Sunday night Oscars have once again shined in full Hollywood style. An impressive elegant decor with many 70's touches. In a long time, many could grasp ''this is about talent and not politics'' as Winner of the Best Supporting Actress Mo'Nique said in her acceptance speech. I would also add, the 2010 edition was not about Haute Couture and the ''standard'' diva. Young Gabourey Sidibe, the leading actress of ... read more

Besides its superb location on leading highstreet Maximilianstr., the KEMPINSKI Vier Jahreszeiten Munich has failed in every aspect ! I walked into the hotel carrying my luggage and noone bothered to greet me, let alone assist with luggage. At check in, I advised I had sent an email requesting an upgrade and after a 40 minute search for my booking and verification of voucher, I was ... read more

BALLANTYNE, PRINGLE, BRUNO CUCCINELLI and LORO PIANA are the top players of a niche of fashion which some call ''the cashmere brands''. The recently annouced positive results of LORO PIANA and BALLANTYNE are clearly showing that the current crisis has made consumers be focused on classic, high quality apparel and accessories. Cashmere is not only luxury but also extremely comfortable to wear and long ... read more

Have you ever stayed in a luxury five star hotel where you wouldn't want to be upgraded to a larger room? Have you ever stayed in a hotel which opens its swimming pool and acqua facilities, which happen to be mind blowing, at 10 am? Have you ever been to a hotel where you have instantly felt the most odd thing about it was its furniture, lighting and carpets ? (throughout the ... read more

BARCELONA and LAS VEGAS, the latest openings of the Hong Kong based MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL Group have not only set new standards in luxury but have also brought a wealth of innovations, leaving behind competitors such as Four Seasons and Park Hyatt. The already unsurpassed customer service level of Mandarin Oriental Hotels is brought to a new level by the two new ... read more

L'Occitane, Molton Brown, Crabtree & Evelyn along with Aromatherapy Associates have established themselves as leading international natural cosmetics brands, most of them with a focus on products inspired and made of natural ingredients. But how natural are these products ? Is natural synonim to bio or organic ? Each of the brands uses these terms on most of their products, yet, a more ... read more

CPP's team has recently completed a review of five star hotels in Dubai, in most of them having stayed on serveral occasions both for business and leisure. Here are the reccommendations as to which hotel is suitable for various trip purposes and target audiences. BEST STANDARD ROOMS - The Address ... read more

InterContinental is one of the international hotel chains with the widest presence in Central and Eastern Europe. There are InterContinental hotels under management agreement in Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), Kiev (Ukraine), Prague (Czech Republic) Warsaw (Poland) and Vienna (Austria). Most of the hotels, with the exception of Kiev and Warsaw have been open for more than 20 years and ... read more

Luxury has finally arrived in Barcelona. The brand new Mandarin Oriental Barcelona is not only a luxury statement in one of Europe's most beautiful cities but also a reference for a new, higher standard of luxury services. In an established tourism market such as Spain one could hardly have anticipated a new hotel opening to have such an impact on the standards of five star hotels. Mandarin Oriental ... read more

Mass market clothing retailer C&A, which is owned by the German Group LIDL annouced the launching of its first premium line, with prices 30% to 40% cheaper than the competing premium and luxury brands. The line called Yessica Pure will first be lauched in select stores of C&A in Spain and similar lines will be rolled out in Europe. For instance the price of a product from the ... read more

A recent survey conducted by CPP Management Consultants Ltd  among 200 discerning travellers, who travel frequently to Eastern Europe, mostly for business reveals the top five star luxury hotels: PRAGUE Mandarin Oriental - spectacular location downtown Prague - historical building (former monastery) - spacious and comfortable rooms with modern ... read more

Italian fashion houses including Giorgio Armani and Valentino Fashion Group , which have traditionally spurned the Internet, are testing Web stores this holiday season in a quest for new sources of revenue. The worst recession since World War II and Italian acceptance of Internet buying -- even for big-ticket items -- is sparking greater use of Web shops in the luxury-goods industry. Designer Roberto ... read more

PENINSULA SHANGHAI - amazing location in historical Shanghai - large rooms (over 40sqm), all with dressing rooms - state of the art technology - impecable SPA facilities Opening rates: from EUR 300/night MANDARIN ORIENTAL Las Vegas - latest contemporary design (the most modern in Vegas) - huge rooms (over 60 sqm) - state of the art technology in ... read more

Capital of Serbia, Belgrade is mainly a business destination for foreigners. Years of political intrusion into the economy have stalled privatisations of the state owned hotels and many such existing hotels have an unclear ownership situation. Thefore, for instance, the largest hotel in Belgrade, the Continental Hotel is currently rated at four stars, yet facilities and ... read more

As reported throught 2009, exports of Swiss luxury watches have continued to fall, the latest figures released by the Swiss Haute Horogerie foundation showing drops of more than 20%. Meanwhile, the luxury phone market continues to grow, with more and more luxury brands launching their own branded mobile phone. Nowadays, mobile phones offer much more than voice phone calls but alsomedia ... read more

The future commercial center Cocor Luxury Store in Bucharest has recently launched its own rating system of brands and their distributors. The rating system is, in fact, an open bid that takes into account how much the stores are willing to pay for the rent, the novelty factor on the Romanian market and the brands presence on the rating lists of the Luxury Institute, instyle.com or ... read more

Small is certainly the buzzword among industry analysts. As if designers were carrying the mandates of their boardrooms to the drawing table, the latest products coming from the design realm are quite literally downsized. There are handbags the size of hands, toy-like automobiles — General Motors is banking on five tiny cars in its upcoming high-stakes lineup — and furniture ... read more

The off-season means mostly hibernation for the Constanta – Mamaia resorts. Hotels are shut down until the spring works, dance clubs and all-night pubs return to their home-towns (mainly Bucharest, where the branded pubs are closed throughout the summer) and the few restaurants still working cut short their menus. The main premium offers for the months to come are the four main luxury hotels ... read more

One has to be a bit mad to go shopping for gourmet products in Bucharest. Not only because it would be easier to avoid the hellish traffic and go directly to Bulgaria for such an enterprise, but it may even prove cheaper to fly to Milan, buy all the spices and salami one needs, and then return to Romania. The market is flooded with anonymous products for outrageous prices.  At a first sight, ... read more

More and more fashion brands are discovering movies as a unique marketing tool which has a worldwide reach therefore generating awareness in a subtle way. French awarn winning actress Audrey Tatou, CHANEL's new brand ambassador played this year the designer herself in COCO AVANT CHANEL, a movie by Anne Fontaine which has received great reviews. CHANEL's strategy has gone further by featuring the same ... read more