Presidential Suite, Hotel Cala di Volpe, Costa Smerelda, Sardinia – Located in the hotel tower, this multi-level Presidential Suite boasts 250 square metres of light-filled space with 2 living rooms, 3 bed rooms and 3 bathrooms, and also your own private swimming pool on the rooftop terrace.

Did you know that prices at the best hotel suites have gone up by 10% this year? Apparently, the super rich have a lot more free time on their hands, what with the recession and all. And do you know which are the 10 most expensive hotel suites in the world this year?

As per Wealth Bulletin’s 2009 survey, the Royal Penthouse Suite at the President Wilson Hotel in Geneva is the world’s most expensive hotel suite at $65,000 per night.

The President Wilson Hotel won out over last year’s winner – The Ty Warner Penthouse on the 52nd floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, which charges $35,000 per night and offers 360-degree view of the city.

And here’s the full list of the world’s 10 most expensive hotel suites for 2009:-
1. Royal Penthouse Suite, President Wilson Hotel, Geneva ($65k/night)
2. Ty Warner Penthouse, Four Seasons Hotel, New York ($35k/night)
3. Presidential Suite, Hotel Cala di Volpe, Costa Smerelda, Sardinia ($34k/night)
4. Villa La Capula Suite, Westin Excelsior, Rome ($31k/night)
5. Presidential Suite, Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo ($25k/night)
6. The Bridge Suite, The Atlantis, Bahamas ($22k/night)
7. Imperial Suite, Park Hyatt, Vendôme, Paris ($20k/night)
8. Royal Suite, Burj Al Arab, Dubai ($19.6k/night)
9. Royal Armleder Suite, Le Richemond, Geneva ($18.9k/night)
10. Ritz-Carlton Suite, Ritz-Carlton Moscow ($16.5k/night)

Here’s a  few more gorgeous pictures of some of these expensive suites and the 10 hotels which house them.

The Royal Penthouse, President Wilson Hotel, Geneva - Offers dramatic views of Lake Geneva through bulletproof windows and complete privacy including your private elevator.

Ty Warner Penthouse, Four Seasons Hotel, New York – Magnificent 9-room suite atop New York’s tallest hotel with cantilevered glass balconies and floor-to-ceiling bay windows offering a breathtaking 360 degree view of the City.

Villa La Capula Suite, Westin Excelsior, Rome – Seven terraces, a selection of  160 imported wines while relaxing in the magnificent tapestry-hung drawing room, and a study/library covered in hand-carved wood paneling and featuring numerous original works of art.

Presidential Suite, The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo – 3300 sq ft of pure luxury with a stunning four poster bed in the master bedroom. The suite is located on the 53rd floor of the hotel with a spectacular view of Tokyo including Imperial Palace outer gardens and Roppongi Hills.

The Bridge Suite, The Atlantis, Bahamas –  16 stories high and bridging the distance between the Royal Towers, this suite offers sweeping views from an 800 square foot balcony, with a 360 view of the water, lagoons and pools in Paradise Island.

It is a truth not always universally accepted that conventional wisdom is often wrong. There are so many people who did not buy Dubai property who would like the market to crash that it probably is unlikely to oblige them. Other market scenarios look rather different and should be taken more seriously.
Many visitors getting off an aircraft in Dubai take one look at the huge population of tower cranes, 30,000 according to one estimate this week, and conclude that a property crash must be imminent.

Yet the market forces that put all those tower cranes there in the first place are not about to disappear overnight and there are so many factors weighing in favor of the continued growth of Dubai that the pessimists are unlikely to be proven right anytime soon. After all, in markets timing is everything, and saying something long enough until you are right is just not a business strategy, let alone a way to buy a home.

For one thing, the Dubai property market continues to absorb the supply of property as it emerges, and rising rental and property prices this year confirm that there is still a shortage of accommodation in pretty much all categories.

Huge GDP growth

Last year the UAE was probably the fastest growing economy in the world with 26 per cent nominal GDP growth, and this dynamic is attracting a huge inflow of people. Everybody has to live somewhere and even a supply of property growing like mushrooms can not keep up, for the time being.

The real test for Dubai real estate will therefore possibly not emerge until this rate of GDP growth slows down. The oil price is still the key to the UAE economy, and any weakness here will flow through to the property sector. But the oil price is currently close to a record high, and geo-political instability is more likely to shift prices higher than lower.

The huge supply of property now being delivered in Dubai is actually very timely. Without this new space the city’s rentals would have spiked to even higher levels that would deter new business activity, as has so often been seen before in emerging markets.

Growth dynamic

Indeed, real estate is now a large part of the dynamic UAE economy, and will help to sustain the booming economy in any oil price downturn. Moreover, much of this investment is from equity sources and not borrowed money, so it is unlikely to dry up and leave property uncompleted as happened in the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 1990s.

For the reality of the Third Great Oil Boom in the Middle East is that surplus wealth has been invested back into property development on a heroic scale.

The question of renting or buying property in Dubai is a common one among expatriates moving there. The Dubai Real Estate market has been going through rapid growth and the whole world knows of the massive construction being carried out. The market in Dubai is dynamic and quite in high demand. Yet there also remains the fact that mortgage payments in Dubai can be prove to be costlier than the monthly rent. Then there are also the experts that saying that the Dubai Real Estate market grew a little too fast and too big for its own good and that it might be time for it to correct itself by going in the opposite direction for a bit.
A very basic answer to this dilemma can be found by asking yourself how long you plan to stay in Dubai, the sort of property you prefer, how soon you wish your capital released, whether you are in for the long run or you want your property to get sufficient rent to help you repay the mortgage quickly. The reason for all this complication is that Dubai Real Estate is going through a transition period right now, which makes things very uncertain.

When in 2002 it first became possible for non-citizens to own freehold Real Estate in Dubai the mortgage was quite lower than the rent and the prices of property were also quite reasonable. Those who purchased property at that time are of course quite happy with their decision now. This created a huge demand for property and that sent the prices rocketing up at an astonishing speed.

Unfortunately the rise was so rapid that it is not likely to sustain for much longer.
If your stay in Dubai is going to be around 3 years of less then there is no point in buying any property there. Just stay on rent. There are quite a few construction projects that are nearing completion and the availability of ready property is bound to lower the rent. Several of these properties are owned by investors who will want their property start paying back quickly. And as mentioned earlier the mortgage rates are higher than rental even now and the difference is going to increase once the new properties become available.

So if your stay in Dubai is going to be short-term then there is no point in buying property. Since most experts agree that the market will reverse itself soon if you buy anything now and try to sell it after three years you are likely to make a huge profit. In fact, most indications are that people investing in Dubai property at this time are going to be in a loss after a few years until the lowering of the market again reverses itself.

You should buy Dubai property only if you are going to stay there for a long time. This way you can choose longer mortgage tenure to keep payments manageable and once you are done you can rent it out and convert the property into an asset. There will be no short-term gain with this approach.

The ever growing demand for prime property has also engulfed the emirates and in the last few years, prime locations in the emirates like Dubai have seen a real estate boom. Considering that Dubai was a highly competitive but low priced market, this real estate boom is the last thing that the government wants. A lot of experts feel that Dubai is heading pretty much the same way where some of the Asian markets have headed in the past, towards overpricing. The reason for this is pretty simple. There is not enough supply to meet the demand in Dubai.

Post 2002
In May 2002 the crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoom made a stunning announcement which shook the foundations of the real estate market in Dubai. This allowed foreigners to buy freehold property in Dubai. What this did was that it opened new avenues and the market immediately boomed. The tax benefits, business advantages, the continuous rising demand and the lack of supply have also contributed to the steady rise in property prices in Dubai.

The Population
Along with the above mentioned factors one should not forget that Dubai is one of the fastest growing populations in the world. The prosperity of the city and the strong trading tradition are also adding to the demand for property. This in turn is increasing the pressure on rental demand and the prices for property. Many experts consider this to be one of the safest markets ever to venture into.

Curbing the rise
There is only one simple way to curb the rising graph for property prices in Dubai and that is to increase the supply. The government seems to have hit bulls-eye this time and has announced a lot of massive projects that will ensure that the market is well supplied for a lot of time to come. The Dubai waterfront mini city near Jebel Ali, the 250 tower Dubai Business Bay are some of the prime properties coming up in Dubai. These will surely curb the rise and prevent capital values from going too high for some time. But once again, the problem is that there is a lot of time for these projects to be completed and delivered and till that time, the demand will increase manifold.

Where is it headed?
The government has announced and is working towards making Dubai a safe market where money can be invested with a long term goal. It does not want Dubai to become a market dominated by housing options that can swing either way any time. Hence there are continuous and dedicated efforts to keep the supply in line with the demand. There are also talks to price the short term speculators out and to encourage long term investment. Most experts are waiting for the demand and supply to top out and for a market correction to happen which should set the prices right. If you are planning to take the plunge into the real estate market in Dubai, then this might not be the right time. Wait for the prices to go down or if you are a risk taking person then you can perhaps venture into the real market in Dubai but making sure not to put all your eggs in one basket.