There’s joy in Hollywood tonight, the 138 acres behind the Hollywood sign will go into a public land trust. The hotly contested land on Cahuenga Peak is zoned for luxury homes and there was fear that it would be sold to developers if $12.5 million wasn’t raised to buy and protect the land. And here’s where good old Hugh steps in. Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner made a $900,000 donation at the last minute so that the conservation group “Trust for Public Land” could buy the land. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said that Hefner was the final donor. Schwarzenegger was quoted in the LA Times praising the donation and result as “the Hollywood ending we hoped for.”

Hefner released a statement calling the Hollywood sign Hollywood’s Eiffel Tower and “an important cultural landmark.” Other donations came from Arianne Getty, Tiffany & Co. jewelers, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. The sign itself is owned by Los Angeles but the land behind it belonged to investors who could have sold the rights to build four luxury mansions along the ridgeline for a tidy fortune (they were hoping for $22 million). The land will now be become part of the 4,200-acre Griffith Park sprawl. Recently the conservation group covered the Hollywood sign so that it instead read “Save the Peak.”

spotted @: luxist

Nixon keeps a decidedly different profile from the usual array of high-end luxury wristwatches we cover, appealing less to the stock broker than to his skater son. But this year the brand has teamed up with the organizers of one of the most hyped-up cross-country rally of exotic automobiles to present a series of special editions under the Nixon x Gumball banner.

The Rubber Player watch pictured above comes in matte black silicon with gold accents on the caseback, crown and dial, and sells for a modest $200. It’s joined by a more exclusive version of the company’s 51-30 wristwatch which will only be provided to rally participants, as well as special edition “e Whip” and “e Wire” headphones made especially for the event at $60 and $75, respectively. They’re available at Nixon retailers along the rally’s route through London, Amsterdam, Boston, Montreal, Toronto and New York, among others. This year’s Gumball 3000 kicks off in London on May 1.

spotted @: Luxist

If you’ve been pining for the Audi RS5, we’ve got good news for you, whichever side of the Atlantic you’re living in. European deliveries of Audi’s 444-horsepower V8 super-coupe are set to begin in June. And according to the latest reports, the RS5 will, in the end, make it to North America, though it could take a little while.

European prices peg the sticker for a new RS5 at 65,300, translating to about $88,000 in American exchange and representing a 32.4% increase over the S5 on which it is based. Apply the same formula to the S5 in the United States, however, and the relative price comes out closer to $70k. However sources indicate that Audi doesn’t expect to sell many RS5s in the US, and will therefor only bring them over fully equipped. So expect to see a price closer to $75,000 when it reaches an Audi dealer near you.

spotted @: luxist

Lenny Kravitz is expanding his design portfolio – the rocker has reportedly been hired to revitalize a hotel lounge in Miami, Florida. The “Are You Gonna Go My Way” hitmaker opened his own design firm in 2003, and has worked on projects at Miami’s Setai and Delano hotels.

According to the New York Post, Kravitz met with owners of the Shelbourne Hotel in South Beach at the weekend to discuss a new partnership. The rocker is reportedly designing a Sand Bar lounge for the art deco hotel, which will reopen with a new look in autumn.

AS reported by Hotel Chatter, Lenny Kravitz himself shared about his Delano project, saying “My aunt had a place in her house where everyone played, hung out, listened to music and where all the fun was had, called the Florida room. We decided to create a space with this theme in mind but that also had the feeling of the old piano lounges in the resorts back in the 50′s in Florida, Cuba and New York City.”

“I love the rich musical history of Miami Beach. The Beatles, James Brown and Frank Sinatra all spent time here,” he added. “We see the Delano as having this same kind of rich history and also took cues from this to envision the place I always wanted at the beach, but hasn’t existed here in a long time.”

source: aceSB

The hotel is situated on the famous corner at Hollywood and Vine. The club includes a large lounge lined with banquettes backed with rich red velvet tiles which are separated by mirrored, ceiling-high columns. Opposite the banquettes, one full wall of the space looks out onto Hollywood through floor-to-ceiling windows offering glittering city views. The room also opens up into a dance space with a DJ booth framed by a massive, carved wooden picture frame looking out onto the floor.

The restaurant area seats approximately 120 guests and offers treats from Chef Claude Segal. The restaurant is between the indoor lounge area and the open air rooftop pool/patio area offering a choice of inside or outside dining. The pool patio is the most prized location. It resembles a penthouse roof garden and both sides have custom cabanas. One side of the pool has flat-topped cabanas with low couches and white privacy curtains. On the other side, raised up a few steps from the pool level, is a row of covered daybed with Moroccan-style inlaid wooden tables and cabinets, stained wicker seats, red-cushioned couches, large mirrors and flat screen TVs all surrounded by heavier white drapes. At the far end of the pool, up a flight of stairs above an outdoor poolside bar, is a set of four larger, very VIP cabanas that overlook the entire rooftop area.

Drai’s Hollywood features local DJs including Benji Madden, Jamie Iovine and Rick Rude. On Sundays it will have a Vegas style pool scene from 10am-10pm. Cover charge for the nightclub is $20.

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