by Emily H. Bratcher at US News
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For some travelers, any hotel stay is a luxury: After all, someone else makes the bed, cleans the bathroom, sets out a continental breakfast and maybe even brings the morning paper. For travelers with more extravagant tastes, only the most lavish accommodations and services will do. But luxury comes at a price — a very steep one. So what exactly do you get for that four- or five-figure credit card charge? You might not believe it:
1. Royal Penthouse Suite at the President Wilson Hotel Geneva Cost: $65,000 a night.
For a lofty price, guests can enjoy 18,083 square feet of luxurious accommodations overlooking sparkling Lake Geneva. Enter the marble bathroom and guests will find their own personal hot tub. By the way, you’ll be scrubbing up with Acqua di Parma bath products. Room service is 24 hours, and rumor has it, this suite is très secure — with the ability to lockdown and watch suspicious hotel guests on closed-circuit TV. Of course there’s also satellite TV and a nearly limitless selection of movies and music. The suite also features a safe because if you can afford this room, you’ll be traveling with lots of treasures.
2. Royal Villa at the Grand Resort Lagonissi Athens Cost: $45,000 a night.
Nearly 4,500 square feet in size and overlooking the Aegean Sea, the Royal Villa drips with decadence. Several fireplaces, marble bathrooms and BVLGARI bath products, an indoor heated pool — and outdoor one — are just some of the amenities. Also at a guest’s disposal is a staff of four — one for personal training, another for spa treatments, a butler and a limo driver. And guests might even enjoy the exclusive service of flying to Athens by private jet, though certain conditions apply.
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3. Hugh Hefner Sky Villa at the Palms Casino & Resort Las Vegas Cost: $30,000 a night.
Yes, you can drop some serious dough in Vegas, and at the Palms Casino & Resort, you can drop five figures without even approaching a blackjack table. But then again, you’ll get to live large in the same suite as Kanye West (back in ’07). A full bar, a cantilevered Playboy pool (sorry, bunnies aren’t part of the package), a sunbathing deck, pop-up plasma TVs, a rotating king-size bed and a panoramic view of the Las Vegas Strip are just some of this suite’s accoutrements.
4. Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons New York City Cost: $40,000 a night.
The Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons gives guests a wide-angle view of Manhattan, on display from the nine-room suite’s glass balconies and floor-to-ceiling bay windows. Inside, guests will enjoy the creativity of Ty Warner, Peter Marino and I.M. Pei, who planned every detail from the 25-foot cathedral ceilings to the cut-glass chandeliers. If all this isn’t luxurious enough, penthouse guests are also promised the use of a personal butler, personal trainer/therapist and personal chauffeur.
5. Royal Plaza Suite at the Plaza Hotel New York City Cost: $30,000 a night.
The Plaza Hotel’s Royal Plaza Suite was inspired by Louis XV’s royal court. Sumptuous décor complements square footage — 4,400 to be exact — which is at a premium in the city that never sleeps. But along with all of that, guests will enjoy a state-of-the-art kitchen (for their personal chefs, of course!), a dining room that seats 12, a library lined with a thoughtful selection of books and magnificent views of Central Park South and Fifth Avenue. To top it all off, there are even 24-carat gold faucets in the bathrooms — yes bathrooms; there are three.
