Located in the historical heart of Spetses town, the hotel’s 45 double rooms and seven large apartment suites all feature private gardens or balconies with views of the sea or main pool and surrounding palm trees. Premier accommodation in the hotel includes the spectacular Grace Suite, the unique split-level ‘La Cupola’ suite and the intimate Honeymoon Suite with its own swimming pool.

Guests at The Poseidonion Grace can choose between fine dining and brasserie restaurants, both located on the main hotel balcony overlooking the sea, or the exclusive Japanese Fusion restaurant open in July and August. Ingredients are sourced from local fishermen and the hotel’s own gardens that grow organic fruit, vegetables and herbs.

The hotel spa menu draws on traditional century-old treatments from when the Poseidonion Grace became the first hotel in Greece to offer therapies based on the natural healing properties of sea water.

Commenting on the partnership, Philippe Requin, CEO of Grace Hotels said: “We are committed to preserving the character and charm of the hotel while introducing touches of style, refinement and service that have won global acclaim for Grace Hotels.” Antonis Vordonis, Vice President of Spetses Initiative added: “The dynamism that Grace Hotels brings to this partnership will substantially enhance the operational quality of the hotel.”

Despite its famously grand architecture, Spetses has managed to retain a serene island atmosphere with horse and carriage remaining the most popular form of transport. From Athens’ port Piraeus direct ferries go to the island. For jet-setters, a helicopter ride can be arranged.

According to many industry insiders, the vacation rental market is on the rise. Lodging industry expert Glenn Haussman recently reported on the “explosive growth” of vacation rentals in recent years.

Spectacular properties are still available for guests seeking the ultimate 2010 summer holiday. Now, it’s time to reserve as some of the most desirable villas are already fully booked. “The popular summer months are booking fast for 2010, with 25% of properties already booked-up for next summer. So those dreaming of spending their next holiday in a beautiful 400-year-old ‘finca’ or living the life of Riley in a newly-built, stylish mansion, need to book early!” said Paradizo’s partner Mallorca Farmhouses.

Group bookings are on the rise for holiday homes large enough to share a fantastic vacation with family and friends. Many of even the most lavish vacation rental properties offer prices that, when divided among a group of 10 or 12, can cost less than or equal to a traditional hotel room. More often than not, luxury villa rentals also come with 5-star services like a private chef, concierge or guest manager. If you require additional services, the Paradizo Team can help you find the highest quality service providers, personal chefs, helicopter and jet charters or limousine services.

Reflecting the current economic setting, many luxury travel professionals commented on new bargains, noting that travelers are looking for ways to save money. It’s expected that value for price will be the top priority in 2010.

“There are great early booking offers already available for 2010 villa rentals in prime locations,” said Ollivier Jacq, Paradizo’s founder. Many luxury villa brokers are offering early-bird “Stay for 7, Pay for 5″ packages that include special extras.

Where are trendy travelers headed? Industry experts foresee Europe enjoying a rebound for the jet set crowd. It’s a safe bet for the more conservative traveler but also offers new hotspots like Sardinia and Croatia. There’s also renewed interest in old favorites like Ibiza, Provence, Tuscany and Mykonos in Europe and Turks & Caicos, Bahamas and St. Barts in the Caribbean.

Paradizo.com is a new online resource for luxury vacations. Its main objective is to provide discerning travelers with the tools necessary to create memorable and personalized luxury vacation experiences. It provides only the highest quality of vacation services: villa rentals, private islands, yacht and jet charters, concierge services and other luxury travel collections. Paradizo is not a travel broker or agent. The travel technology company aims to make dreams come true for Paradizo members and to create business for its esteemed partners. Visit paradizo.com/

Developed by Audi high performance engineering and styling subsidiary quattro GmbH, the RS 5 is the latest in an illustrious lineage dating back over 15 years to the RS 2 Avant. This RS can of course also trace its roots to the original or ‘Ur’ quattro launched in Geneva in 1980, but also to the critically acclaimed R8 sports car, the V10 FSI engine from which provides the technological basis for the new hand-built, high-revving 4.2-litre V8 FSI engine that spins freely and charismatically to 8,250pm, and delivers its 450PS peak output at this high point. A torque maximum of 430Nm is available between 4,000 and 6,000rpm, helping to power the new, 1725kg RS 5 to 62mph in 4.6 seconds and to an electronically governed 155mph top speed.

• RS 5 Coupe available to order in the UK in spring – first deliveries in October
• Price to be confirmed but expected to be in the region of £58,500 OTR
• Powered by 450PS high-revving FSI petrol engine delivering 450PS at 8,250rpm and 430Nm between 4,000 and 6,000rpm – 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds, governed 155mph top speed, 26.2mpg combined economy
• Seven-speed S tronic twin-clutch transmission makes its RS debut
• Newly developed centre differential for quattro drivetrain, acclaimed quattro sport differential on the rear axle fitted as standard

Intensive fine-tuning of the dual-branch intake and exhaust system allows the engine to breathe freely; four adjustable camshafts and tumble flaps in the intake manifold facilitate mixture formation. This not only maximises performance but also economy – up to 26.2mpg is possible. The engine and the entire drivetrain have been optimized to minimize friction, the oil pump operates on demand and an energy-recovery system conserves energy during coasting and braking.

Specially reinforced for its latest role, the remarkable seven-speed S tronic twin-clutch transmission makes its RS debut in the RS 5, and with its high gearing also helps to minimise fuel usage. It consists of two clutches and two subsidiary transmissions. Both subsidiary transmissions are continuously active, but only one is powered at any given time by the engine. Gears are alternately shifted by the two clutches – at lightning speed, smoothly, and almost imperceptibly.

The seven-speed S tronic can operate in fully automatic mode – or the driver can shift via the innovative selector lever or shift paddles on the steering wheel. By means of the standard Audi drive select, the driver can switch in automatic mode between three different options: auto, comfort, and dynamic. In the launch control mode, the seven-speed S tronic ensures flawless acceleration from a standstill – at full power and with minimal losses in traction.

New quattro technology: the crown-gear differential
Like all RS models, the RS 5 also applies its power to the road with quattro permanent all-wheel drive, but this latest generation model has evolved further through a next generation centre differential known as a crown-gear differential.

The self-locking crown-gear centre differential is compact and lightweight, and attains a high efficiency ratio. Thanks to its package of plates, it can widely vary the distribution of torque between the front and rear axles. If necessary, up to 70 per cent can flow to the front or as much as 85 percent towards the rear. The 40:60 ratio of the standard rear-biased configuration ensures highly responsive handling.
This new differential operates in conjunction with electronic torque vectoring, which influences all four wheels. If one of the inside wheels in a turn becomes imbalanced while the vehicle is at its operational limits, then the system slightly decelerates the wheel to prevent wheel spin. This results in exceptional traction on the one hand while generating a yaw moment which aids cornering.

The rear axle also features an already much praised new Audi driver aid – the sport differential – which actively distributes torque between the rear wheels in order to further boost stability and grip at the vehicle’s limits of handling.

Dynamic Ride Control (DRC)
The latest generation version of the Dynamic Ride Control (DRC) system as used by the RS 6 also contributes to the exceptional handling capabilities exhibited by the RS 5. DRC connects shock absorbers on each side of the car diagonally to their counterparts by way of a central valve, which directs a flow of oil to provide additional damping force whenever a shock absorber is compressed, making for impressive gains in handling precision and stability. Via the Audi drive select system, the driver will be able to choose from three damper settings – comfort, dynamic and sport – according to preference and conditions.

With its RS-specific spring, damper and anti-roll bar settings, the RS 5 chassis sits 20 millimetres lower than that of the Audi A5 on 19-inch alloy wheels fitted with 265/35 tyres. These are executed in an exclusive 5-arm structure design. 20-inch wheels with 275/30 tyres are available at extra cost.

The brake system employs powerful internally ventilated discs, which measure 365 millimetres in diameter at the front axle. In order to maximize the dissipation of heat, the steel friction rings are perforated and connected by pins to the aluminium brake discs. The high-gloss black brake calipers bearing RS logos are made of aluminium, and the front units are fitted with eight pistons each. Ceramic carbon-fibre brake discs measuring 380 millimetres in diameter can also be specified as an optional extra. They are extremely lightweight, strong, and durable. The electronic stabilization program (ESP) incorporates a sport mode and can be switched off entirely.

Even more acutely controllable: Audi drive select
The Audi drive select vehicle dynamics control system is a standard feature of the new RS 5. It allows the driver to switch between three modes of operation – comfort, auto, and dynamic – to adjust the steering weighting, the shift points for the seven-speed S tronic, the sport differential, Dynamic Ride Control, the engine and the exhaust system. And if the car is equipped with the optional MMI navigation system, a fourth mode allows the driver to customize their own profile.

For maximum enjoyment of the engine, Audi drive select controls the exhaust system’s two throttle valves and the sound flaps; when they open, the rich sound becomes even more resonant. An optional Sport exhaust system offering an even more addictively bass-heavy V8 soundtrack is available at extra cost.

For even greater control over the steering, a dynamic steering option is also available at extra cost as a component of Audi drive select. The system adjusts the steering ratio to a vehicle’s speed – directly for manoeuvring at low speeds and indirectly for travelling at motorway speeds. At the vehicle’s cornering limits, it automatically ensures smooth handling via minor corrective actions.

The remarkable abilities which all these technologies convey on the RS 5 are highlighted subtly by its body, without tainting the purity of its classically beautiful coupe lines. The single-frame grille bears a shiny charcoal-grey rhombus-pattern grid and is flanked by xenon plus headlights with LED strip daytime running lights, below which are oversized air inlets. The newly designed bumper tapers downward into a splitter.

The flared wings with their crisp horizontal upper edges are reminiscent of the pioneering Audi quattro, and the side sills bear angular caps. The trim strips on the single-frame grille and near the side windows as well as the door mirror covers feature the distinctive matt aluminium RS look.
The tail end is dominated by two oval exhaust pipes integrated within the bumper. A large diffuser protrudes prominently upwards. The spoiler in the tailgate automatically extends at a speed of 75mph and retracts at 50mph.

The extensively clad underbody of the RS 5 integrates air vents for the seven-speed S tronic and the front brakes. At motorway speeds, the aerodynamic characteristics of the RS 5 generate downforce to further enhance stability.

Dynamic elegance: the interior
The subtle embellishments continue in the interior, which in classic RS fashion combines black Silk Nappa leather upholstery with carbon fibre and aluminium elements and additional features such as an oil temperature gauge and lap timer for circuit use. Electrically adjustable super sports seats with pronounced side sections and integrated head restraints are standard, and at extra cost these can be replaced by bucket seats with more prominent contours and folding backrests or ventilated and luxuriously upholstered climate-controlled comfort seats. Equipment will of course also befit the RS badge.

BBC Television’s Top Gear presenters, led by Jeremy Clarkson, announced at the beginning of this year that, “It was a car that rewrote the rule book, an amazing piece of engineering, a genuine Concorde moment… the Top Gear Car of the Decade is the Bugatti Veyron.”

The Robb Report, a leading US journal on luxury brands, also confirmed today that the opentop version, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, had established an entirely new precedent as ‘Car of the Decade’. It earned uniform praise from the judges who praised it for fulfilling Bugatti’s mission “to celebrate, unapologetically, beauty and power.”

Both Top Gear Television and the Robb Report affirmed that the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 and the Grand Sport defied all categorisation, thus deserving their own distinct honour and place in history.

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4, first launched in the middle of the last decade, has a top speed of 253mph (407 km/h) reaching 0-62mph (0-100km/h) in 2.5 seconds. With a price of €1.2 million (excluding tax) only 300 units will be made. Available from March 2009, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport has a top speed of 253mph (407 km/h) reaching 0-62mph (0- 100km/h) in 2.7 seconds with a price tag of € 1.4 million (excluding tax).