A Fortune A Night

A Fortune A Night

By Angad B. Sodhi

Most people in the world are crying recession, but there are obviously a select few who don't feel the need to cut down on their holiday budgets, which is why the world's most exclusive and expensive hotels are laughing all the way to the bank.

According to Wealth Bulletin's annual survey of the world's most expensive hotels, these vacation dwellings seem to have no problem filling up their uber expensive suites, and in some cases, even doubling their room prices to cope with the high demand.

The survey lists the Royal Penthouse Suite at the President Wilson Hotel in Geneva as being the most expensive room in the world, at $65,000 (Rs 31.78 lakh) a night.

This four-bedroom suite with bullet proof walls and windows covers the entire top floor of the hotel and is almost twice as expensive as the nine-room Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, last year's winner, which comes in No. 2 with a tag of $35,000 (Rs 17 lakh) a night.

And with the incredible demand for the suite that offers stunning views of Mount Blanc and Lake Geneva, the Wilson has doubled the penthouse's tariff from last year's level. The suite is so exclusive that the only way you can book it is if you directly call the hotel's chairman.

Vivian Deuschl, Ritz-Carlton Hotels spokeswoman, said in an interview to Wealth Bulletin, that rich leisure travellers were playing a big role in upping the demand.

"Last year they might have taken three or four cheaper holidays. This year they are taking one big vacation, but pulling out all the stops," Deuschl said.

The Presidential Suite at the Hotel Cala di Volpe in Sardinia, which is at No. 3, is a new entrant to the list at $34,000 (Rs 16.66 lakh).

Joining the Cala di Volpe at the fourth and fifth places, respectively, are two new entrants, Villa La Cupola at Rome's Westin Excelsior and The Presidential Suite at Tokyo's Ritz-Carlton, where guests can order a Diamonds Are Forever Martini, which costs $ 18,000 (Rs 8.79 lakh), and is served with a one-carat diamond at the bottom of the glass.

But not every hotel seems to be moving up on the tariff scale. The Bridge Suite at The Atlantis in the Bahamas has cut down its nightly rate from $25,000 (Rs 12.22 lakh) to $22,000 (Rs 10.75 lakh) and even this price is negotiable.