Luxury Travel Magazine Reveals the World's Top New Hotels and Luxury Travel Trends for 2007

(PRWeb) January 4, 2007 -- Luxury Travel is a booming business in the 21st Century with substantial expansion by high-end hoteliers venturing into the world's most exotic locations. "The Luxury Travel Magazine website, www.luxurytravelmagazine.com, allows us to identify the latest trends and hottest destinations," says Christine Gray, Editor of Luxury Travel Magazine.

Luxury travelers are seeking rare and authentic experiences, privacy and exclusivity in their accommodations and extraordinary service and cuisine. They are traveling in pursuit of knowledge, interacting with foreign cultures, acquiring new skills, and also for wellness and quiet relaxation.

As demand escalates for travel with a rare and authentic experience built in, luxurious hotels are opening in the most far-flung locations. Luxury Travel Magazine notes that the hot new luxury destinations for 2007 and beyond, include Asia and the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, Africa and the Indian Ocean, Eastern Europe and South America. North American development is relatively quiet by comparison, but hot spots include Whistler, British Columbia (gearing up for the 2010 Winter Olympics), Mont-Tremblant in Quebec and the new Amanresort set to open later this year in the remote area of Lake Powell, Utah.

"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; and Italy remains the big favorite in Europe with significant new luxury hotel openings this year in Capri, Tuscany and Sicily," says Christine Gray.

Unusual destinations are becoming increasingly accessible, but in many cases the journey of getting there is also part of the total experience. If arriving by limousine has become boring, luxury travelers can now choose destinations where they arrive on to a private airstrip or helipad, by motor yacht, or even by more adventurous methods such as dogsled, 4WD or canoe.

With such endless choices for the world traveler, researching luxury travel options online can be tedious, but now the LuxuryTravelMagazine.com website makes it simple with a comprehensive, one-stop resource where subscribers can use an innovative search that works like consulting with an expert travel advisor. "The Luxury Travel Magazine website matches the best possible travel choices to individual needs and preferences," says Christine Gray.

Luxury Travel now has a wider reach than ever before spanning generations, from the Baby Boomers (ages 46-62) to Generation X (ages 27- 45) and emerging markets like Russia, the Gulf States and Asian countries joining the ranks of luxury world travelers. These differences are reflected in a varied number of vacation options that can be found on the Luxury Travel Magazine website. Younger luxury travelers are drawn to new "hip" boutique hotels, while older travelers tend to favor classic luxury hotels and wellness vacations. Travelers from Russia are displaying an insatiable appetite for opulent luxury with Egypt and Turkey being their top vacation destinations, while luxury travelers from North America focus more on value.

Affluent travelers are collecting experiences and often want to attain connoisseur status, so special-interest travel that offers the opportunity to acquire knowledge of other cultures, art and architecture, cuisine and oenology, or new skills such as sailing is highly popular. The Luxury Travel Magazine website allows users to search for these transforming experiences that empower them to return home with a sense of achievement and accomplishment.

In contrast to the quest for culture and adventure, is the desire for quiet relaxation and wellness, hence the extraordinary growth of spa getaways over the past few years. Luxury travelers can now choose from spa pampering such as facial and body treatments to spiritual, sanctuary-style retreats, to rigorous wellness programs that have taken the spa concept far beyond beauty and pampering, like the new Canyon Ranch Spa that will be opening this year in Miami Beach.

Exclusivity and privacy are of utmost importance to today's luxury traveler, so the newest luxury hotels and resorts are generally small and intimate. Many also include private villas in their plans, or feature the concept of a "hotel within a hotel" such as the newly opened Jade Mountain at Anse Chastanet in St. Lucia and the Evason Hideaway at Ana Mandara Resort in Vietnam. A similar concept in big city hotels is the private, concierge level floors that offer guests added privacy, special attention and amenities.

Luxury travelers demand recognition through highly personalized, intuitive service. In the highest luxury bracket, a personal butler for each individual guest is now the norm rather than the exception, with leading hoteliers significantly boosting their staff-to-guest ratios. Demand for the highest level of personalized, anticipatory service calls for extreme attention to detail and concierge service that is available 24-hours a day is mandatory at top-end luxury properties.

Individual styling in design is imperative also, and discerning clients look for properties with unique features that will distinguish them from all others. "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," says Gray.

Europe leads the way in one-of-a-kind luxury hotels being converted from historic palaces, castles, convents and monasteries. "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 Christine Gray who, in addition to being Editor, also holds a degree from a leading Architecture school.

Famous designers like Armani, Bulgari, Versace and the like, 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.

LuxuryTravelMagazine.com provides an unrivalled online resource of 6,000 luxury hotels and ultimate travel experiences. Subscribers can choose a destination and experience to suit their mood, from trend-setting boutique hotels to grand-luxe resorts and luxurious lodges and ranches to pampering spas, island hideaways, country houses with the finest food and wine, safaris in the wilderness, mountain-top retreats with mesmerizing views, luxurious trains and cruises to private yachts dropping anchor in enchanting places...the Luxury Travel Magazine website presents discerning travelers with a world of unforgettable destinations.

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