Panasonic and designers Masaaki Hiromura and Takaaki Nakamura have created a capsule hotel which seems to be getting really big in the US. This futuristic hotel will soon be adopted as the norm in the West but has already become the rage in Japan.

While Japanese hotel industry has always suffered from space constraints and lack of large areas, they have turned the bane into a boon and have effectively begun to design hotels and rooms that are tiny but aesthetic in nature. It is almost small as a coffin and would come with a chamber for sleeping has been installed in the 9H facility in Kyoto. It also comes with a sleeping environment system and would soon be the norm for future hotels in Japan.

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The name Disney will now be known for things other than the vivacious colors and the loud celebrations, thanks to the inception of the Disney Vacation Club. As part of the new endeavour, the famous brand is now offering the Treehouse Villas at its Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. We hear that it is the perfect holidaying place with a kiss of luxury as it revives the treehouse living concept.

Each and every treehouse villa has been constructed so to look like a giant 3-D puzzle. The new resort includes 60 three-bedroom homes that go as high as 10 feet off the ground with the help of pedestals and beams. But that’s just on the outside as the interior flaunts all modern aminities like the cathedral ceilings, granite countertops, a barbecue grill complete with the flat TV to keep you entertained. Each villa is large enough to accommodate nine people.

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Tired of cheap supermarket liquor? Not anymore. There is a soon-to-be released miracle machine for all those of you who want to sip on quality spirits without having to spend too much. A creation of Dragons Den veteran and entrepreneur Casey Jones, this wonderful gadget comes at a neat price of 350 pounds.

Claims are that this ice-bucket look alike can turn any cheap booze into a bottle of vintage in just 30 minutes. The space-age ultrasound technology behind has garnered a lot of interest. Leisure chain Hotel Du Vin is even in talks about promoting the working title ‘Ultrasonic Wine Ager’.

There is yet another plus point that this wine ager has. It eliminates chances of a hangover. Because of the chemical changes occurring, the alcohol becomes easily absorbable by the kidneys. By the way, Jones has also tried the gadget on orange juice. Not only the juice was fresher but it even looked brighter.

A very attractive product that shall pull all restaurants, bars, pubs, hotels and home brewers like a magnet!
Via dailymail

When I read about the story of this long lost Champagne bottle making their way to stardom, I was literally amazed. Imagine a bottle of Champagne sinking in the sea because of a shipwreck some eighty years back has found its way back, and what a come back!

This 1907 Heidsieck champagne fetched a $275,000 tag at the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow. And there are more than 200 such bottles belonging to the bygone era. It is being said that the bottles were shipped for a Russian Imperial family at the time when it met the fatal accident.

I am sure that had the roman god of Wine seen this, he would have shied away!

Via Luxist

It has all: Sun, Sand, Sea minus Beach. If you are willing to compromise on the presence of beach then located on Weymouth beach in Dorset, UK, here stands the world’s largest and only sand castle hotel made wholly of sand. And it is also missing on clandestine or any shower or toilet services and hence leaving you with the only option to sit with legs crossed. A team of six was engaged for continuous eight days (12-14 hours/day or 600 hour’s total) to erect the 50 foot square by 13 foot high sand hotel. Featuring sand pillow, sand bed and other sandy interiors, the structure is formed using 1,000 tons of Weymouth beach sand and water from the sea.

The under sky family room offers scenic beauty and features a double and single bed constructed using sand and costing a petty $21 (£10) for a night stay under starry skies. The structure is a creation by sculptor Mark Anderson who was bespoken by the site LateRooms.com, designed to offer an appeal similar to that of a giant sand castle.

I would suggest you to reserve yourself a room a tough tide or rain washes it off. It can be done by calling ‘LateRooms’ sand hotel booking hotline, citing “Under the Stars” on 020 7841 6682.

Check out the video:

Via BBC/ LifeInaFastLane/ ItsGreenDesign

Ithaa, positioned five metres (15 feet) below sea level is the world’s leading undersea restaurant enclosed by a coral reef, at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island in Rangalifinolhu, Maldives. Synonymous to Pearl in Dhivehi, the restaurant is sheathed in R-Cast acrylic, which is a translucent acrylic roof providing 270° panoramic view to its patrons. Served with a Maldavian-Western Fusion menu with a price range varying from $120-$250, counted 14 people can dine in one go.
Designed and developed by a New Zealand-based design consultancy company M.J. Murphy Ltd, this $5 million restaurant was constructed in Singapore and was later shipped to the island on a colossal barge outfitted with a massive derrick to enable it dive in the sea. The thrilling experience starts right on the way as the unique wooden walkway directs you to reach the welcoming door of restaurant. Carsten Schieck, the GM commented on the usage of aquarium technology that serves diner face-to-face with the spectacular submarine surroundings of the Maldives.

Check out the video:

Via Luxuo

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Frank O. Gehry, a popular draftsman behind eon building Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has taken a step ahead in erecting a tavern or to be precise a wine hotel offering a pilgrimage to all wine addicts in Spain. Called the Marques De Riscal, the metal masterpiece is positioned in the heart of the Rioja wine region of Spain and houses a variety of vintage wine and barreled wine detailing 16,000 bottles. After enjoying a wine-bath, guests are allowed to feel comfortable in cozy lodge featuring elegant interiors. The Marques De Riscal features its own chateau offering an interesting stroll to its savvy guests.
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The composite arched outline with titanium-polished curves across the body offers an interesting blend of patterns and colors, making it look no less than a landscape. The matchless erection of such an estate deserves a calculated budget of $100 million.


Via HomeMag

Flagging the novelty proportion, many latest restaurants in U.K. are revising their way of taking orders. Shunning the need of menu card, they are now in a mood to go hi-tech and are welcoming the accessibility of touchscreens that keep the diners engaged while they hang on for their orders. The e-menu form address a higher level of sophistication along with fast and efficient service with no burden on someone standing on your head to take order. And if you are afraid the germs attached to screen, the Israeli-based restaurant Frame (video) assures that a small number of methodical swabs suffice to provide a germ-free screen. But yes, like everything, it also has few drawbacks. There is a possibility that you might be served with a wrong order if customers happen to make errors while placing order.

Nevertheless, functional or not, this new system in dining is inviting eyeballs and is a reason enough to indulge in some grand service.

Check this video:

Via Newlaunches/BlogWired/ SelfServiceWorld

If you are tired of making visits to ordinary hotels spread over some XXXX-foot of area offering XYZ and plus-minus store of facilities, then here is the sure spot destination to put an end to your hunt. Thanks to Atkins first for applying all his levels of imagination and erecting a magnum opus that has bagged an award in an international competition to design a five-star resort hotel located within gorgeous 100-meter profound quarry in the Songjiang district, near to Shanghai in China.

True, from the pictures featured here, the hotel almost looks unrealistically picturesque but it is all set to prove its reality feel on its completion by May 2009. The revolutionary concept is stimulated by the natural water and scenery featuring quarry, thereby arresting the wild thoughts of judges to nullify opposition from two other global firms. The excavation will shield it from the unexpected weather conditions and would cut down the energy requirement of the hotel. The complex would be equipped with restaurants, cafes, sport facilities including undersea public areas and guestrooms in addition to offering conference facility for up to 1,000 people.

The inventive drawing of the 400-bed resort hotel positions two levels advanced than the rock face of the 100 meter deep quarry. Sustainability is essential to the design arraying from using green roof for the arrangement above the ground level to geothermal energy withdrawal. A marine theme runs through the structure both visually and functionally. Two submarine levels will accommodate a restaurant and guestrooms facing a ten-meter deep aquarium.

The lowly level of the lodge will house a leisure compound with a swimming pool and water-based sports. It also offers space for activities like rock climbing, bungee jumping and others.

Via GreenRoofs

Germany is known to be a land infused with Ideas and the history proves it has had its share to offer. Mind you the aspirin, the airship, the printing press and the diesel engine are all invented by Germans. And now they have one more to be added to the list. BBC News crew lately visited Germany to get a feel of SBaggers, the robotized, fully mechanical restaurant with no single waiter standing and also plates ride over your head on steel rails to arrive at your chair. A complete futurama feel!

Good part is its functioning is admired by all. Located in Nuremberg, this fully mechanical restaurant follows an elite way for placing an order. It makes use of a touch screen that gives you access to surf net while killing time before the order flies to your color-coded seat. It is only at the cooking front that some manual exercise is done by some Elzar apprentices (70% human, 30% iron chefs) within the building. The great mind behind Baggers technology welcomes the huge market for such restaurants that are undoubtedly offers ultra fun while cutting costs to the owners as well as clients.

And BBC agrees to their argument that it is fun, delicious, fast, and no tips. Moreover, it absolutely erases the need for a terrible job of waitressing.

Check out the video: