Estates & Spaces

A mystery yacht has washed up on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday, with the motor running and no one onboard.  Authorities have been unsuccessful in locating its owner, and the 48-foot Sea Ray Sundancer luxury yacht is valued at around $1 million dollars, according to the company website. 

At this point of the mystery, authorities have located its previous owner, who sold it about two years ago.  Who knows how many times the vessel has changed hands after that sale, if any.  The luxury yacht is blue and white, with the name ‘Makin’ Waves’ and the most recent registration is out of Delaware.  Abandoned yacht is similar to one pictured at right.

There are two flags, a Mexican flag secured to the bow and an American flag at the stern.  Because the motor was running, and the strange circumstances of the abandoned yacht, foul play has not been ruled out, although no immediate clues were available onboard and no missing persons have been reported at sea.

For those of you who find New York to be expensive, take notice of London!  A luxury penthouse just sold for a staggering $220 million, located at One Hyde Park, a development in Knightsbridge.  This could be the most expensive apartment sale.

The prestigious One Hyde Park development features 86 luxury properties starting at the bargain rate of around $31 million. Interestingly, the sale of the $220 million dollar unit at One Hyde Park dwarfs the previous record holder in Britain, the James’ Square apartment in Westminster’s 8 St. that sold for $180 million in 2008.

Dear Imagine Lifestyles,

I will be coming to South Beach soon for a business trip, and assume I will be left to my own devices often.  I am free to stay where I please and would really like a luxury accommodation with a concierge who is knowledgeable of Miami.  I feel that the last time I visited I missed out on much of what Miami has to offer.  Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Mark, Sacramento, CA
 

After much fuss and hype, 25-year-old NBA star LeBron James has opted to make Miami his new home.  Now that the decision has been made, some feel the effects are being seen around the city already, in the form of price fluctuations.

Yes, LeBron’s departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers met with much opposition, as he turned his decision making process into a reality show of sorts, choosing to don the Miami Heat jersey in the end.  Now that LeBron will be joining us in sunny South Beach and Miami, some feel that real estate and restaurant pricing is changing slightly. 

If you live in South Florida and are up on your luxury gossip, you know about the $1.2 billion dollar ponzi scheme orchestrated by disbarred Florida attorney Scott Rothstein.  Mr. Rothstein has received his sentence of 50 years, imposed by U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn.

While the sentence was below the 100 year maximum for the charges Rothstein faced, he had hoped to receive a more lenient 30 years for assisting investigators.  Rothstein turned 48 years old on June 10th. 

The $1.2 billion dollar ponzi scheme afforded Rothstein such a broad range of amenities and luxury items, which were auctioned off recently.  The luxury items auctioned off raked in a cool $5.8 million dollars, which was of course funneled back to the investors he had wronged.  As previously reported, Imagine Lifestyles attended the Rothstein auction, and Items included:

The headline stealing ponzi scheme of disbarred Florida attorney Scott Rothstein has climaxed today, with his coveted luxury cars, yachts and toys auctioned off in efforts to pay back those he ripped off.  The auction held today fetched a lofty $5.8 million dollars, to be funneled back to the investors he wronged.  Imagine Lifestyles was there to witness history.

In just over one hour, the luxury auction unloaded 11 exotic cars, 4 yachts and 2 wave runners scored $5.8 million.  This is not much compared to his estimated $1.4 billion dollar investment fraud, but hey, every little million helps.

Don’t worry, keep spending.  This certainly seems to be the message communicated recently, based on encouraging jumps in the luxury spending department.

Yes, it seems that luxury shopping and spending are indeed making a comeback, with affluent buyers regaining confidence.  Another issue that has kept the wealthy from spending has been the fear of ‘conspicuous consumption’, with the economy in shambles it has been rather frowned upon to be seen spending ‘obscene’ amounts of money on luxury items.

To all my late-night television-loving fans, I have a bit of news on Conan O’Brien.  Amid much controversy and media frenzy, Conan seems to be stabilizing into his new network and timeslot, and apparently new living situation.

Upon finding his new home on television, at TBS, Conan has been marketing his luxury digs in order to literally find a new home, closer to the office I presume.  Conan’s luxury home on New York’s upper west side is reportedly in the closing stages for a sale of nearly $30 million.  This comes on the heels of Conan pocketing $32 million when he left NBC’s “The Tonight Show”, under acrimonious terms, so I guess you could say the man is not doing to shabby in the financial department.

You will not see a luxury helicopter like the EC145 parked alongside an available E-Class at your local dealer (conceal your disappointment), but you should be aware that luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is expanding its talents into other arenas.  These arenas include luxury yacht and luxury helicopter interior designs.

Ahh the Hamptons, synonymous with the rich, the famous, and well, money.  Nothing is too extravagant for those who can afford the finer things in life, like having a “house in the Hampton’s”, such as the house that was recently rented to an anonymous family for two weeks, at $500,000.  That is $35,000 per day for two weeks.  Gulp.

This could be the record for the most expensive rental in the history of the area. If this is not the most expensive rental, I want to know what is.  This puts even the most lavish of luxury hotels to shame.

Sometimes I like to peruse the high-end real estate ads to see what is on the market, but this time I was left with my jaw-agape, like the first time I ever encountered “Jon & Kate Plus 8”.  There is a $42 million dollar real estate listing.  That is more than a very impressive super yacht.  In fact, I assume I can purchase my own island for that, to escape the likes of Jon and Kate and the creepy “Octomom”.

The Trump hotel collection has just opened its latest posh location, in SoHo New York.  Yes, everyone knows that South Hampton is a luxurious location, and it has just gotten more so with the introduction of a Trump hotel.  The Trump hotel is located at 246 Spring Street, and is a dramatic addition to the city skyline.

Trump hotels are notorious for their attention to detail, very exquisite detail might we mention.  The luxury hotel in South Hampton opened its doors on April 9th, 2010 and features 391 elegantly appointed suites and rooms.  There are a mere 12 rooms per floor, for exclusive privacy, the ultimate escape.  There are also no less than ten luxury two-bedroom penthouse suites, the most in New York City.  Well, we expect nothing less from Trump.

Is it Oprah?  Maybe it is an oil tycoon, famous racecar driver, or perhaps a former child star?  Wrong-o.  It is the “Billion Dollar Man” himself, Donald Trump.  And how much was the most expensive house in the nation going for you ask?  That would be about $125 million dollars, please.

Unfortunately, Trump only received $100 million for his $41 million dollar investment (he bought it as a foreclosure property).  And the lucky new owner?  A Russian billionaire who plans to subdivide the luxury property.

The sprawling luxury estate is located in the sought-after north side of West Palm Beach, our neighbor to the north.  The views from the luxury Trump estate are primarily Ocean, boasting panoramic views provided by oversized windows.  The hallways are equally cavernous, feeling more like a long room.  You can definitely tell that this estate was designed to host parties and events. 

The sheer size of the Trump estate is gasp-worthy.  There are 18 bedrooms, and 22 baths, spanning approximately 80,000 square feet over 7 acres.  There are 500 lavish feet of private beachline on the property, where we assume you can either wear your latest swimwear, or go au-natural if you wish.  Hey, it is private. 

Inside, no expense was spared.  Visitors enter into a luxurious conservatory overlooking the Atlantic.  The kitchen is adorned with mahogany cabinetry and stainless steel modern appliances.  It seems like everywhere you look there is marble and granite.

The infinity edge pool features expansive Ocean views, and a hot tub.  The pool is 140 feet long and 40 feet wide, so you won’t be crowded by other swimmers, ever.  That is a mean game of "Marco-Polo". 

There are three “cottages” on the property, if you consider 2 bedrooms, 2 baths and a kitchen a mere cottage. 
As we mentioned, this property was a foreclosure, and was on the market for over 2 years. 

What is crazy is that Donald did not even live in this estate during the time it was on the market; he resided at his Marlago golf course, which is west of A1A, with inferior views of the Ocean.

We are sure Trump's realtor heaved a heavy sigh of relief to sell the luxury property, they certainly did not want to be FIRED...(Sorry…you know we love our jabs).

For more stories on luxury essentials, luxury news and Trump Towers Chicago, follow links to our luxury blog.

Post by Imagine Lifestyles Luxury Rentals

The First World Hotel is located in Genting, which also happens to be home to the largest resort in the world.  We are getting the distinct impression that Genting likes to do things big.

So it certainly seems fitting that one of the world’s largest hotels graces the world’s largest resort.  The First World Hotel boasts a staggering 6,118 rooms, making it the third largest hotel in the world in terms of number of rooms.  We wonder how large their maid staff is…

For those of you who feel that size matters, meet Genting, the largest resort in Malaysia…oh yeah, and the world.  Touting itself as the “City of Entertainment”, it could be called the Las Vegas of Malaysia.

Which makes sense, as it is home to Malaysia’s only casino.  This large-scale luxury resort has entertainment for all.  Genting also has bragging rights to the fastest and longest cable car in Southeast Asia and two theme parks.