Snap to it, the floors are crocodile skin

Q&A: Just as well it's only money

Come on, nobody is going to pay £25,000 (Dh147,000) a week? You'd be surprised. Every hotel has top-end suites and there are always people willing to pay the price for luxury, especially if the property is unique.

Why is London property so crazy? It's purely a function of supply. There are a limited number of apartments available in prime locations for rent and sale.

Are sale prices still going up in London? Yes, but primarily in the prime central London neighbourhoods such as Knightsbridge and Mayfair. Prices in the exclusive neighbourhoods are up 8.3 per cent in the past year, according to Knight Frank.

Who is buying? Mainly people from overseas. By one estimate, about 60 per cent of sales of homes over £2 million are purchased by international buyers.

A six-bedroom penthouse with crocodile skin floors in Knightsbridge is billed as the most expensive rental in London's already over-heated market.

The 10,000 square-foot flat sits atop Hyde Park Knightsbridge, commanding 360-degree views of the city and Hyde Park from its six terraces.

The asking price is an eye-catching £25,000 (Dh147,000) a week, which may be worth it to travelling billionaires bored with the dreary penthouses of London's old palaces.

The apartment was decorated by Paul Davies, who has worked with celebrities such as Madonna and Elton John, ensuring no one will ever describe it as dreary.

A private lift opens to a stainless steel Art Deco lobby with a "black Zimbabwe marble" floor. The master bedroom features "pure silk carpet, plasma telly in the ceiling and lavish headboards made of eel skin, crocodile and ostrich leather", Rightmove reports.

Beyond the pop star touches, the apartment offers the type of features that have become fairly standard in luxury apartments, including the requisite cinema and treatment rooms, hydrotherapy spa, his and her bathrooms in the master suite, and a staff kitchen.

The apartment is "lateral space", which means renters don't have to worry about climbing those annoying stairs. And it also includes air conditioning, the listing notes, in case any prospective renters were worried that they would have to invest in floor fans to cool their £100,000 a month flat.

But the real appeal is the location, which is undoubtedly developing into London's most expensive neighbourhood. Tenants can step across the street to Hyde Park or stroll to Harrod's for afternoon tea.

Hyde Park Knightsbridge is around the corner from One Hyde Park, the project opened earlier this year, which is often referred to as the most expensive apartment building in the world.

In April Rinat Akhmetov, who has been called the richest man in Ukraine, reportedly paid £135.4 million for an apartment in One Hyde Park, which is believed to be the most ever paid for an apartment in the UK.

5: Five expensive rentals

1 Villa, Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, US$50,000 (Dh183,645) a month

2 Moska River, Moscow, $50,000 a month

3 Buckingham Gate, London, $45,000 a month

4 Continuum Tower, Miami, US$45,000 (Dh165,280) a month

5 Chelsea penthouse, New York, $30,000 a month

The One Hyde Park flats might set records once they start coming on the rental market.

The Quote: By seeing London, I have seen as much of life as the world can show. Samuel Johnson

kbrass@thenational.ae