Luxury Unplugged

Less IS more! Back to basics in luxury travel…

2009-11-07T14:36:23Z

Ever want to simply ‘forget it all’? Get away from high tech amenities? Escape the fast paced media barrage?!

In the new age world of high tech glitz, these hotels have adopted the back to basic approach according to Food and Wine Magazine.

St. John, USVI: In the U.S. Virgin Islands, Caneel Bay recently removed TVs and telephones from its 166 rooms.

Papoose Creek, Montana: The new Lodge at Sun Ranch offers luxuriously refurbished homesteader cabins in a spectacular setting.

Lake Malawi, Africa: And at Malawi’s new Pumulani resort, guests can avoid motorized transport by exploring Lake Malawi on a wooden dhow, a traditional African sailboat handcrafted by local builders.

And to add to this list:

Taupo, New Zealand: True retreats in every sense, the rooms at the Huka Lodge at Huka Falls, Taupo, New Zealand are harmonious and deliberately simple in approach. Designed to allow the beauty of the landscape to dominate while providing soft light and layers of well appointed luxury. Luxuriously sleep under a mesh canopy bed in your private cabin alongside the Taupo River. All that is missing is… Brad Pitt…

In British Columbia, Canada, Canadian Mountain Holidays will fly you to a remote lodge where you will enjoy nothing but wonderful food, friends and champagne powder …. with the occasional massage and hot tub thrown in. Better than fantastic…

Get back to basics …

Luxurious thought of the day…

2009-11-06T13:18:39Z

What would you do if you knew that you couldn’t fail?

Robert Heinlein

And where are the ladies??! …

2009-11-06T03:37:20Z

“The only persons who are educated are the ones who have learned how to learn… and change.” Carl Rogers

It is commonly thought that higher education brings great accomplishment and success. Most of us grew up believing that education and earning power were synonymous with each other.

But these days, that could be questioned.

Below, luxury home digest identifies a partial list of billionaires who dropped out of school and went on to become outrageous successes in the technology, entertainment and fashion fields.

1. Sir Richard Branson dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and soon founded both Virgin Records and Virgin Atlantic Airways–as well as 300 other companies. He also bought a 79-acre Caribbean Island at the age of 24

2. Kirk Kerkorian is a Las Vegas Legend with big stakes in Bellagio, Excaliber, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, New York-New York, Circus Circus, The Mirage, and more. He dropped out of school in the 8th Grade.

3. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, needs little introduction. He and wife Melinda are world-class philanthropists in addition to being the wealthiest couple in the world. Most of us know he was a Harvard dropout who couldn’t resist teaming up with:

4. Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft who dropped out of Washington State University to join buddy Bill in their MS venture. He ended up with over 100 million shares of Microsoft and today owns 12 pro sports teams, lots of real estate, and big stakes in other tech and media companies including Dreamworks Studios.

5. Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College after just one semester and went on to found Apple Computer and become the largest shareholder in Disney Studios. A dropout earning $1 per year might have bolstered my parents admonishments, were it not that Mr. Jobs also owns 30 million shares of Apple plus perks.

6. Larry Ellison, flashy founder of Oracle, dropped out of Illinois’ University of Urbana-Champaign (as well as the University of Chicago) and in 1977 invested $2000 to start Oracle Corporation, which is today the second largest software company in the world. He also pilots his own jets.

7. Michael Dell dropped out of the University of Texas at Austin after starting a little computer company he called PC’s Unlimited. Wildly successful, this dropout went on to develop Dell Computers into a name with worldwide recognition.

8. David Geffen, a beacon in the entertainment industty, was another University of Texas at Austin dropout. He was also a cofounder of DreamWorks–and likely shares genius and coffee with Paul Allen (above).

9. The Ralph Lauren name has become an icon in the fashion world. The City College of New York dropped out and founded the Polo Ralph Lauren brand. He reportedly got an early start, though, by selling neckties in high school where he declared his intentions to become a millionaire.

10. Sheldon Adelsonis a casino legend/kingpin and Wall Street wizard, who is also a City College of New York dropout. He is CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp which also holds the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center. Adelson also help found the COMDEX computer trade show.

Any other notable billionaire dropouts that we failed to mention? And… where are the ladies??!….

Come-on, Come-on and dance all night…

2009-11-06T01:49:26Z

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Remember the days when we made finger puppets across the home movie screen? Barking dogs, bouncing rabbits, fluttering butterflies and long necked turkeys….

Well step aside, friends…

Reknowned across the globe for its wonderful blend of imagination, athleticism and creative talent, PILOBOLUS began in 1971 as only a small dance company. Nearly 40 years later, it has evolved into a pioneering American cultural institution of the 21st century.

The company now revolves around three nuclei of activities: the PILOBOLUS DANCE THEATRE, the umbrella for a series of radically innovative and globally acclaimed concert dance companies; the PILOBOLUS INSTITUTE, unique educational programming for schools, colleges, and public arts organizations as well as a series of classes and leadership workshops for corporate executives, employees, and business schools; and PILOBOLUS CREATIVE SERVICES, a division specializing in a wide range of movement services for film, advertising, publishing, commercial clients, and corporate.

Conant O’Brien found them last April… Crank the volume, sit back and …. close that jaw…!

Luxurious Thought of the Day…

2009-11-04T12:54:12Z

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you are a leader.

John Quincy Adams

Life can be so sweet!

2009-10-28T17:02:51Z

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Location, style, charm and beauty. Exquisite detail crowns every corner of this elegant Kennebunk Beach home. Breathtaking windows look out to a distant sea from spacious beamed rooms. A stunning conservatory makes for a perfect office or a room for lounging that you will never want to leave. Style and taste everywhere you look. Two beautiful beaches, a stunning golf course and 7 tennis courts are just steps away. Grab your coat and get your hat…!

$1,195,000

Betsy Coughlan 1.207.229.3661

Maine’s chic-est! And on sale too!!!

2009-10-28T02:37:43Z

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Revolutionary in concept, this exquisite Kennebunk Beach home sets new standards for design. Impeccable style and luxury meet sophisticated living in the most beautiful of surroundings. With the ocean crashing outside the 21 foot Nana-wall door system and in-wall speakers humming Jack Johnson’s In Between Dreams, there is nothing not to love while you count the waves and the stars. Mahogany trim, state-of-the-art appliances, a barrel fir ceiling, radiant under floor heating, floating sinks, solar heated domestic hot water, built in I-pod docks, underground irrigation and beautiful landscaping, this is the ultimate seaside home.

The perfect ‘pied-a-mer’. $1,295,000.

(Betsy Coughlan 1.207.229.3661)

Luxurious thought of the day…

2009-10-28T11:55:14Z

“Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.”

~ Lionel Hampton ~

Every Bullet has a Target… Bullets4Peace

2009-11-07T13:43:50Z

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The showstopper at ROCK Fashion Week 2009 in Miami was – hands down – the remarkable show put on by designer Raffi Anteby commemorating the one-year anniversary Hollywoods most rapidly growing jewelry craze - Bullets 4Peace. With nothing worn but the stunning bullet jewelry, models in body paint danced with fire, water and lights to speak about and exemplify their ‘bullet’s’ significance.

Raffi was a soldier in Israel who lost his entire platoon, and later watched his best friend shot 18 times. This inspired the ‘Bullet’ jewelry which is intended to make a statement that people can’t be so quick with the trigger and the use of firearms. The name ‘Bullets4Peace’ came from Raffi’s mother.

Now, diamond studded, gold, platinum, bronze and silver in twelve designs of bullet jewelry are being worn by the likes of such celebrities as Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Gloria Estefan, Jaime Foxx, Snoop Dogg and Eva Longoria. The line aims to benefit his Reloading Life Foundation, which includes 12 bullets of 12 different designs with proceeds donated to 12 charities each year, including the launch of Raffi’s Every Bullet Has a Target program. The program is designed to help create awareness and raise money for various charitable organizations by pairing individual celebrities with jewelry pieces.

Luxurious thought of the day…

2009-10-25T15:42:23Z

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”
Frederick Keonig