By Daisy Carrington, CNN
These days, purveyors of luxury can go beyond owning, eating or imbibing their favorite brand; they can live it. No longer content with selling a mere fraction of the lifestyle experience, an increasing number of high-end luxury companies have decided to open hotels, where their clients can eat, sleep and breathe the brand around the clock.
Nobu Hospitality is the most recent company to join the fray. It’s the organization behind global Japanese restaurant chain Nobu, and it started taking reservations this past October for the first ever Nobu Hotel, set to open within Caesars Palace in Las Vegas come January 2013. Soon to follow are locations in Riyadh, London, Bahrain and the Caribbean.
Food will naturally be a key focus; the Vegas hotel will host the company’s largest restaurant, at 12,000 square feet. The Nobu menu will be available from room service 24/7, and the kitchen (open for breakfast and lunch) will offer more products, including green tea waffles and a Japanese take on bagels and lox. Mainly, though, the hotel is about increasing the company’s reach.
Similarly, Armani, which has literally taken the concept to new heights by opening its flagship hotel in Dubai’s towering Burj Khalifa (the tallest building on earth), has partnered with Emirates-based Emaar Properties.
“When Mohamed Alabbar [chairman of Emaar Properties] introduced the idea to Giorgio Armani in 2005, it immediately attracted his interest, as it offered him a genuine challenge,” recalls Jason Harding, the regional general manager at Armani Hotel Dubai. More info
Similarly, Armani, which has literally taken the concept to new heights by opening its flagship hotel in Dubai’s towering Burj Khalifa (the tallest building on earth), has partnered with Emirates-based Emaar Properties.
Work it: High fashion hotels“When Mohamed Alabbar [chairman of Emaar Properties] introduced the idea to Giorgio Armani in 2005, it immediately attracted his interest, as it offered him a genuine challenge,” recalls Jason Harding, the regional general manager at Armani Hotel Dubai.
