Schloss Elmau, built by the architect Carl Sattler in the style of Reformarchitektur during WW1 between 1914 and 1916, is a two-story listed monument with hipped roof, tower and porch, situated between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald in Bavaria. It lies at the foot of the Wetterstein mountains in a Naturschutzgebiet (nature reserve), belonging to the Krün municipality. The land was purchased in 1912 by the Lutheran theologian Johannes Müller (1864-1949), brother-in-law of Carl Sattler, who wrote articles now widely considered as Anti-Judaism. Prince Maximilian of Baden, Reichskanzler in 1918, and the Lutheran theologian Adolf von Harnack were close friends. Financier of the building was Elsa Gräfin Waldersee, née Haniel. There were eleven children, including Ingrid, Bernhard and Sieglinde. read more…
Jumeirah Beach Hotel is a hotel in the coastal residential area Jumeirah of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The hotel, which opened in 1997, is operated by the Dubai-based hotelier Jumeirah. The hotel contains 598 rooms and suites, 19 beachfront villas, and 20 restaurants and bars. This wave-shaped hotel complements the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, which is adjacent to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. The hotel occupies a location on the beach. Visitors to the hotel have at total of 33,800 square metres (364,000 sq ft) of beach for their use. Beside the hotel is the Wild Wadi Water Park. All guests in the hotel have unlimited access to the waterpark. read more…
Mamula (also known as Lastavica) is an uninhabited islet in the Adriatic Sea, within the southwestern Montenegrin municipality of Herceg Novi. Mamula is located between Prevlaka and Luštica peninsulas at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor. This small islet is of circular shape, and has 200m in diameter. It is 3.4 nautical miles (6.3 km) away from Herceg Novi. During the period of the Venetian Republic rule, the island was known as Rondina. read more…
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line (known as Cunard-White Star Line when the vessel entered service). Built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Queen Mary along with her sister ship, RMS Queen Elizabeth, were built as part of Cunard’s planned two-ship weekly express service between Southampton, Cherbourg and New York. The two ships were a British response to the superliners built by German and French companies in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Queen Mary was the flagship of the Cunard Line from May 1936 until October 1946 when she was replaced in that role by Queen Elizabeth. read more…
The Plaza Hotel, located in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan, New York City, is a landmark 20-story luxury hotel and condominium apartment building, owned by an Indian conglomerate, Sahara India Pariwar. With a height of 250 ft (76 m) and a length of 400 ft (120 m), the hotel occupies the west side of Grand Army Plaza, from which it derives its name, and extends along Central Park South in Manhattan. Fifth Avenue extends along the east side of Grand Army Plaza. The Plaza Hotel is recognized as a Historic Hotel of America by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. read more…
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel in Manhattan in New York City. The hotel has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York. The first, bearing the same name, was built in two stages, as the Waldorf Hotel and the Astor Hotel, which accounts for its dual name. That original site was situated on Astor family properties along Fifth Avenue, opened in 1893, and designed by Henry J. Hardenbergh. It was demolished in 1929 to make way for the construction of the Empire State Building. The present building, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets in Midtown Manhattan, is a 47-story 190.5 m (625 ft) Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultze and Weaver, which was completed in 1931. The current hotel was the world’s tallest hotel from 1931 until 1963, when it was surpassed by Moscow’s Hotel Ukraina by 7 metres (23 ft). An icon of glamour and luxury, the current Waldorf Astoria is one of the world’s most prestigious and best known hotels. Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts is a division of Hilton Hotels, and a portfolio of high-end properties around the world, now operate under the name, including New York. read more…
The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is a historic luxury hotel located on the Malecón in the middle of Vedado in Havana, Cuba. It stands on Taganana hill a few metres from the sea, and offers a view of Havana Harbour, the seawall and the city. The New York architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White designed the hotel, which features a mix of styles. It opened in 1930, when Cuba was a prime travel destination for Americans, long before the United States embargo against Cuba. In its 80+ years of existence, the hotel has had many important guests. The hotel was built on the site of the Santa Clara Battery, which dates back to 1797. Part of the battery has been preserved in the hotel’s gardens, including two large coastal guns dating from the late 19th Century. There is also a small museum there featuring the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. During the crisis, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara set up their headquarters there to prepare the defence of Havana from aerial attack. read more…
Cheyenne Mountain is a triple-peaked mountain in El Paso County, Colorado, southwest of downtown Colorado Springs. The mountain serves as a host for military, communications, recreational, and residential functions. Homesteading on the mountain began in 1867 and the mountain was the site of resorts and retreats beginning in the 1880s. Spencer Penrose, who built The Broadmoor in 1918, bought many of the properties on the mountain and built the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Cheyenne Mountain Highway, Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun, a lodge on one of the mountain peaks, and a retreat at Emerald Valley. The site of the lodge has become a wilderness Cloud Camp and Emerald Valley is now the site of The Broadmoor’s Ranch at Emerald Valley. Land on Cheyenne Mountain that had once been owned by The Broadmoor is now the site of luxury homes. A community, Overlook Colony, that began in 1911 still resides on the mountain. read more…
The Phoenicia Hotel Beirut is a historic 5-star luxury hotel situated in the Minet El Hosn neighborhood of Beirut in Lebanon. It is located on Rue Fakhreddine near the Corniche Beirut promenade and walking-distance from Beirut Central District, and a few kilometers from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport. The Phoenicia is part of the worldwide InterContinental Hotels Group, but it dropped the actual use of the chain name in 2012. The Phoenicia was built by the Lebanese businessman Najib Salha, who founded La Société des Grands Hotels du Liban (SGHL) in 1953. It was designed by the noted American architect Edward Durell Stone, working with American architect Joseph Salerno and local architects Ferdinand Dagher and Rodolphe Elias. The design showed Levantine influences in its high ceilings, sweeping staircases and palatial pillars. The hotel’s interiors and furniture were contracted to the New York firm of William M. Ballard and were designed by Neal Prince, who was responsible for the interior decoration of most Intercontinental Hotels at the time. read more…
