CELEBRITY STAYS
Celebrity Stays - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Celebrity Stays | |||||
| By: Prue Rushton and Hilary Doling, Issue 34 - Autumn 2008 | |||||
| THE RICH AND FAMOUS VALUE STYLE, LUXURY, SERVICE AND PRIVACY IN THEIR CHOICE OF HOLIDAY DESTINATION – ALL GOOD REASONS WHY YOU WOULD WANT TO STAY IN THEIR HOUSES AND HOTELS. | |||||
| Robert Redford - Sundance Village | |||||
| “There’s no question in my mind where my happiness is. It’s with art. And Sundance is about art. Sundance is my experiment in environmental stewardship and artistic expression”, Robert Redford has said of his 6,000-acre property an hour south of Salt Lake City and not far from Park City where the Sundance film festival is held each year. In the winter you can ski in the stunning Wasatch mountain range, in summer there’s hiking, fishing and biking. Redford first built a house here in the 1960s but decided to share his dream location with like-minded guests in 1988. You stay in condominiums made of hewn pine and stone along a creek or higher in the hills. Above these are privately owned houses, 12 of which can be rented. The Tree House restaurant in the Sundance village centre has Redford’s own collection of native Indian memorabilia on its walls. | |||||
| www.sundanceresort.com | |||||
| Frances Ford Coppola - Blancaneaux | |||||
| After his experiences in the Philippines during the epic filming of Apocalypse Now Frances Ford Coppola went in search of a more permanent jungle stay. He found it in Belize. Tucked away in the Mayan Mountains he has carved out Blancaneaux resort. Set with villas and cabanas, the star is Coppola’s own villa. Flash thatch on stilts, it’s an open-air odyssey of the director’s home style with his personal antiques and art. Turtle Inn, on Turtle Island, occupying prime Belize beachfront, is equally intimate and more poignant with Coppola building this resort up out of the ruins of a hurricane. Here, Frances Ford Coppola Pavilion offers you a more Balinese-inspired take on luxury with a beautiful black and white tiled pool. Across land on the west coast of Guatemala, La Lancha completes Coppola’s resort trilogy. While not equipped with a personalised home, the resort still carries through on Coppola’s fancy for relaxed tribal looks. | |||||
| www.blancaneaux.com | |||||
| Michael Douglas & Catherine Zeta Jones - Ariel Sands Residence Club Hotel & Spa | |||||
| Michael Douglas’ grandfather was a former Attorney General of Bermuda and his mother was born there so the actor has been going to the tiny island all his life. He and his mother’s family, the Dills, owned Ariel Sands Beach Club built on land that has been in the Dill family for five generations. “To me, Bermuda is a real family spot,” says Douglas. The resort closed this January and in May construction begins on an ambitious new project, the Ariel Sands Residence Club Hotel & Spa: a complete rebuild which will include 60 two- and three-bedroom villas and some guest suites. Named after the sprite in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the new Ariel project promises an even more luxurious place to stay. So what does Michael Douglas recommend you eat and drink while you toast his new plans? His island favourite is Shark hash with herbs and spices and he recommends Dark and Stormy (dark rum and ginger beer) cocktails. | |||||
| www.arielsands.com | |||||
| Liz Hurley - 11 Cadogan Gardens | |||||
| Set on Lord Chelsea’s Estate between Buckingham Palace and Harrods, Number Eleven Cadogan Estate is where you come to play ladies. Draped in Colefax & Fowler and William Morris block prints it’s set for Lily Langtree, who actually once lived next door. Liz Hurley used to nip in here during her girl-about-town days and loved it so much that she bought into the partnership. Be ready for plumped up pillows accompanied by a nice cup of tea and a soak in a deep bath tub with Molton Brown. | |||||
| www.number-eleven.co.uk | |||||
| David Copperfield - Musha Cay | |||||
| We weren’t at first convinced about getting into David Copperfield’s bed. However, like the master illusionist he is, we have come to believe in the absolute magic of Musha Cay at Copperfield Bay in the Bahamas. Here, Copperfield proves he is capable of making you feel like you have vanished from civilisation. Only the best bits remain. Five colonial-style bungalows perch on private parts of the island – from beachfront to mountaintop. Catering for 24 guests – ideally of your choosing – you have 25 sugar sand beaches at your seclusion. | |||||
| www.mushacay.com | |||||
| Bono & The Edge - The Clarence | |||||
| Forget living out rock star glam, U2’s Bono and Edge have opted for a sober lifestyle at The Clarence Hotel in Dublin. They are revealed as sophisticated neat freaks for Shaker furniture’s simple clean lines. The intermittent flashes of crimson, royal blue, amethyst, gold and chocolate through the décor may be a diminutive bow to Bono’s coloured shades. The two-storey penthouse overlooking the River Liffey has a baby grand and a hot tub. However, the Octagon Bar looks like a place you can imagine Bono chatting with Desmond Tutu rather than bantering with Bob. Warm milk runs through the veins of The Clarence. Its greatest pitch is to kids with promises of milk and cookies at bed turndown and mocktails for over twelves. Sid Vicious is truly dead. | |||||
| www.theclarence.ie | |||||
| Princess Margaret - Les Jolie Eaux | |||||
| One can hardly blame Margaret for wanting to forgo cold, crusty England for the wildly flamboyant blue of Mustique. And if she chose to get down with that toddler Roddy Llewellyn while she was at it, then jolly good show. Margaret knew how to live large and she did it beautifully in Les Jolies Eaux. A Bahamas-style palace on a cliff top, sadly Margaret didn’t live to see its two exceptional additions – a master bedroom with plunge pool and a dining pavilion either side of the main pool. Some things are still the same with Judy the original cook overseeing food, and staff that continue on through evening cocktail hour. Long may luxe reign. | |||||
| www.islandhideaways.com | |||||
| Mick Jagger - Mustique | |||||
| The snake-hipped, rubber-lipped rocker has owned a house on Mustique for years. His private home is available for rent at around $18,000 a week. However money alone won’t buy you a slice of Mick’s personal paradise; the singer personally reviews each eager applicant. If you pass the test you will find six separate pavilions all built on the edge of the beach united by a pond of golden koi and other Japanese design touches. You’ll also get to drive Mr Jagger’s jeep and have his six staff at your beck and call for the duration of your stay. | |||||
| www.mustique.villascaribe.com | |||||
| Richard Branson - Necker Island | |||||
| The billionaire businessman’s Necker Island Retreat has hosted the likes of Stephen Spielberg, Princess Diana and many more. Before Branson built his home the island was uninhabited, now you (and up to 27 friends) can rent the whole island, which includes the Grand house and surrounding villas for around $47,000 a week. These days Branson makes a part of his living by creating stylish resorts worldwide, all of which are more affordable than Necker Island. One of our favourites is the Ulusaba safari camp in the exclusive Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa, where lodges are built on a rocky hillside overlooking the bush and wildlife. Or you could book into Branson’s exotic and stylish Moroccan Ryad, Kasbah Tamadot or Terra Rotja in Spain. Skiers will be keen to know that the newest addition to the portfolio is The Lodge in Verbier, Switzerland, and Branson has also recently purchased Moskito Island near Virgin Gorda to build another Necker-style hideaway. | |||||
| www.virginlimitededition.com | |||||
| James Bond - Goldeneye Resort | |||||
| Well alright. Not 007, but the bed where his creator dreamed him up is not a bad second. Ian Fleming came here to Jamaica to write all 17 Bond books. Later it would become Goldeneye Resort, but the original Fleming-designed residence remains with a glorious bedroom view out into the blue and a private garden bath. Set away from three other villas, it is the perfect playground for wanton fantasising, if not acting out, your own Bond moments. | |||||
| www.goldeneyehotel.com | |||||
| John Huston - St Clerans & The Yacht Griff | |||||
| Granted Merv Griffin’s bed might not be one that you’re leaping to get into. It’s therefore important to remember that Griffin’s hotel, St Clerans was once owned by John Huston. A beautiful greystone manor set in 45 acres of rampant green, a little octagonal wing that was once Angelica Huston’s bedroom still bears her name. Nevertheless, Merv does show that he has taste (there is a world class Japanese Chef) at the stylishly refurbished St Clerans and if power is your aphrodesiac, there is a Griffin Suite. Merv also takes to sea stays with The Yacht Griff, an all white luxury cruiser. | |||||
| www.stclerans.com, www.yachtgriff.com | |||||
| Juan Carlos Ferrero - Hotel Ferrero | |||||
| While the Spanish tennis star is currently on the comeback trail, he has made use of his down time. Hotel Ferrero is housed inside a 19th century farmhouse set in mountains near Valencia and the hometown where Ferrero grew up. The 12 suites are sexy and streamlined, much like the man himself. Many of them have a Jacuzzi on a terrace. Fitness and relaxation peak poolside, surrounded by white curtain bale pavilions, and in the treatment spa. | |||||
| www.hotelferrero.com | |||||
| Jim Kerr - Hotel Villa Angela | |||||
| Having wooed our ears and women as diverse as Chrissy Hind and Patsy Kensit, we like to think Jim Kerr (of the band Simple Minds) knows a thing or two about romance. While the décor at Hotel Villa Angela may fluctuate between classic Italian meets rock glam, the overall effect is simple away-from-it-all elegance. Each room has a view over Taormina’s Naxos Bay and Mount Etna with terraces you can choose to dine on. All of this should prove an exquisite distraction to the owner’s leaning towards clam-shaped bedheads. It must be a rock god kind of thing. | |||||
| www.hotelvillaangela.com | |||||
| Neil Morrissey - Hurst House | |||||
| Neil Morrissey made a career out of turning women off in television’s Men Behaving Badly. It is therefore all the more surprising that his input into the revisioning of Dylan Thomas’ house into Hurst House on the Marsh portrays him as a louche. Full of cool modern metallics meets rich satins and wood with sculptured low lighting, there is also a spa and cinema to add to the comfort zones. | |||||
| www.hurst-house.co.uk | |||||
| David Coulthard - Columbus Monaco | |||||
| Given that Monaco tends to be a happy racing ground for David Coulthard, it makes somewhat perfect sense that he would want to set up a place to stay here too. Columbus Monaco is the perfect antidote to the speed and colour of Formula One. The suites are muted neutrals, the bar and dining room are cosy chic. Perhaps the biggest blast comes from the hit of blue views that the hotel has overlooking the Riviera. | |||||
| www.columbushotels.com | |||||
| Olivia Newton-John - Gaia Resort & Spa | |||||
| Australia’s best-loved singer has created a heaven on earth in the hinterland behind Byron Bay. Together with her close friend Gregg Cave, she dreamt of a sanctuary that offered solace for the body and soul and Gaia Retreat & Spa was born. Gaia means ‘mother earth’. “This is a place where you can communicate with nature and get a sense of spirituality and what is really important in life – that’s why Gaia is the perfect name”, says Newton John. Individual villas are surrounded by lush tropical vegetation and wide verandahs have stunning views across the hinterland. The sublime Amala Spa offers endless ways to relax and rejuvenate in this very special part of the world. | |||||
| www.gaiaretreat.com.au | |||||
| WATCH OUT FOR... Robert de Niro | |||||
| Finally, de Niro’s long-awaited downtown hotel has a name and a website. Spies are saying that The Greenwich Hotel will have Tibetan silk rugs, and Carrara marble and deep tubs in the bathroom, www.thegreenwichhotel.com | |||||
| Leonardo di Caprio | |||||
| DiCaprio has brought his ideal island – Blackadore Caye – in Belize and has reportedly struck a deal with Four Seasons to commence building an eco resort this year. | |||||
| Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf | |||||
| You can buy into Agassi and Graf’s dream world through a hotel-serviced condo venture: The Fairmont Tamarack, where the main requisite seems that you’re into golf, skiing, biking and all that go, go, www.fairmonttamarack.com | |||||
| CELEBRITY CHEAP CHIC | |||||
| BIG BUDGET GLAMOUR GIVES WAY TO SENTIMENTAL STYLE IN THIS INDIVIDUAL COLLECTION OF AFFORDABLE STAR STAYS. | |||||
| John Malkovich - The Big Sleep Hotel | |||||
| John Malkovich and ‘everyman’ consciousness are not an immediate association, yet Malkovich has delivered The Big Sleep Hotel that serves up affordable sexy chic in both Cardiff and Cheltenham. A bit budget Barbarella in style – whites, bright bubble shapes and the occasional shag pile – this modern cool is centrally-located for shopping and clubbing in either city. | |||||
| www.thebigsleephotel.com | |||||
| Kate Piersen - Lazy Meadow Motel | |||||
| Kate Piersen kicks into the motel biz with retro 50s kitsch. Lazy Meadow Motel offers rooms that could happily house Doris Day and the Rat Pack on country holiday. Powered by superb 50s graphics and mid-century modern, there are also silver Airstream campers for hire. Set on nine acres in the Catskills Mountains, turning back time is just a quick road trip from New York. | |||||
| www.lazymeadow.com | |||||
| Leslie Caron - Leslie Caron | |||||
| Leslie Caron has channelled Gigi into her Auberge – La Lucarne aux Chouettes. Sweetly delicate, the handpicked attention to detail shows through in rooms with canopied antique beds, toile fabrics and hand-painted tiles. There is also a nearby Residence to make your own while you explore the chateaux of Burgundy. | |||||
| www.lesliecaron-auberge.com | |||||
| Nigel Mansell - Woodbury Park Hotel | |||||
| Mansell shifts down through the F1 gears to transport you into the slow, soft (and safer) sporting world of golf. Woodbury Park Hotel, Golf and Country Club is all about acres of Devon green and two fairways (both 9- and 18-hole courses). Forgo flashiness for world class comfort wrapped with a few spa treatments. | |||||
| www.woodburypark.co.uk | |||||
| Clint Eastwood - Mission Ranch | |||||
| Don’t arrive expecting Dirty Harry. Mission Ranch represents a quainter Clint Eastwood who developed a sentimental attachment to this 1850s farmhouse back in 1986. Having rescued it from condo calamity, Eastwood shipped in crews to knock-up handcrafted furniture that would fill 31 individually decorated rooms. Here the slow country tunes vibe wins over action adventure. | |||||
| www.missionranchcarmel.com | |||||
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