What recession?! The rich enjoy their luxury suites despite economic woes

Apparently not everyone is equal during a recession – or at least in how they are able to escape the gloom and doom that accompanies it.

According to an annual survey by Financial News’ sister publication, Wealth Bulletin, not only are the rich and famous still spending time in the world’s most luxurious and expensive hotels, but they are paying more – sometimes twice as much – to do it. For instance, guests staying in the Royal Penthouse Suite of the President Wilson Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland are paying $65,000 for the four-bedroom, six-bathroom penthouse – twice as much as last year – making it the most expensive hotel room of 2009.

The hotel's management blames the increase on "buoyant demand" from government officials and U.N. diplomats, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal.
Compared with the Royal Penthouse Suite’s price, the $35,000 a night to stay in the the Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York appears affordable … almost. Its price increased a modest $1,000 from last year’s, considering prices for the most luxurious hotel suites have risen by an average 10 percent this year.

Herbert Ypma, founder of the Hip Hotels brand, told The Wall Street Journal that high-end hotels are benefitting from their clientele taking more time off than usual and, therefore, spending more time in their luxurious suites. "Money was never the issue – time was,” Ypma says.

Hoteliers attributed the increased demand to government officials, including President Barack Obama and his entourage, filling in the gap left by business travelers. Obama, for instance, took over the entire Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Moscow for three nights in June. The President Wilson Hotel representative says high-level government officials are fuelling demand for its hugely expensive Royal Penthouse Suite.

Vivian Deuschl, spokeswoman for Ritz-Carlton Hotels, told The Wall Street Journal that demand is also coming from wealthy leisure travelers who are “are taking one big vacation, but pulling out all the stops.”

The 10 most expensive hotel suites in the world, according to Wealth Bulletin's survey for 2009, are:

1. The Royal Penthouse Suite, President Wilson Hotel, Geneva – $65,000 per night

2. Ty Warner Penthouse, Four Seasons Hotel, New York – $35,000 per night

3. The Presidential Suite, Hotel Cala di Volpe, Costa Smeralda, Sardinia – $34,000
per night

4. Villa La Cupola Suite, Westin Excelsior, Rome – $31,000 per night

5. The Presidential Suite, Ritz-Carlton Tokyo – $25,000 per night

6. The Bridge Suite, The Atlantis, Bahamas – $22,000 per night

7. The Imperial Suite, Park Hyatt Vendôme, Paris – $20,000 per night

8. Royal Suite, Burj Al Arab, Dubai – $19,600 per night

9. Royal Armleder Suite, Le Richemond, Geneva – $18,900 per night

10. The Ritz-Carlton Suite, The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow – $16,500 per night