Luxury Travel, places to stay and fabulous ways to get there.
by Roberta Murphy Mexico is struggling with a number of serious problems, including failed real estate developments along the Baja coastline–just south of the San Diego border. From the northern tip of Tijuana’s coastline down to Ensenada, Baja beach areas are spotted with the rusting remains of failed high rise condo projects. And one of the biggest failures is the Trump Ocean Resort Baja just north of Punta Bandera, where…
by Scott Murphy I grew up in the mountains at Big Bear Lake and spent many winters building igloos. Behind all the effort was the dream that I would one day get to sleep overnight in one of these icy creations. It now appears someone in Switzerland has beaten me to the punch. Perched 8,500 ft in the Swiss mountains above 5-star resorts sits Davos, Switzerland. Here one will find…
by Roberta Murphy It seems that almost daily we hear about segments of the broad luxury market losing not only their luster, but even their footing. There are reports that luxury retailers are bracing for a crash slowdown, and that even real estate in super-rich Dubai is beginning to show signs of weakness. In fact, says Tim Blixseth, It’s as if the whole world had a financial heart attack. Wall…
by Roberta Murphy Our shrinking global village is an abiding source of amazement, and I often marvel at the diversity of countries represented by the readers (or perusers) of this blog. Just for fun, I decided to check the countries of origin for the past 30 hours. Most visitors (or at least the internet service) hail from the United States. But the balance of the world, according to our SiteMeter…
by Roberta Murphy Yes, there are plenty of luxury home foreclosures in California–and you can now search them whenever you wish. When in San Francisco last month for the Inman Connect conference, I was at last able to meet the foreclosure wizards at Foreclosure Radar–and make a decision to go with them. We have long been searching for a comprehensive foreclosure search tool to offer the readers of our San…
Roberta Murphy Investors are moving back into the San Diego real estate market with impatient wallets. And luxury real estate investors are no exception. They are seeking well-priced foreclosures, pre-negotiated short sales and most favored of all: Real estate investments with income streams. So-called bargains in sub-marginal areas may not be the wisest real estate investment move anywhere. Perceived bargains in outlying markets may be nothing of the sort, and…
by Roberta Murphy Azulera Resort Village on Costa Ricas breathtaking Guanacaste coast promises to be the luxury resort destination within the next two years. By then, it is projected, Greg Normans challenging beach-to-mountain golf course will be completed as will the five- star Hyatt Regency Hotel and the 64 ultra-luxury condos that will be contained within this gated Brasilito complex. The bio-sensitive Hyatt Regency Azulera Resort and Spa will coexist…
by Roberta Murphy More and more people from around the world are choosing to spend at least part of their lives in coastal Costa Rica–and more than a few decide there just might be no better place to spend the rest of their lives. Why? 1. A warm climate, beaches, mountains, jungles–and breathtaking biodiversity. The people and government of Costa Rica are committed to preserving Costa Rica’s clean air, beautiful…
by Roberta Murphy Peter Brady over at the Lussorian reports that the new luxury toy on the luxury home block is the loaded Hummer golf cart. Also called a Mini Hummer, it comes in a number of configurations. Our favorite is this sleek little roadster with leather upholstery, mobile video system, and a Sony XPlode sound system. The golf ball washer is extra. Hummer is creating a lot of excitement…
