When in 1849 a grand 40-room Italianate mansion was built within what today are the gates of Greystone on Hudson in New York, it was not called a home, but rather a castle. Greystone Castle stood on the Westchester County hilltop for 120 years, while on neighboring hillsides America’s wealthiest families—including the Rockefellers, the Astors, and the Morgans—built some of the country’s grandest estates.

In June, the first of 20 eventual homes, to be built within the new Greystone on Hudson gated community, listed for $9,995,000 million. The 36-room…

Palazzo Parigi Hotel and Grand Spa in Milan, Italy, has debuted its new Presidential Suite equipped with some of the city’s most impressive amenities. Designed by architect and owner Paolo Giambelli in association with design firm Pierre Yves Rochon, the Palazzo Parigi (which opened in 2013) blends Parisian charm and Milanese decor for a picturesque city retreat. Palazzo Parigi comprises 65 capacious rooms—some of which overlook the hotel’s secluded, century-old garden and fountain—and 33 suites. Each room is …

The dog days of summer present the perfect opportunity to take the entire family on a tropical vacation or European expedition. Here is a list of our top 10 picks for family-friendly summer resorts.

Motor oil runs through the veins of Emory Motorsports founder Rod Emory. Emory’s grandfather played an early part in forging Southern California hot-rod history, and his father founded Porsche Parts Obsolete, a company specializing in defunct factory components for Porsches. Growing up in his father’s shop and building a handful of cars before graduating from high school seemed to secure Emory’s place in the custom-automotive universe, despite a brief educational stint in the aerospace industry that might have…

For the third year in a row, Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nev., will host the Hot August Nights Auction presented by Barrett-Jackson, August 6 through 8. Three daytime auctions will feature an assortment of customs, classics, and late-model automobiles for sale, with the auction proceedings televised live in high definition on the Velocity and Discovery channels.

Five flamboyant Ford Mustangs star in the August auction. Two are ominous black KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) cars that starre…

Ranked as one of Robb Report’s Top 100 Hotels in 2014, Ellerman House in Cape Town, South Africa, recently underwent an estate-wide refurbishment to add even more style and sophistication to its 11 rooms, two suites, and two villas. Formerly the home of English businessman Sir John Ellerman, the mansion now functions as a secluded oceanfront getaway. The hotel’s seemingly never-ending list of amenities include panoramic views of the Atlantic coastline, a solar-heated pool, a spa and a fully equipped gym, a con…

Audiophiles only embrace convenience when technology ensures that it does not interfere with sound purity. Case in point is the Aurender N100H music server, which takes leaps in both audio quality and convenience by Aurender’s incorporating recent technological advances into their internal designs. The N100H ($2,699) is a combined music player and server containing two terabytes (2 TB) of file-storage space—ample room for a high-resolution music collection. While most consumer electronics claim storage sizes l…

Belmond, a global collective of luxury hotels, train tours, and river cruises, has enhanced its already elegant escapes by adding new, distinctive rail destinations, sparkling amenities, and a bit of theatrics. Launched June 2, Belmond offers train service between London and Berlin aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. The overnight journey—with a starting price of $3,432 per person—includes breakfast, a Bellini brunch, a three-course lunch, and a four-course dinner while crossing the English Channel and p…

Expedition yachts have undergone a radical transformation over the last decade. The first supersize explorers were often supply vessels or commercial freighters that had been converted—often compromising comfort—into bare-bones, long-distance cruisers. These days, the modern explorer yacht has evolved into a go-anywhere vessel designed to reach the outer limits, with all the comforts and space of other superyachts.

The new Sanlorenzo 460EXP, which will debut at this year’s Monaco Yacht Show, is a great exam…

The Artist: Raised in Florida—just a short drive from some of the East Coast’s most fruitful gem mines—Pamela Huizenga’s passion for stones was sparked at age 16 when she landed an apprenticeship with a local gem cutter and began faceting stones, which she unearthed in his North Carolina mine, using a machine in her family’s garage. At 19, Huizenga started her first jewelry-dealing company and scoured gem fairs for vibrant opals, tsavorites, and aquamarine. She ran a jewelry boutique for the better part of a d…