HOTEL PALOMAR SAN DIEGO

Even with luxury hotels, most of the perks start to blur together -- at this point, iPod docks and in-room plasmas are as ubiquitous as fake-wood-cased Zeniths and vibrating beds used to be. Luxing the luxe, Sè San Diego.

A ridiculously opulent Asian-themed uber-manse, Sè's raising the amenities bar with awesome, sometimes awesomely unnecessary offerings, highlighted by a state-of-the-art in-house recording studio (no explanation given), a 34-seat private screening room, and underwater surround-sound in the sprawling outdoor pool -- so "Eye of the Tiger" can fuel your desperate sub-aquatic journey there and back. All guest rooms feature Brazilian walnut floors, lofty ceilings, and Italian designer furniture, with the souped-up Luxe Suites being equipped w/full Italian kitchens & Sub Zero appliances, and living rooms with adjoining 120 sq ft balconies; all accommodations come with optional twice-daily housekeeping service, as Sè aims to please both you, and your other personality's debilitating OCD. For high rollers, there's the $20k-per-night, three-story, 100-capacity Grand Penthouse Suite, the largest of any hotel on the West Coast, boasting a custom-designed pool table, kitchen "wine wall", private rooftop patio with 360-degree views & jacuzzi, and six flatscreens, so when guests get bored talking about how sweet the room is, they can live the dream and watch every Law & Order simultaneously

Also standing out: the lobby's "sophisticated steakhouse" is helmed by a James Beard-honored chef, while the poolside VIP lounge and cabana bar serves an unusual-for-poolside combo of fine sake and wine, plus the spa offers not just Asian treatments, but also Arabic ones, all supposedly inspired by the "Silk Road" -- because there's luxe pampering, and then there's luxe pampering fit for a Khan.