Deep inside the Wolgan Valley towering sandstone cliffs loom in every direction.

We ride our bicycles towards the morning mist as it rises through scrappy eucalypt tress and parched grasses. Anywhere else, this rugged landscape would make you feel small, insignificant. But here at Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa it's the tiny details that will leave you feeling like a king.

The luxury resort set over 1600 hectares near Lithgow in the Blue Mountains has just been named the number one resort in Australia by travellers on Trip Advisor. It's an award they take very seriously. It's an award earned through focussing on the smallest of details and making sure they are all just right.

Over lunch in the Country Kitchen Wolgan Valley general manager Joost Heymeijer spots an open balcony door on one of the 40 villa suites. It shouldn't be open with the wind picking up he says and radios for maintenance to come and close it before the wind pulls the hinges. The door is at least 500m away. We can't even see it.

Heymeijer is known for doing this. He started his hotel training at age 11 as a dish boy before becoming a waiter, training as a chef and working his way right up to the top of hotels in Europe and Australia. He's been with the resort for eight years - it's been open for four.

Staff say Heymeijer straightens tables as he walks through the restaurant and can spot a blemish not visible to any guest's eye. You could say this resort is his baby - he knows when one hair is out of place. That hair will be fixed.

So it's no surprise that the rooms here are immaculate. Every single one of the 40 suites has its own indoor private pool - the smallest of which is 7m by 2.5m. The pool is heated with solar power to 27C between 6am and 11pm.

In the lounge room an open gas fireplace is set into sandstone. An old map of the valley slides up to reveal a flat screen TV that can be angled to face anywhere in the room or even the adjoining balcony. The minibar has a coffee machine that not only warms the milk, but cools it for iced coffees.

In the bathroom the attention to detail - to meeting and exceeding every guests' desires - is most apparent. Here the toilet paper is not just folded into attractive little triangles - it's folded and stamped down with Wolgan Valley's signature sticker - the Wollemi Pine. A deep recessed bath sits under the window offering a view of kangaroos, wallabies and wallaroos bounding across the property at dusk and dawn.

The shower is topped with a clear glass skylight allowing naked guests to gaze up at the stars at night and to watch wisps of grass caught in the wind during the day.

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Inside Australia's number one resort

McGarvey Custom Homes Hayworth estate model residence at 13881 Williston Way in Quail West was named recipient of eight Superior Home Awards at the Lee BIAs 2014 Parade of Homes Superior Homes Award Ceremony held Feb. 13 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Resort & Spa.

The Hayworth won Superior Home Awards in the $3 million to $3,499,000 category for Best Livability, Best Interior Design, Best Kitchen, Best Bath, Best Outdoor Living, Best Pool, Best Exterior, and Best Landscape Design categories. The 28th Annual LBIA Parade of Homes is open Sunday at Quail West and will continue Thursday, Feb. 27 through Sunday, March 2. Hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The Hayworth will also be a featured model during the CBIA Parade of Homes at Quail West March 7 through 9, and March 14 through 16.

McGarveys Hayworth model features a floor plan with a grand parlour, a grand room, a formal dining room, study, four bedrooms, four full baths and two half baths, a wet bar and wine room, a three-car garage with dedicated golf cart parking, a two-car garage, and an outdoor living area with a summer kitchen, bar, fireplace, pool and spa. The award-winning interior of McGarveys Hayworth model was designed and executed by Arlynn McDaniel of Freestyle Interiors.

McDaniels California Clean design style mixes natural materials and cleaner lines with more modern shiny metallics and a bit of jewelry. The Hayworths neutral color palette is intended to showcase the homes architecture and includes browns, creams, blacks, taupes and whites. Splashes of color are found in contemporary art pieces, throws and area rugs. Contrasting woods and fabrics provide additional visual interest. Flooring in the main living areas is porcelain tile with engineered wood flooring in the study.

A linear fireplace in the grand parlour features a brown-toned polished porcelain tile floor-to-ceiling surround. The tile is laid in a horizontal pattern. Four clean-lined upholstered chairs with espresso wood frames are paired with a metal cocktail table that features a stone top. The grouping establishes McDaniels clean, modern style while conveying the perfectly executed casual elegance found throughout the home. A glass enclosed wine room is situated immediately adjacent to the parlour.

The parlours large arched fixed-glass window offers an exquisite view of the outdoor living area and pool. The covered lanai includes a see-through fireplace, an island with bar seating, a full kitchen and an entry into a dedicated pool bath. As is McGarveys custom, the custom designed pool and spa features unique elements, including a lighted statue water feature.

In addition to its wood flooring, the study features an inverted coffered ceiling with a beam detail. Hidden LED lights are incorporated in the perimeter of the coffer to provide additional interest. Furnishings in the study include a desk, credenza and a pair of occasional chairs.

The Hayworths spacious grand room is the central gathering place of the home and includes a wet bar. A pair of large, comfortable sofas and two large chairs are upholstered in a neutral fabric. Accents are presented in copper, orange, grey, and a touch of red. An asymmetrical, espresso finished built-in includes both floating and attached chunky shelving. Pocketing sliders open the grand room to the covered lanai to create an enormous indoor/outdoor space that can easily accommodate large-scale entertaining.

The grand room flows into a formal dining room defined by square columns with a header. The focal point of the dining room is a double chandelier hanging from an inverted coffered ceiling with perimeter accent lighting. A formal espresso finished dining table is surrounded by dining wood and upholstery chairs.

The Hayworths island kitchen is integrated in the grand room space and includes a counter height island with a warm, walnut-toned base and a three-inch, solid surface countertop with a waterfall edge. The perimeter cabinetry matches the island base. To maintain her clean-lined, modern style, McDaniel contrasted the warm cabinetry tones with stainless steel hardware, oversized countertops, and a stainless steel vent hood.

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McGarvey's Hayworth model sweeps BIA's 2014 Superior Home Awards

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By Carol CainCBS Detroit

Scott Benson had been a small business owner, served in the military and worked for a community organization in Detroit.

But knowing he had a goal of running for public office, the thing that truly propelled him in his bid was being part of the Michigan Political Leadership Program (MPLP).

I had the chance to meet and network with people and leaders from across the state, said Benson, who graduated from MPLP in 2011 and ran for Detroit City Council in November and won.

Benson made his comments during taping of Michigan Matters and appeared with Anne Mervenne and Steve Tobocman, co-directors of MPLP.

Benson, Mervenne and Tobocman also talked about other issues including Detroit, its financial plight and having Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr involved as the city fights it way out of bankruptcy.

The MPLP program, which started in 1992, is housed at Michigan State Universitys Institute for Public Policy and Social Research.

The nationally acclaimed program has nearly 600 alums with many working in politics.

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MPLP Makes Huge Waves In Michigans Political Landscape

It took Julia Miller and her husband, Mark, just one hour to decide on the split-level house in the Wessynton neighborhood the first time they drove up to it in July 2011.

A good friend whos a Realtor knew a house on the water was up for sale, Miller said. We went to look at it, fell in love and moved in.

Nestled in the hilly woodlands of southeastern Fairfax County, about half an hour from downtown, Wessynton is a neighborhood of 156 houses built in the late 1960s and early 70s on land that was once part of George Washingtons Mount Vernon estate.

Twenty-three of those mid-century modern houses are on Little Hunting Creek, a Potomac River tributary that provides all residents with access for fishing, boating and waterskiing. Wessynton Forest, covering much of the 20 acres of common property, runs through the community.

Centuries ago, the Doeg Indians hunted these woods along the Potomac. The land was eventually granted to an English family known by various names, including Wessynton, and the 500-acre Mount Vernon estate was built there.

The Mount Vernon Ladies Association took up the mantle of preserving the first presidents home and estate. In the late 1960s, it sold the 65-acre parcel that is now the Wessynton neighborhood to secure funds for its ongoing maintenance.

Houses blend into landscape: The developments architect, Nicholas A. Pappas, designed its houses to blend with the landscape they are set into the curve of the land along winding roads in the woods, providing seclusion. There are five designs Meadow, River, Forest, Garden and Manor all with large windows, open layouts, redwood ceilings and slate floors.

The architect used a palette of earth-tone colors sand, brown, beige, olive, pale yellow and the occasional muted salmon or rust-red door and today we try to stay within that color range, said Jim Clark, a former president of the homeowners association.

Roofs are the same brownish orange and mailboxes are a uniform brown wooden structure. We have someone in the community manufacture them for us, he said.

An architectural review panel ensures that the houses remain harmonious with nature and the original vision.

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Wessynton is Mount Vernons mid-century neighbor

Dated, 60s-style comforters, dark green walls and old light fixtures marked the inside of the former Randolph Park Hotel and Suites.

After a yearlong closure for a top-to-bottom, $4.5 million renovation, the building at 102 N. Alvernon Way has reopened as a bright and modern La Quinta Inns & Suites.

We made the conscious decision to close the hotel so we could more effectively renovate it, said Jerry Fischer, president of Desert Hospitality Management.

The company manages the property for Humberto Lopezs HSL Properties, which owns it.

Fischer expects a 70-percent occupancy rate once the hotel has its grand opening at the end of February.

The hotel is now open to the public, though there is some ongoing construction.

We wanted to get the doors open, get people in, and get to doing business, general manager Amy Wilcox said.

Thanks to La Quintas location, guests have access to a variety of activities in midtown Tucson.

Nearby, there are Reid Park and Reid Park Zoo, Randolph Golf Complex, El Con Mall with its shopping, food and movie theaters and 12 restaurants, all within walking distance.

The university and the Tucson Medical Center are also just 3 miles away.

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Hotel near Reid Park reborn as La Quinta Inns & Suites

From Google Maps Pools dot the landscape in Los Altos Hills, as demonstrated in this aerial view. The town has issued 241 pool permits over the past 15 years.

California may be experiencing chronic drought conditions, but local homeowners continue to build and use their swimming pools with no signs of stopping.

A quick glance at last weeks Los Altos Hills Planning Commission agenda revealed that each of the five development permit applicants request swimming pools onsite. If the permits are approved, the applicants will join 241 other homeowners in Los Altos Hills granted swimming-pool permits over the past 15 years, according to town records.

With no indication from the town or the Purissima Hills Water District that restrictions on filling new pools or draining existing pools will trickle down, Los Altos Hills residents are enjoying a luxury denied to some of the states more water-deprived districts.

Communities with limited access to external water sources are feeling the pinch as mandatory water conservation becomes reality. The Santa Cruz Water Department has implemented Stage 1 water restrictions that limit the hours for irrigation, have restaurants serve water on request only, require the immediate repair of leaks and prohibit the filling, draining or refilling of swimming pools and other water features. Violators are issued citations, with fees of $100 to $500 added after the first transgression.

We would never do that unless we saw a persistent problem, said Patrick Walter, general manager of the Purissima Hills Water District, of levying pool restrictions.

Following a mandate from the California Department of Water Resources, the town of Los Altos Hills added a water-efficient landscaping ordinance to its Municipal Code in 2010. According to Planning Director Debbie Pedro, the ordinance requires new development permit applicants to include a water-consumption estimate that meets the towns parcel water budget a figure determined via a complex formula that weighs parcel slope, evapotranspiration and conservation factors.

Water features are considered a high-water-use element in landscaping, she said. The water-efficient landscape ordinance restricts you, and you have to give elsewhere.

Pedro noted that new landscaping often requires more water than established landscaping, and the ordinance is designed to ensure that homeowners dont exceed their water allotment.

The town has not implemented swimming-pool permit restrictions during previous droughts, but Pedro said water conservation efforts generally originate from the Los Altos Hills City Council, the Water Conservation Committee or water suppliers.

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Despite drought, LAH still swimming with pools

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2bqqb7/hepatitis_c) has announced the addition of the "Hepatitis C Therapeutics in Major Developed Markets to 2019 - Outstanding Recent Approvals and Late-Stage Pipeline to Transform Clinical and Commercial Landscape" report to their offering.

Due to a large untreated patient pool and the recent approval of new treatments, the hepatitis C market will more than treble from $5.7 billion in 2012 to $18.6 billion by 2019, at an impressive Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.5%

The company's new report* states that the hepatitis C market will receive this major boost with the 2013 approval of Sovaldi, which has the potential to transform the treatment algorithm for hepatitis C. Due to the clinical potential of the drug, Sovaldi will be very expensive, reaching a cost of $86,000 annually and setting a high price benchmark for future drugs.

Dominic Trewartha, report analyst, says: Sovaldi boasts excellent tolerability and a Sustained Virologic Response rate approaching 100%, without specificity to any genotype 1. In genotypes 2 and 3, Sovaldi is administered with ribavirin alone, alleviating the need for Pegasys or Pegintron and therefore reducing the rate of adverse events associated with these two therapies. As a result, many patients who have previously deferred treatment are expected to re-enter the market and use Sovaldi.

Additional drugs, such as Olysio, which was also approved in 2013, and daclatasvir are anticipated to compete with Sovaldi, although they are not proven to be as effective and can only be used in genotype 1 infections.

According to the authors, Sovaldi-ledipasvir and ABT-450 triple therapy will further advance the hepatitis C market and displace older drugs from 2015 onwards. This is due to the fact that these therapies can be used without peginterferon and have demonstrated 100% efficacy in genotype 1, with strong tolerability and low dosing.

The late-stage pipeline for hepatitis C is exceptionally promising, and we expect new products to completely transform the clinical and commercial landscape during the forecast period, Trewartha concludes.

This report provides in-depth analysis of the major antiviral drugs used in the treatment of hepatitis C, including analyses of their safety, efficacy, treatment patterns and strengths/weaknesses. It also gives a market forecast between 2012 and 2019.

This report was built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis conducted by a team of industry experts.

Key Topics Covered:

Link:
Research and Markets: Hepatitis C Therapeutics - Promising New Therapies to Boost Global Hepatitis C Market by 2019

Jade Mountain Whats so special

With private infinity pools, personal butlers and beautiful white sandy beaches, Jade Mountain, which overlooks the Pitons (two volcanic plugs that form part of a World Heritage site), has everything youd expect from the Caribbean.

The hotel is a glorious feat of architecture, and stands near Soufrire, on the west coast, says Stylist Magazine. Clever design and landscaping leave the front of the open-plan suites open to the elements, while maintaining complete privacy. Youll get your own private pool, lounge area, and sun terrace.

Guests are assigned a butler on arrival and each suite comes with a mobile phone on which to phone them. But you shouldnt need much assistance: everything is helpfully laid out for you and the fridge is stocked with a bento box, petit fours and drinks.

The two-storey restaurants speciality is fresh seafood, including scallops and lobsters.

A double room costs from $1,025 per night, on a room-only basis. For more information, visit the hotels website at http://www.jademountain.com, or call the US booking office free on 0800-141 2859.

A gorgeous location, all-inclusive packages and high level of luxury combine to make this a relaxing, magnificent getaway from the British weather.

Spread over 12 acres of tropical gardens, the well-run East Winds Inn is an unflashy and utterly tranquil haven, says Fred Mawer in The Daily Telegraph. Dont let the fact that its all-inclusive put you off the hotel is much classier than that might imply. The rooms are located in cottages scattered around the gardens.

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Where to stay in St Lucia

KKR & Co. (KKR), the private-equity firm run by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, said fourth-quarter profit more than doubled as appreciation in its buyout holdings fueled paper gains and its funds sold investments at a profit.

Economic net income after taxes, a measure of profit excluding some costs, increased to $773.6 million, or $1.08 a share, from $337 million, or 48 cents, a year ago, New York-based KKR said in a statement today. Analysts had expected earnings of 89 cents a share on that basis, according to the average of 14 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. KKR said it will pay stockholders a dividend of 48 cents a share on March 4.

KKR was the most active private-equity firm in 2013, according to research firm Dealogic, investing more than $17 billion in 34 companies. The firm agreed to buy landscape-maintenance company Brickman Group Ltd., insurance-technology company Mitchell International Inc. and a pair of industrial-lifting businesses from Melrose Industries Plc (MRO), all in deals valued at more than $1 billion.

KKR had a strong quarter on the back of very good returns, Christopher Harris, an analyst at Wells Fargo & Co. in Baltimore, wrote in a note to clients today. With ENI and the dividend both above expectations, we see the stock doing well.

KKR sold its remaining stake in retailer Dollar General Corp., a 2007 buyout that... Read More

KKR sold its remaining stake in retailer Dollar General Corp., a 2007 buyout that returned more than 4.5 times KKRs money for one of its most profitable investments. Close

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KKR sold its remaining stake in retailer Dollar General Corp., a 2007 buyout that returned more than 4.5 times KKRs money for one of its most profitable investments.

KKR rose 2.9 percent to $23.89 in New York. The stock has declined 1.8 percent so far this year as the Standard & Poors 500 index of large U.S. companies has fallen 4.1 percent.

Among KKRs dispositions in the quarter were share sales of hospital operator HCA Holdings Inc., European broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, NXP Semiconductor NV (NXPI) and French floor maker Tarkett SA. (TKTT) KKR also sold its remaining stake in retailer Dollar General Corp. (DG), a 2007 buyout that returned more than 4.5 times KKRs money for one of its most profitable investments.

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KKRs Fourth-Quarter Profit More Than Doubles on Holdings

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