Travelling fashionably

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International fashion designers now put their names to resorts.

Their shoes and clothes may send a fashionista's heart aflutter, but can they sell rooms? The big names in luxury fashion are extending their brands to hospitality ventures, in an attempt to design hotels that are the final word in luxury. If you want to play the who-stayed-at-the-best-hotels game, you'd better have stayed at one of these.

Setting the standards is the 277-room Palazzo Versace Resort on Australia's favourite playground "" the Gold Coast. "At Palazzo Versace, you feel the brand tangibly. You can live, breathe, sleep Versace," says Rochelle Gomes of Versace, here to pitch the rooms, priced at Au$500-3,500 per night, to high net worth Indian honeymooners.

From the vaulted ceilings detailed in gold to the 750 kg chandelier to the pebbled mosaic in the driveway by Italian artisans, the hotel is a homage to Versace. A second hotel is due to be completed at Dubai by 2009.

Another Italian luxury goods maker, Bvlgari, opened a resort in 2006 in Bali in partnership with Ritz Carlton. Perched atop a cliff, a room at the Bvlgari Bali hotel costs $1,350-5,000.

The most recent designer to leverage his brand is Giorgio Armani, who is launching a series of luxury hotels and resorts. The Dubai 'Armani Hotel' will include guest rooms, suites and apartments all designed by Armani.

If you're looking for something more discreet, the Lungarno hotels brand is owned by Ferragamo. Their inputs are behind the scenes. The flagship property Hotel Lungarno has a panoramic view of Florence.

British designer John Rocha was responsible for the original design of the Morrison in Dublin, which opened in 1999 with its unique East-meets-West theme. Crowds rush into its buzzy bars and restaurants on weekends making it one of the most fashionable hotel destinations in the city.

And finally, a great example of a designer hotel that is low-key but in great taste is the Charlton House, a country house hotel near Bath, England. Started by the founders of the Mulberry label, the hotel is decked up in Mulberry's signature tartans, tweeds and checks.

So, discreetly elegant or all-out glitz, the choice of brand to flaunt is all yours.