Luxury Moscow

The hotel’s rooftop 02 Lounge, meanwhile, features a sushi bar considered among the best in a sushi-crazed city. (Sushi’s exploding popularity in the Russian capital has so closely mirrored Russia’s economic recovery that one Moscow newspaper last month dubbed Vladimir Putin’s reign “The Sushi Years.”) Like the newly opened Yoko restaurant, O2 flies in fresh seafood from Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market twice weekly.

Those interested in a cozier Moscow visit are directed to the chic Golden Apple, Moscow’s first and (at present) only boutique hotel. Located just off historic Pushkin Square, The Golden Apple offers basic rooms starting at $450 per night; two ultra-modern deluxe suites are available for around $2,000 a night.

No aspect of the new glittering Moscow has received as much attention as the famously decadent and highly exclusive clubbing scene. The most storied of these “elitny” nightclubs is Diaghilev Project, which is basically off-limits to all but the most moneyed and glamorous Russians and foreigners. Everyone else can test the velvet ropes at Rai (“Heaven”). Those who get past “face control” at either venue will be greeted by scenes out of a futuristic cabaret sex-fantasy set to throbbing house music. Think Studio 54 in its heyday, minus the disco and the New York City eccentrics. Table reservations start in the low four-figures and easily run to five-figures for a night in a VIP booth.

Another newcomer to the Moscow club scene that has been making waves is GQ Bar, a restaurant and club housed in a 17th-century building on Ulitsa Baltschug.

No trip to Moscow would be complete without a night at the Bolshoi. But while the main theater is closed for reconstruction until 2009, a full schedule is being held in the smaller New Stage nearby. According to critics, the current dance troupe has returned the Bolshoi to the top of the international heap after losing its way somewhat in the troubled '90s.

Moscow International Boat Show Now in its fourth year, the Moscow Yacht Show is held each June at the Gorky Park moorage in Neskuchny Sad. This year, the four-day festival will be held in Moscow as well as a number of major European cities. As the economy booms, boat ownership in Russia, a land of lakes and rivers, is keeping pace.

Those eager to see how Russia’s new super rich spend their money might consider a visit to Moscow during the annual Millionaire’s Fair, where you can buy everything from a piece of modern art to a set of million-dollar diamond-encrusted rubber tires for your Bentley. There’s also the annual Moscow Yacht Festival, held every June and now one of the largest luxury boat shows in the world. To see Russia beyond the capital, consider a luxurious train ride aboard the legendary Trans-Siberian railroad, from Moscow to Vladivostok. Cox and King’s offers a two-week trip starting at around $16,000 that takes you in comfort and style through eight time zones and 80 towns and cities.

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