Luxury Real Estate

Courtesy of Ole Jespersen of IRG International Realty Group

IRG International Realty Group, exclusively represented The World, the only private community at sea. IRG International Realty Group was appointed as the exclusive agent in Portugal to represent The World. The World is the only residential community at sea, arrived on July 5th in Portimão and July 7th in Lisbon, after docking in Spanish ports, Marbella and Cadiz. This ship allows its residents and guests to travel the world without leaving the comforts of a private home. There is an average of 150 adventurous and like-minded explores onboard at onece, travelling to intriguing destinations all over the globe.

This remarkable, 12-deck, 200 meter-long floating home offers an elegant and intimate travel lifestyle with impeccable service and amenities that deliver a personalized and bespoke experience. Discerning travellers can travel in one of the 165 private residences aboard The World or elect to own one of the select homes available for resale. Approaching its eighth year of successful sailing, The World looks ahead at innovative developments in the horizon. In late April 2007, the ship underwent multi-million dollar refurbishments, resulting in new soft goods in public areas including the Lobby/ Plaza area, several of the onboard restaurants and the full-size tennis court as well as the debut of The World Spa by Banyan Tree on the vessel. The World´s Residents are deeply invested in the upkeep of their onboard homes. The private homes onboard the vessel undergo ongoing modifications and enhancements such as wine storage rooms, new technology and other personal touches that ensure Residents feel at home while onboard. In its eight years at sea The World has attended the America´s Cup Races in Auckland, the Louis Vuitton Challenger in Valencia, Carnaval in Rio, the Monaco Grand Prix and the British Open. Due to ots worldwide itinerary, the vessel is able to span the globe every two-to-three years. For more information about the residential sales please contact IRG International Realty Group at the Lisbon Head Office: +351 210 305 022 or info@irgportugal.com

By Ann Adenius of Signature Residences Worldwide 

Strategically located at the exclusive Dubai Marina, the luxury Pentominium will a rise up a majestic 120 floors. An individual residence will take up a complete floor of the tower providing over 6,500 sq.ft of unsurpassed private world class luxury. Each floor will have its own exclusive private foyer with each unit equipped with state of the art biometric access control.

Pentominium is being designed by award winning, world renowned architects Aedas. Interior design is being undertaken by Hirsch Bedner Associates, exclusive designers of Ritz Carlton, Grand Hyatt and Four Seasons worldwide.

Selected penthouses with bespoke design of Salvatore Ferragamo are now available. The Salvatore Ferragamo penthouses are fully furnished and include everything required for a luxurious lifestyle.

To mention a few key features, the luxury penthouses are equipped with a state-of-the-art 50" LCD TV and Bang & Olufsen Home Theatre System, custom designed Bulthaup kitchen with top of the range appliances from Gaggenau. You will also be able to choose between a Baby Grand Piano or a bespoke cocktail bar as well has have the opportunity to have an exclusive consultation with an Interior designer from Salvatore Ferragamo for soft furnishing selections.

In addition to the bespoke interior, you will also have full access to the private Ferragamo Beach Club at The World island. You will be able to take advantage of a special yacht styled and designed by Ferragamo and you will also be granted a membership to an exclusive car club.

There will be a dedicated Concierge Service by Quintessentially, the international private members club. This service will be available 24 hours, 7 days a week to cater to every requirement of the Pentominium residents - whether local or global.

Additionally, through its series of unique alliances, Pentominium residents will be owners on a shared ownership basis to a fleet of premium automobiles including Rolls-Royce Phantom that come as a part of this unique lifestyle experience Pentominium has to offer. This experience will be further accentuated with world renowned Azimut yachts for leisurely trips across the expanses of the Arabian Gulf.

The luxury residence building boasts a world renowned Spa, exclusive to its distinguished residents which will be run by Six Senses Spas, the operator of a number of premium world class health resorts around the world.

All public areas at the Pentominium will be crystallized by Swarovski with each individual unit fitted with state of the art sound equipment provided by Bang & Olufsen, while Pentominium’s exquisite Cigar Lounge will be by Davidoff and its business lounge that is to overlook Dubai’s majestic Palm Islands will be accessorized by exclusive Tiffany & Co. accessories.

These luxury penthouses for sale in Dubai offer the ultimate expereince.

Price from AED 19,446,048 (approx. US$5,294,337)

For further information, contact Signature Residences Worldwide, www.signatureresidencesworldwide.com ,email info@signatureresidencesworldwide.com or call +44 20 7095 8703

By Robert Lockard

I’m going to talk about something a little off-topic from my usual discussion of luxury real estate, but which I find compelling and interesting.

On Saturday, May 10, 2008, I ran my first half-marathon at the 2nd Annual Tacoma City Half-Marathon. That was 13.1 miles of pain and unique discovery. I had never run more than 10 miles in one stretch before and so I pushed through some barriers and found some amazing truths on the other side.

I ran the race with one of my sisters, Nicole. She was actually the one who invited me to run this race in the first place. You see, back in October 2007, my left knee began causing me a great deal of pain so I went to a Physical Therapist for two months and did some exercises to get the joint realigned. A few days after Christmas, the pain in my knee disappeared. I went to my Physical Therapist and she was as amazed as I was by this. She counseled me not to get carried away and start running again just because there was no pain at the moment.

However, a month later, my sister Nicole told me that she was running a half-marathon in May and asked me if I would like to join her. Everything seemed to be screaming at me not to do this, and I was sure that if I said yes that I would just injure myself. But something else in my mind felt perfectly at peace with the idea of doing something difficult with my sister, and I decided to trust that feeling instead of giving into my fear.

For the next three months, I trained hard to prepare for the half-marathon. I tried running on a treadmill, but that felt uncomfortable and awkward, so I mostly rode an exercise bike for nearly an hour each day. Like an ominous harbinger, the pain in my knee began to return when I tried to run, but I simply bought a knee brace and tried not to focus on the pain. I dropped about 15 pounds in the month leading up to the half-marathon, not that I was particularly heavy to begin with, but it felt good to get leaner.

The day of the race came, and I had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to travel down to Tacoma for the race’s start at 7:30 a.m. I forgot to eat breakfast that morning. I met up with my sister and her family who were there to cheer us on. I noticed one of the runners was dressed like Elvis Presley, with a giant black wig, white jumpsuit and sunglasses. I’m sorry I didn’t get a picture of him.

The first three miles went quite well. I had run many Cross Country races in high school, and so running 3.1-mile races came naturally. However, as the race stretched longer and longer I began to worry. Both of my knees began to hurt, my legs began to burn and I began to wonder if I could finish the race. When I saw the 11-mile mark, I was ready to surrender to oblivion. My strength was fading fast and I was losing hope that the race would ever end. Luckily, my sister Nicole was running next to me and she was able to encourage me to keep going. Seeing her continuing to go strong and hearing her comforting words helped me push through the walls that threatened to keep me from completing the race, and I was able to endure to the end.

Once I triumphantly crossed the finish line, I could barely walk. My knees and legs seemed to stiffen so that they became almost impossible to walk on. I hobbled around for a while with Nicole and her family and then drove home to lie down for the rest of the weekend. I could hardly move on Saturday and Sunday, but the pain gradually lessened and I was able to exercise for 40 minutes on Monday.

Whew! That’s a long story. Now that I’ve let it out, I can see several applications to other aspects of life, and I’ll try to focus on just one.

Long-distance running has appealed to me for many years, as opposed to short-distance sprinting. I like the consistent discipline and prolonged amount of time that goes into long races. You can take little mistakes or problems in stride, while in a short race one mistake can cost you precious tenths of a second that can ultimately lead to your defeat.

Likewise, our success in the real-estate industry is not based upon our short-term sprint to the finish line, but a concerted, long-term effort to grow and perform better each day. Small mistakes along the way can be taken in stride if we have the right perspective and realize that we have miles to go and needn’t sweat the small things along the way.

I was able to push through my fears, limitations and pain to accomplish something I hadn’t thought possible. May we all strive to do the same thing as we face personal and professional challenges.


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of LuxuryRealEstate.com’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. I hope you enjoy the pictures of me before and during the half-marathon.