London has long been one of the exclusive real estate capitals of the world. In fact, the world’s most expensive house was just recently sold there. Houses aren’t the only expensive properties in London, though. The city also boasts the world’s most expensive apartment—and construction on it hasn’t even been finished!

The four penthouse apartments atop One Hyde Park, London’s newest and most luxurious address, sold well before the arrival of the new year. The building, developed by Candy & Candy and funded by Qatar’s foreign minister, will include eighty apartments designed by architect Richard Rogers. It will also feature communal spas, squash courts and even a private wine-tasting facility. The building will cost £1.5 billion (around $3 billion USD) to develop and Candy & Candy plan to have it finished sometime in 2010.

A computer-generated image of the world’s most expensive apartment.

One of the four penthouse apartments was sold for over £100 million (over $200 million at the time), making it the most expensive apartment in the world. Each of the four penthouses will have a number of security features, including bulletproof glass, panic rooms and access to an underground passage leading to a nearby hotel.

Other apartments in the building are going for an average of over £20 million (around $40,000).

Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, ranked 278th richest person in the world in 2006, is relocating to London with his wife Olga and two of their children. Why do we care? Well, the Northwest London house into which Mr. Leviev is moving just happens to be Britain’s most expensive new home.

Located on the same private street in Hampstead where stars Lulu and Ringo Starr have owned homes, the house was designed by architect William Bertram, who was coaxed out of retirement for the job. Unfortunately for him, Mansour Namaki, for whom the house was designed, decided to move to Regent’s Park instead.

Hampstead

The house itself is 17,000 square feet and includes such luxuries as an indoor swimming pool decorated in gold, a cinema, a hair salon, a gym and even its own nightclub. Lest you worry about the Levievs and their guests aching from walking through such a massive house (and we know you do worry), the house includes a six-person elevator. Security is also not an issue, as the house is protected by a $100,000 armor-plated door, 25 infra-red cameras and a 24-hour security barrier between the outside world and the road on which the house is located.

What was the crucial factor in Mr. Leviev’s decision to throw down £35 million on the most expensive newly-built house in Britain? It’s within walking distance of a synagogue. In fact, there are three nearby synagogues, the Garden Suburb Synagogue in Norrice Lea being the closest.

Want to spend a day at the most expensive golf course in the world? You’ll have to go to Las Vegas to do so. Designed by Tom Fazio, one of only two such designers to win the Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, Vegas’ Shadow Creek is open only to guests of MGM Mirage Resorts.

So what does a $500 visit to Shadow Creek include? For starters, you’ll be transported by limo to and from the course. At the course, you’ll find your personal caddie ready to guide you through the world’s most expensive golf course. The holes themselves include steep hills, sharp turns, high ridges and, of course, Shadow Creek itself. The 18th hole is designed to include nearly all of the elements of the previous seventeen in a par five, truly making it the ultimate golf experience.

And, hey, maybe you’ll win back your $500 at one of those casinos that Vegas is so famous for having.

Four Seasons New York has just unveiled the most expensive hotel suite in the world. Their Ty Warner Suite will cost guests $30,000 a night. That’s not just a price to make it look good to high rollers the hotel’s decided to gift with an upgrade, either. This room is $30,000 per night with no exceptions.

Four Seasons New York

What makes this the most expensive hotel suite in the world? For starters, there’s the carpet that’s so expensive that anyone who walks across it must wear special booties provided by the hotel. Then there’s the view. Since the suite covers the entire 52nd floor of the hotel, guests are treated to ample views of the nation’s largest city. Perhaps the price comes from the waterfall in the suite’s zen room or the 700 square foot library. Maybe it’s just the fact that Ty Warner founded Ty Inc., manufacturer of the popular Beanie Babies stuffed toys.

If you need a place to stay while you visit the largest casino in the Caribbean, though, you could try the second most expensive hotel suite in the world. The Bridge Suite at Paradise Island’s Atlantis Resort, also home of the aforementioned casino, is true to its name; it’s literally housed in the bridge between the resort’s two Royal Towers.

The Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas

The Bridge Suite includes ten rooms, seven dedicated staff, two entertainment centers and one grand piano. Don’t worry you’ll be disturbed by the comings and goings of the staff, though. They have their own entrance via the kitchen. Also included in the most expensive hotel suite in the world are a 22-karat gold chandelier and an 800 square foot balcony. Along with all this, the Bridge Suite’s occupants have access to swimming pools, restaurants, a golf course, lagoons, waterslides and other amenities this luxurious resort provides to all its guests.

If you’d prefer a secure hotel suite to an extravagant suite, though, the Imperial Suite at the President Wilson Hotel in Geneva boasts a private elevator and bulletproof windows and doors, all for over $6,000 less than the most expensive hotel suite.

Furthermore, if you find Atlantis’ above-sea-level status to be something of a disappointment, just wait for the completion of Dubai’s Hydropolis hotel. This hotel, promising to be the world’s first luxury underwater hotel, was announced in 2003 and was originally expected to be completed sometime in 2006, but has been delayed until 2009. The price of a stay in one of the hotel’s 220 suites hasn’t yet been announced, but they’re sure to give other luxury hotels a run for their money.

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by Hunter Davis
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