Released on = January 15, 2006, 11:02 am

Press Release Author = Edward Victor

Industry = Real Estate

Press Release Summary = The main character in new novel \"The Dream of the Decade\"
lives in a skyscraper hotel and more and more celebrities and wealthy people are
opting for hotels not homes.

Press Release Body = HOTEL LIVING

More than forty years after the building of a skyscraper hotel in one of the world's
capitals comes a novel about hotel living: "The Dream of the Decade - The London
Novels" by Afshin Rattansi, former BBC Today Programme Producer.

The location of novel is the London Hilton skyscraper in Park Lane, finished in 1963
and designed by William B. Tabler Architects. The protagonist, a 1980s
working-class-man made-good is a millionaire - but what about others who have chosen
to live in hotels instead of buying property?

In New York: The Carlyle - "Though hotel residents come in varied shapes, sizes and
ages, the population tends to skew older and toward a high tax bracket, said Marcie
Lieberman, hotel manager at The Carlyle. \"It\'s usually an upper-echelon person.
People who have gotten used to a certain convenience and who like living in an
environment where those things are available,\" she said.

Combine that with the right amount of pampering, and you\'ve got the answer to a
hotel dweller\'s prayers - all ending in amenity. The Ritz-Carlton on Central Park
South, for example, offers inclusive and a la carte services for any situation from
wanting a massage to needing diamonds at a moment\'s notice." (Daniel Bubbeo,
Newsday)

In London: "John Petch, sales director of boutique hotel group, GLA Hotels (owners
of the Lancaster in Paris and the Cadogan Hotel in London) began his career with the
Savoy group in the early 1980s. Back then, the fifth floor at Claridges was reserved
for long-term guests. But by the early 1990s, he says, hotel residency was dying
out. Even the wealthy regarded long stays as uneconomical and turned their attention
to affordable second-home investment opportunities.

But the tide is turning; both the Lancaster and Cadogan have three long-stay
residents who use the hotels as their city bases. \"People are moving back into
hotels because of the security and service,\" says Petch. Boutique hotels also excel
at providing a home- from-home atmosphere backed up with personalised service. \"If
you have a flat, you might have one person to look after you,\" he says. \"Here you
have all of our staff on call.\"" (Tracy Hoffman, Financial Times)

Hotel-living Names:
Geri Halliwell - The Lanesborough, London
Bobby Hashemi, founder of Coffee Republic - Claridge's, London
Ruud Gullit - Malmaison, London
Chris Evans - Langham Hilton, London
Richard Harris - Savoy, London
Rupert Murdoch\'s courtship with Wendi Deng - The Mercer Hotel, New York
Ken Hom - The Dorchester, London
Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland; Richard Burton and Liz Taylor - The Dorchester,
London.
Coco Chanel - Ritz, Paris
Marlene Dietrich - Hotel Lancaster, Paris
Greta Garbo, - Fairmont Miramar, Los Angeles
Howard Hughes - Desert Inn, Las Vegas
Salvador Dali - Hotel Meurice, Paris
Peter Bogdanovich - Stanhope Hotel, New York
Claude Monet - Savoy, London
Cate Blanchett - Covent Garden Hotel, London
Christina Ricci - Covent Garden Hotel, London
Diane Von Furstenberg - Carlyle, New York
Frank Sinatra - The Waldorf Towers, New York
Cole Porter - The Waldorf Towers, New York
Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald - Lowell Hotel, New York
Madonna - Carlyle, New York
Madonna - Home House, London
William Burroughs - Beat Hotel, Paris
William Burroughs - Chelsea Hotel, New York
Sid Vicious - Chelsea Hotel, New York
Dylan Thomas - Chelsea Hotel, New York
Arthur C Clarke - Chelsea Hotel, New York
Bob Dylan - Chelsea Hotel, New York
Tim Burton - Portobello Hotel, London
Francis Ford Coppola - Portobello Hotel, London
John Lennon - Hilton, Amsterdam

The title novel in the quartet, The Dream of the Decade, may end in disquieting
circumstances but one only has to look at the tragedies of the famous who have died
in hotels to know it isn't uncommon. ends



Title:The Dream of the Decade
Subtitle:The London Novels
Author:Afshin Rattansi
ISBN:1-4196-1686-2
LCCN:2005909384
Category:Fiction
Length:622 pages
Retail Price:$21.95
Binding:5.25\" x 8\" trade paperback
Illustrations:Line Art and Photographs
PUBLISHED IN THE UK IN MARCH 2006
AVAILABLE VIA AMAZON.COM IN JANUARY 2006



Web Site = http://www.zen13743.zen.co.uk/novels.html

Contact Details = Edward Victor
1200 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles
CA 90102
USA
+44 7799 541 841
edvictor@icmail.net