Luxury

The folks at Airbnb could probably use a nice relaxing night away from it all, and I have just the place.

Last week was a roller-coaster ride for the company, which connects people looking for a room with people willing to rent theirs out. It started with raising over $100 million in additional financing and ended with a bad PR firestorm as the story of the trashing of one woman's apartment by an Airbnb renter went viral.

Now that it appears a suspect is in custody, perhaps it's time for a company retreat to get away from it all, debrief, and recharge the batteries. Fortunately, there's a place called Costa Rica that I'm pretty sure was invented for just this kind of occasion. And even more fortunate for the folks at Airbnb, one of their users has made this unbelievable treehouse suite available.… Read more

There are a lot of things you can buy for $1 million. You could pick up the first comic featuring Superman, a C-X75 Jaguar hybrid supercar, or a copy of Tetris. Wait a minute...Tetris?

Granted, this isn't just any Tetris. It's an original Japanese Mega Drive Tetris cartridge in like-new condition. I can see that you're still not reaching for your stack of credit cards. Let's sweeten the deal. The case is also signed by Tetris creator Alekséi Pázhitnov.

A seller in Spain going by the eBay handle "shinsnk " is auctioning this extremely rare version of Tetris. His ad claims that only a handful of the cartridges are known to exist around the world. Better go check the boxes of old video game gear in your closets, folks.… Read more

We've covered some over-the-top luxury versions of tech products lately. There was a gold-plated Kindle, a $1.2 million iPad, and a Versace-branded cell phone. Talk about must-haves!

Gresso, a Swiss manufacturer of luxury communications devices, gets in on the crazy good times with the Lady Blanche iPhone 4. Gresso doesn't go for the easy target of simply encrusting it with diamonds or plating it with expensive metals.

No, the Lady Blanche features clocks and Swarovski crystals. I know, that sounds weird. You already have a clock built into your iPhone 4; why would you need three more attached to the outside? Because you have $7,000 kicking around and you need something to blow it on.… Read more

As much as I'm reluctant to use the phrase "man cave," mostly because I don't have the space for one of my own, I have to say that I have found a pretty nifty man cave essential. Behold, the Octane 120 Pro Beer Arcade!

The Beer Arcade comes from Northern California-based Dream Arcades, which also offers premade arcade cabinets and DIY arcade kits. Take a high-end gaming PC with PlayStation 3 connectivity, a 5.1 audio system, add full driving controls with dual-motor force feedback and variable resistance on the pedals, and, as the name would suggest, a beer tap.

I know, right?

Those are the basics, but it goes further than that. The Beer Arcade also comes loaded with a dozen driving sims (including Hard Drivin' and S.T.U.N. Runner, a few faves of mine) and a fully adjustable steering wheel and seat, and variable-resistance clutch, brake, and gas petals. As Dream Arcades is quick to point out, "Of course we don't condone REAL drinking and driving, but kicking back a few Bud Lights while playing your favorite games is a different story!" … Read more

With $527,000, you could buy a one-bedroom condo in Manhattan's West Village, a Girard-Perregaux Cat's Eye Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie watch, or an 82-foot Multiplast Fast Express yacht. But you might also consider an Aston Martin V12 Zagato, a limited-production run car designed to commemorate the 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato.

Aston Martin designed the V12 Zagato to commemorate the 1960 DB4 GT Zagato, a version of the DB4 modified at Italy's Zagato factory. The V12 Zagato was built on the V12 Vantage platform. Its body is comprised of carbon fiber and aluminum. The car boasts a 0 to 62 mph time of 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 190 mph.

Initially, Aston Martin entered two V12 Zagatos in the 24-hour Nurburgring endurance race, which both cars finished. The model garnered enough interest from the public that Aston Martin announced a limited run, just 150 of the hand-built cars. … Read more

You can forgive gold investors for feeling a little smug.

While stock market fans are bemoaning a lost decade--the S&P 500 index remains below where it was in 2000--gold prices have quintupled since then.

Fortunately for British gold bugs, it's now easier than ever to purchase the world's most enduring currency: the country's first gold vending machine opened today in a shopping center in London. It accepts cash and credit cards.

The company, Gold to Go, already operates ATMs in Germany, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, and (of course) the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas.

With the federal government running up something like $212,500 in debt per household, a total that's growing by around $1,148 per month, the logical course is for an Uncle Sam untethered to the gold standard to pay off his debts by running the printing presses. If that happens, it's a fair bet the price of gold denominated in dollars will go only up. Time to stop by your nearest ATM? … Read more

And you thought your iPhone was so cool. Tag Heuer, known for making lux watches, has released one of the cooler-looking smartphones we've ever seen. But don't get too excited--one Tag Heuer Link Android smartphone will set you back $6,750.

What's with the price? The Link Android, which runs on the old-generation Android 2.2 (Froyo), comes with a steel, 18-carat rose gold- or titanium-finished case. (It kind of looks like it belongs to a Jedi knight, right?) Trims come in calfskin, alligator, lizard, or carbon leather. (Fancy!)

It features a Gorilla Glass screen, a high-strength thin sheet of glass used as a protective cover with scratch resistance and durability, and offers up 256MB of RAM and 8GB on a memory card to save the pics you take with its 5-megapixel auto-focus HD camera. It can also house 11 hours of music playback. The phone goes on sale this month TAG Heuer retailers.

So OK, you're paying for the look and feel of this gadget, not the tech specs. Is it worth the price? You tell us!

This story originally appeared on CBSNews.com.

What do Virgin America and New York's Ace Hotel have in common? They are frequented by the digerati, the beautiful, and the in-the-know.

So it's a shrewd marketing move by Google to announce today that some Virgin America flights this summer and the Ace will be testbeds for the brand new Chromebook.

Chromebooks were a concept initially introduced two years ago, but are just now making their way to retailers.

The laptops are made by Samsung and Acer and boot directly to Google's Chrome browser, which means a Wi-Fi or 3G connection are necessary to get anything done on them. … Read more

You know you look good, but sometimes you just want to double-check. You could excuse yourself and go to the bathroom. You could find a reflective window and stare intently. Or you could subtly gaze at your watch.

The Vanity Mirror Watch is a chunky, shiny accessory that looks like it has been designed for a substantial man-size wrist. The marketing photos of a hairy arm sporting the watch are another tip-off that the target customer is a vain male. That probably won't dissuade a fashion-forward woman from picking one up.

It's hard to tell what the $69.… Read more