is the billiard room, which is covered in turquoise tiles and a beautiful etched glass ceiling,” Diapolous said.

The restoration process includes extensive work on the 18,000 etched glass pieces in the billiard room. Each tile will be individually removed, cleaned, restored and put back in place.

“That’s the kind of attention to detail that we try to preserve,” Tom Klein, regional vice president of operations and general manager of Fairmont San Francisco, said.

The hotel is working with designer Champalimaud for the project.

“They have an understanding of how to update a historical suite to make sure it is still timeless for the guests,” Klein said.

The budget will be approximately $1.8 million, according to Klein.

“One still has to plan in a difficult time,” Klein said when asked about undergoing a restoration during an economic downturn. “The customer today still wants a product representative of that level. We still have a high demand for that suite. This is unquestionably the finest suite in San Francisco, if not the United States.”

Restoration on the suite began Aug. 2 and is expected to be completed in mid-September. Guests in the hotel should not be affected by the restoration, Klein said.

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1. Burj Al Arab (Dubai)
2. Hotel Marqués de Riscal (Spain)
3. Park Hyatt Tokyo (Japan)
4. Wynn Hotel (Las Vegas USA)
5. Phinda Getty House (South Africa)
6. Inn at Price Tower (Oklahoma, USA)
7. The Four Seasons Hotel, NYC (New York USA)
8. Shanghai’s St. Regis (China)
9. Le Meriden Lingotto (Italy)

and I would personally have to add The 41 in London, voted the 2nd best hotel in the UK but that aside, it has class beyond words.

Image courtesy of Veerle

Just a stone’s throw away from Sandbanks, Britain’s glamorous coastal playground for the rich and famous, lies a luxury new build apartment block built to the highest standards with breathtaking sea views.

The Harbour Reach development, by Bryant Homes, comprises 12 five-storey blocks of flats and ten rows of townhouses. A third of the 340 properties are for social or affordable housing.

Dozens of selected tenants pay a mere £75 in rent, most of which will probably be paid from state benefits while private flats on the same development sell for up to £525,000!

This intriguing set up is due to government legislation demanding a percentage of social housing on newbuild developments.

An article published on the Daily Mail website has caused much controversy amongst commenters. It poses uncomfortable questions such as; is it fair that an unemployed person may pay peanuts out of their social benefits for the same flat another, employed, more well off person pays far more for? Conversely, why is there an unwritten rule that social housing should be basic not luxurious?  It’s atough one, I don’t want to fall on the side of snobbery, however, there is something unjust about the situation…why not join the debate!

image: courtesy dailymail

If the stories are to be believed, the amount of sand and rock used is enough to build a two meter high, half meter wide wall that would circle the globe three times! Well if that won’t make me purchase a property there, nothing will!

Read more at Gulf News.

One of the most expensive hotels is Intercontinental Tahiti Resort: The only thing that can enhance the beauty of an already-idyllic location is a resort that has a truly beautiful luxury swimming pool that compliments and pays homage to the surrounding environment.

If this part of the world could have gotten any better, it did so when the pools of this resort became an additional part of its landscape.

Erected at a 12,330 square feet of well-designed living space, the starting price of this penthouse is $18,600,000.

Read more form LuxuryRealEstate.com

This distinctive pump highlights the designer’s leg-lengthening style by adding a 100mm heel. The eel skin’s natural finish in subtle and discrete tones is enlivened with Christian Louboutin’s red leather soles. A covered front buckle completes this elegant statement.

After years of styling Hollywood starlets, such as Nicole Kidman, and as girlfriend to the world’s biggest rock star, Mick Jagger, L’Wren Scott understands true style. These timeless pumps were created for her debut couture collection, exclusively made for Couturelab.com
With Christian’s bold approach to shoe design and L’Wren’s perfectionist vision for timeless couture, this flawless pair is the result of a unique collaboration. Truly original, the shoes have been crafted from Aguilla eel skin, creating a natural, velvety finish.

The wonderful discrete tones and delicate frays of the shoe contrast with the sleek, statement red sole, enlivening any little black dress. The brave 100mm heel highlight’s L’Wren’s leg lengthening style of inimitable elegance. Such art of a tall order can only be found online at Couturelab where you can grab a pair of these beautiful shoes for £530, thats $1,060 (approx)… if they havn’t already sold out!

The yacht combines a powerfully rugged and concealing exterior with plush living, dining, and social areas that mask an underbelly and architecture made with optimal performance in mind.

The entire yacht stretches 42 meters long and reaches maximum speeds of 46 kn on three engines. It also includes a jet ski for three people,sun-deck with table, black wraparound sofa, and a sun-bed.

The  air conditioned saloon is divided into a living room and dining room with a table and chairs to accommodate a party of up to 12 people. An entertainment center, including a retractable 50″ flat-screen plasma TV, video-recorder, DVD player, stereo system, and satellite decoder, sits in between both sections and separates the saloon from the wheel room.

The lower deck includes a master cabin in the rear that spreads across the entire beam of the boat, a VIP guest room with double bed, and two guest cabins with two single beds each down the hall. All cabins include wooden beds (doubles in the Master and VIP, single in the guest rooms), bed tables, drawers, a closet, an attached bathroom separate from the other cabins, separately controlled air conditioning systems, and a mini entertainment center. The lower deck also includes two crew cabins and a gallery that can accessed directly from the wheelhouse, separating guest and crew living quarters.