London's Newest And Exclusive Hotel Penthouses At $50,000

Are you struggling to find a four-bedroom suite in London's most upscale and centrally located neighbourhood with panoramic 180-degree views over half the district? The five-star Mandarin Oriental Mayfair hotel opened in St. James's Place one year ago and has just the ticket. Its newly launched penthouse on the 11th floor of Mayfair's first new-build hotel in a decade luxuriates over 5,000 square feet of lofty, prime real estate.

If the hand-painted wallpaper, marvel bathtub, array of post-Impressionist art, and serenely chic design by Studio Indigo don't entice, the two-level view-blessed wraparound terrace might. The Cost? Ah, well, there is the rub. The starting rate is £ 40,000 a night, which could get you nearly 15 months at the budget Travelodge hotel near Marylebone. The new offering is at the very top tier of London's accommodation options for super-rich jetsetters with expansive wallets, with the seven-bed Royal Suite at the Lanesborough and the six-room Manor House Wing at the Rosewood being among the ritziest of the glitziest.

The crown, however, goes to the £ 60,000-a-night penthouse at Claridge's, which opened on the rooftop of the 169-year-old Mayfair hotel in November 2023. The 11,840-square-foot suite has four bedrooms, a private garden, a swimming pool, 360-degree views over the London skyline, a Steinway piano, and the world's most extensive private collection of works by artist Damien Hirst. Frankly, with all that on offer, I do not know how the global 1% find time on their trip to pick up Tower Bridge fridge magnets or make it down to M&M's World in Leicester Square.

Spectacular Landscapes

To coincide with the CNN Original series "My Happy Place," CNN anchors and reporters have been taking us to visit their favourite destinations. Bill Weir's happy place is Utah's Buckskin Gulch home to one of the longest slot canyons in the world. The beautiful, undulating canyons have been sculpted by water and time and offer a peacefulness rarely found elsewhere, but watch out for the rattlesnakes and scorpions.

Lake Salda is surrounded by white sand in southwest Turkey because of its vivid turquoise waters. There is a little more to this body of water than meets the eye, however, Scientists say it's the only place on Earth that is analogous to the Jezero Crater on Mars. How did this happen? To answer that, we need to go right ot th bottom of the ocean and through to the interior of the Earth. There are 24 more of the world's most unusual landscapes to explore in our roundup of must-see phenomena, from colourful sinkholes to waterfalls of molten lava to towering snow monsters.

You will want a good camera to record your travels best. Our parents at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, have the guide to the best travel cameras for 2025.

Healing and connection

Nearly 10 years after his father died, travel writer Will McGouf wanted to honour his memory by scattering his ashes in the pristine wilderness of Antarctica. He made the journey to the White Continent with his father's remains in a bag in his pocket, but the wish for ecremoney did not go ahead as planned. The Mount Kinabalu earthquake of 2015 claimed 18 lives, including Singaporean students and teachers who had travelled to Borneo on a school expedition. A decade later, survivors returned to the mountain to climb again. One told CNN, "We honoured what our friends never got the chance to finish."

Aircraft mechanic Max Corner has built a substantial social media following with his fun, quirky, and informative "Aeroplane Facts with Max" videos. However, his life as an online star only began in 2022, after the unexpected death of his wife turned his world upside down.

"During that time, I had difficulty wanting to keep going daily. It gave me something to look forward to, a creative outlet I needed," he tells CNN.

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