Eurocopter has unveiled a new luxury version of their EC145 Helicopter in collaboration with Mercedes. The EC145 is a twin-engine turbine helicopter with a spacious cabin which can accommodate up to eight passengers with comfortable seats, and a storage room for several pieces of luggage. The interior features splendid wood fittings for the floors and ceilings; the latest development of Mercedes can be seen in cockpit design with a sophisticated electrical system built. The Eurocopter Mercedes EC145 Luxury Helicopter is available for order now with deliveries commencing in 2011.

Mamilla Hotel in Jerusalem describes itself as the first luxury lifestyle hotel in Israel and Jerusalem. With its city-center location and views of the old city walls, it connects old and new gracefully.  Many of us have vivid sensory memories about Jerusalem: the ever-present sand and stone, the strong sun, the subtle surface textures, and the soft, sun-bleached tones of color. Mamilla expresses all of this, and that harmony creates a peaceful, classy and confidently un-trendy hotel environment. The Mamilla Hotel is part of Alrov Luxury Hotels Holding.

Are you ready for the evolution of the Segway??  The all-electric Taurus Concept designed by Erik Lanuza is a compact, urban-targeted, open-top, saddle-ridden vehicle balancing on two wheels. When driven, by leaning forward and backward the rider can control the speed and change the direction by steering wheel.

The night scene in Phuket, Thailand, changed permanently last fall, when SOUND Phuket night club  was opened.  SOUND’s design theme, realized by Orbit Design Studio (Bangkok, London and Tokyo) in association with Bed Supper Club, is based on the human ear, so everything in the interior is rounded, curved and tubular. While mimicking the human body, the SOUND environment with its intense audio and visual effects offers a surreal, out-of-body sci-fi experience.  One of the central attractions is the bar lit by a stunning 19-meter graphic equalizer LED screen that is synchronized to the music that ranges form electronic music, hip-hop and R&B to house depending on the DJ and the theme of the night.

Make sure you visit SOUND if you’re in Thailand!  Check out some additional photos after the jump

L’Arc Paris, Restaurant-Bar & Club, has been open for only four months and the Club has already become the place where you go if you want to be with the chic, the famous and the beautiful. Mostly, you go there to be seen.  At the Restaurant, chef Antony Germani (of L’Atelier Joël Robuchon) presides over menus of seasonal everything-made-from-scratch delicacies.  L’Arc occupies the former premises of l’Etoile Nightclub at 12 rue de Presbourg, with views of Arc de Triomphe but it was completely redesigned by Cannes-based Prospect Design (known for designing the VIP Room in St. Tropez, Baili in Cannes, and Maddox in London).

credit: Porhomme

When in Barcelona, you will want to check into one of the several new or refurbished and distinctively cool hotels that have opened there recently. Among them, W Barcelona, located on La Barceloneta and designed by architect Ricardo Bofill, and the swish apartment residences of El Palauet that we featured in October.

Credit: thecoolhunter.net

The latest hotel launch capturing design media attention is Mandarin Oriental Barcelona. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group operates in 25 countries, but this is its first entry into southern Europe. Mandarin Oriental Barcelona’s official opening was celebrated in November 2009 with a lavish gala attended by the city’s style leaders and elite.

The hotel’s cool factor is a lucky combination of three elements: The convenience of the central location on Passeig de Gràcia, the good bones of the refurbished 20th-century former bank building, and most significant, the tour de force of design by Spanish-born Milano-based architect, Patricia Urquiola, responsible for the interior decor of the 98-room hotel, including most of the furnishings.

Urquiola is best known for her prolific career in designing clean-lined furniture and accessories for brands such as Foscarini, B&B Italia, Alessi, Capellini, Cassina, Knoll and Moroso. At Mandarin Oriental Barcelona she has created a strong sense of timeless elegance by using white confidently and lavishly, and by applying a Scandinavian sense of scale and clean lines.

To soften the linear angularity, Urquiola added beautiful touches that reflect the weightlessness and precious fragility of origami or intricate lace. The overall effect is stunning. - Tuija Seipel

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Zai has created the Bentley of Skis, literally. Designed in collaboration with Bentley, the Zai Supersport is a limited edition ski constructed out of a combination of carbon fiber refinforced thermoplastic, natural rubber, and chrome steel, which are all being used for the first time in a pair of skis. Link: $9,800

Credit: selectism.com