IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) and Grupo Hotelero Latinoamérica are pleased to announce the opening of the Holiday Inn Express® Veracruz Boca del Rio. This is the sixth IHG-branded hotel in this region; previously opened IHG-branded hotels in Veracruz include two Crowne Plaza® hotels, three Holiday Inn® hotels and a Hotel Indigo® boutique hotel. “Veracruz is a strong and diverse destination with robust demand, which is a tremendous growth opportunity for our franchisees,” said Gerardo Murray, vice president, Marketing Strategic Services, for IHG in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. “IHG is focused on finding the right platforms to introduce the Holiday Inn Express® brand, which is designed to offer business and leisure travelers a comfortable, fresh, and modern experience.”
The 120-room Holiday Inn Express Veracruz Boca del Rio features a contemporary style. The new-build hotel opens following a $10 million investment by Grupo Hotelero Latinoamérica, and is strategically located in the fast-developing areas of Veracruz and Boca del Rio. The hotel, on Blvd. Adolfo Ruiz Cortines 4298, is in close proximity to the Plaza Las Americas mall, and within walking distance of the World Trade Center Veracruz. Additionally, the hotel is just 15 minutes away from the General Heriberto Jara International Airport.
The Holiday Inn Express Veracruz Boca del Rio was also designed in line with the Holiday Inn brand family’s $1 billion global brand relaunch, the largest project of its kind in hospitality history. The relaunch continues to drive increased quality and consistency across the global portfolio. The new hotel features a contemporary image with emphasis on arrival and welcome services, guestroom and guest bath comfort and a redesigned logo and signage.
All rooms are equipped with complimentary wireless internet access, ironing kit (iron and ironing board), coffee maker, safety deposit box, flat screen TV, radio-alarm clock with support for audio, and a desk with an ergonomic chair. Other amenities include a fully equipped fitness centre, a meeting room and covered parking for 200 cars.
The Holiday Inn Express Veracruz Boca del Río, owned and managed by Grupo Hotelero Latinoamérica, is franchised by an affiliate of IHG.
The ATM 2013 road show series concluded in Dubai on the 12th February after a two-week calendar of educational seminars in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon and Oman. The road show in Dubai, which was the largest event with 140 delegates, comes at a time when the UAE tourism receipts are forecast to rise by 67% over the next few years. The region is now entering a new era of stability and increased connectivity and expansion of existing infrastructure.According to Alpen Capital’s October 2012 GCC Hospitality Industry Report, the UAE’s hospitality market is likely to reach US$7.5 billion by 2016, up from US$4.5 billion (67% increase) in 2011 as visitor demand gains traction and new hotel supply enhances the existing tourism product.
“The UAE’s tourism map is now incredibly diverse. The Northern Emirates of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah are building on their own cultural foundations to present a series of unique individual products that, together with Dubai and Abu Dhabi, position the country as a cohesive hospitality hub, with varied appeal,” said Mark Walsh, Portfolio Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions.
Looking longer term, a recent Dubai Chamber study, supported by statistics published by Business Monitor International, puts UAE tourism sector growth at 6.5% per annum between 2011-2021, with visitors from the Middle East, Europe and Asia Pacific the key source markets. Employment growth prospects for the sector are also buoyant, with a forecast annual real growth rate of around 4.1%.
Tourist arrivals in the UAE are forecast to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% between 2012 and 2022, with hotel supply also expected to increase from the current 96,992 hotel rooms in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, to a total of 125,383 hotel rooms in 2016.
The emirate of Dubai continues to build on impressive performance levels. In November 2012, year-to-date occupancy of 80% was up 2% on 2011 according to Ernst & Young’s 2012 Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey.
Dubai International Airport, which is currently ranked the fourth busiest airport in the world in terms of international passengers, recorded total passenger traffic in the first 11 months of 2012 at 52.3 million travellers, up 13.1% against 2011, with passenger numbers forecast to reach 56.5 million in 2012, and 98 million by 2020.
Abu Dhabi has recorded similarly buoyant figures with 2012 another record year according to the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), which revealed that in 2012 it welcomed 2.3 million hotel guests to the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments, representing a 13% rise on 2011 figures. Hotel revenues for the same period also increased by 6% to US$ 1.261 billion.
Ras Al Khaimah’s plans to position itself as a nature-focused tourism destination are gaining momentum. By 2021, the emirate expects around 20% of its GDP to be generated by tourism-related activities. According to Oxford Business Group, the northern emirate is aiming to 10,000 rooms by 2016 with a US$218 million commitment to tourism development from the government.
“Local government investment into infrastructure, private sector investment into creating world-class attractions, and major route expansion by the two national carriers is a three-way strategy that is paying dividends for the UAE tourism industry,” said Walsh.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai and set to celebrate its 20th anniversary, the show has grown to become the largest showcase of its kind in the region and one of the biggest in the world.
New to the 2013 event, ATM is launching the Digital and Technology Day focusing on online travel developments and showcasing headline speakers from across the industry.
Taking place again this year is the New Frontiers Award, which was created to recognise outstanding contributions to tourism development in the face of overwhelming adversity. Industry Careers Day will wrap up the week providing the opportunity for visitors looking to make a career move to meet with the exhibitors’ HR contacts looking for their next recruit.
On Friday 15th March, the Chief Executive of London’s biggest hotel brand, Grant Hearn, officially opened the first ever UK hotel above a comedy club in Bethnal Green and also announced the Company’s location target list for a further 145 hotels across the capital. Bethnal Green Travelodge, a 131-room hotel which represents an £11million investment has been built above the iconic Backyard Comedy Club. Comedian Lee Hurst previously owned the site and agreed with its redevelopment in return for a purpose built comedy club on the ground floor to replace the one that would need to be demolished. The Backyard Comedy Club is set to reopen next month and will continue with its tradition of being a must-visit location for touring comedians in London.
At the hotel’s official opening ceremony alongside the MP for Bethnal Green & Bow, Rushanara Ali, Grant Hearn, made the announcement that Travelodge is looking to expand further across the capital with an intention to open a further 145 hotels across London boroughs.
As London’s biggest hotel brand, Travelodge currently has 59 hotels (7,633 rooms) across the city, it employs 1650 staff members across the capital. This year, as well as Bethnal Green, Travelodge will open a further three hotels in London at the following locations: Hounslow, Vauxhall and Walthamstow. These hotels combined represent an investment of £34 million and will create 80 new jobs across the capital.
Travelodge’s new location target list includes key London growth areas such as: Westminster, Camden, Southwark, Lambeth, Islington, Ealing and Greenwich. For the full target list please see notes to editors.
The Travelodge target list of 145 new hotels will create nearly 4,000 new jobs across the capital and boost the local economy annually by £290million*
Grant Hearn, Travelodge Chief Executive said: “The London hotel market is the strongest in the world and our target location list reflects its growth potential. We were proud to be the largest hotel brand in London for the Olympics but that was just the beginning for Travelodge.”
“There is a clear need for good quality, budget hotel rooms in central London as many of the existing B&B’s and hostels offer inadequate accommodation, poor value and extortionate prices.”
“Our research has highlighted that London’s suburbs are the capital’s hot spots for potential growth. Many London boroughs have large employment clusters and impressive regeneration proposals yet have an undersupply of hotel rooms. For instance, we have recently opened a number of hotels in locations such as Enfield and Greenwich, who are enjoying regularly full occupancy.
Grant Hearn, continued: “We are glad to be playing a role in the continuing redevelopment of Bethnal Green. Located just one stop from the City and two stops from Stratford, we believe this hotel will become one of our strongest performing hotels in London.
“We are also delighted to be located above Lee Hurst’s iconic Backyard Comedy Club. Over the years it has hosted many household name comedians and we are sure many of the comedians and their audiences will choose to stay at our hotel.”
To mark the opening of the UK’s first comedy club hotel partnership, Travelodge is introducing loo laughs – a toilet roll which is printed with a selection of funny jokes and cartoons to keep customers entertained and laughing whilst visiting the bathroom.
GHM, the hospitality management group that pioneered some of Asia’s top luxury hotels and beach resorts, has recently announced that its first ski resort is on track for a Winter 2013/2014 opening in Uri, Switzerland. Nestled in the Urseren Valley at the foot of some of the country’s most exhilarating ski slopes, The Chedi Andermatt will debut as the centrepiece of the Andermatt Swiss Alps project, the largest integrated year-round holiday destination currently under development in the canton of Uri, Switzerland.Together with GHM, renowned Belgian designer Jean-Michel Gathy of Denniston International Architects and Planners Ltd., conceptualised the hotel’s 50 rooms and 119 residential units as a blend of contemporary luxury and traditional Alpine architecture.
Two gourmet restaurants, indoor and outdoor swimming pool and a unique spa and wellness centre are a few of the features of the soon-to-open luxury hotel. In particular, The Chedi Andermatt will provide holidaymakers with a holistic ski experience – from a dedicated ski living room to services by a team of ski butlers. The facilities and amenities of The Chedi Andermatt are set to raise the standard for travel and rival the offerings of any ski resort in Switzerland.
Renowned as a pioneer of properties in previously unheralded travel destinations, GHM expects the opening of The Chedi Andermatt to pave the way for a revival of interest in the quiet Alpine village.
“The Chedi Andermatt will be the first GHM property to debut in the group’s third decade,” said GHM President Hans R. Jenni. “Our goal is an exclusive, modern hotel that celebrates the glory days of Swiss hospitality and looks every bit as breath-taking as the surrounding scenery.”
Set at an altitude of 1,440 metres between the peaks of Gemmstock and Naetschen, The Chedi lies within walking distance of Andermatt’s picturesque old town in the majestic Lepontine Alps. The hotel is 90 minutes by train from the cities of Zurich and Lucerne, and is two hours by train from Milan.
As a part of the project’s sustainability commitments, The Chedi Andermatt was built to MINERGIE Swiss quality standards, with materials and labour sourced locally.
Accor has entered into a franchise agreement to open a new Ibis Styles hotel in London Enfield. This new Ibis Styles hotel, which will be located at 33 London Road, Enfield London, will have 54 rooms and is due to open by the end of the year.
Thomas Dubaere, Managing Director, Accor UK & Ireland said: “The signing of this new Ibis Styles is another step in the continued transformation of our business model. It puts us well on track to achieving our target of operating 300 hotels in the UK by 2015.”
Accor currently operates 197 hotels in the UK. The hotel joins the rapidly growing portfolio of Ibis Styles hotels which include Ibis Styles London Croydon, Ibis Styles London Leyton, Ibis Styles London Southwark Rose and the recently opened, Ibis Styles London ExCel.
Not content with announcing two new sites in Liverpool and Chester at the beginning of 2013, Roomzzz Aparthotel have stepped up their already fast tracked expansion plans and have revealed 2 new sites in prime locations in Glasgow and Edinburgh.The Roomzzz brand has been gathering prominence and status in the industry since 2006 with a tried and tested methodology for the successful operation of Aparthotels. Mark Walton Head of Roomzzz Aparthotel UK comments ‘Our approach is simple – we give our customers exactly what they require when they are travelling, our rates are transparent and our offering consistent and in line with expectations’.
After a strong year of trading in 2012 which saw soaring averages of 87% occupancies across all sites and a 16% increase on 2011 Roomzzz are sitting pretty with a solid demand of franchise partners waiting in line to jump on the ever powerful Roomzzz machine. The franchise strategy for Roomzzz is to feature in key City centre locations in major Cities in the UK, so having dominated the hotel scene in Leeds, Manchester and more recently Newcastle with a new £6M Aparthotel – the brand is holding strong in their pursuit of strong and desirable locations.
Walton comments ‘investors are keen to be involved as franchise partners, there has been a well documented success story surrounding our franchise opportunities – investors are seeing measurable fast track growth year on year and are keen to be part of the brand which has shone through in the darkest moments of the current economic climate’.
Recent successful franchise sign-ups include sites in Chester and Liverpool which reflect the Roomzzz desire to be present in lively, on trend and vibrant places. Roomzzz are well known for their impact on attracting visitors into Cities due to their loyalty scheme, which sees guests divert their route to their nearest Roomzzz location. Figures show that loyal Roomzzz guests will frequent their favourite location even if it means travelling up to 10 miles out of their way.
Walton comments ‘the level of customer loyalty we observe through guest surveys really highlights what our guests value about what we offer which includes a loyalty discount and our decision to offer on tap and free wi-fi and phone calls included in our rate.’
The news of two Scottish additions to the portfolio will bring Roomzzz locations to 9 in total and they aren’t stopping there – the brand is already in discussions with 2 southern locations and are actively seeking a dynamic franchise partner for a central London site. Walton remarks ‘Roomzzz brings with it more than just a place to sleep at night due to the fact we lean towards a lifestyle approach in terms of flexibility matched with practicality which gives us a well rounded and feel good aspect – a key London site would give our customers exactly what they have been requesting – and after all that is exactly what Roomzzz is all about’.
Autograph Collection, Marriott International’s evolving portfolio of independent hotels, announced it will debut in Germany later this year with the opening of the 87-room Hotel am Steinplatz in Berlin. Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the historic icon will re-open following an extensive renovation after first opening as a hotel in 1913. Hotel am Steinplatzjoins a number of Autograph Collection properties currently scheduled to open in Europe this year, helping expand the collection’s current portfolio to fifteen hotels in Europe and more than 40 hotels worldwide.With the original building having first opened its doors in 1907, Hotel am Steinplatz has a fascinating history as an exclusive meeting point for artists, writers, philosophers and even aristocracy. It was designed by renowned architect, August Endell, who also designed the famous Hackesche Hoefe in Berlin. With its heritage listed façade and beautifully recreated interior, the hotel offers a potent mix of historical charm and modern sophistication, making it a prime destination in Germany’s historic capital.
Each Autograph Collection hotel is thoughtfully selected for its distinctive identity and original features. The collection comprises a dazzling array of beautiful and iconic properties such as Boscolo Budapest in Hungary and The Algonquin in New York City. Autograph Collection launched in 2010 as an opportunity for independent hotel owners to reach millions of travellers through access to Marriott International’s extensive network of global consumers. Autograph Collection also provided Marriott International entry into a new segment of the hospitality market, capturing both leisure and business travelers who sought more unique and independent hotel experiences.
The boutique property is uniquely located within walking distance of West Berlin’s main attractions and the city’s largest shopping street, Kurfurstendamm. Occupying a tranquil position in a picturesque residential neighbourhood, the hotel is surrounded by various theatres and opera houses, making it a popular destination for travellers and artists. Inside, the hotel has been renovated to the highest of standards with 84 stunning guestrooms, three suites, restaurant, and stylish lobby lounge & bar. Other features include a spa, fitness room and meeting space.
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) announces a major milestone for Candlewood Suites® hotels as the brand celebrates the opening of two new properties – Candlewood Suites Birmingham/Homewood (Alabama) and Candlewood Suites Manhattan (Kansas) – and a portfolio now exceeding 300 hotels. The brand was purchased by IHG in 2003 and has since grown rapidly, nearly tripling in size. The brand is poised to continue its rapid growth, with more than 75 hotels currently in the pipeline.“We are excited to reach this major milestone,” said Robert Radomski, vice president Brand Leadership, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites. “The Candlewood Suites brand has grown by 100 hotels over the past few years, and our most recent opening in Manhattan, Kan., is just a short drive from Wichita, Kansas where the brand originated in 1996.”
The new Candlewood Suites Manhattan, Kan., hotel has 84 suites and is located at 210 Blue Earth Place in the newly developed downtown area. The hotel is directly across the street from the Flint Hills Discovery Center and provides convenient access to Kansas State University; the U.S. Army’s 100,000-acre Fort Riley, home of the 1st Infantry Division; and the Manhattan Town Center mall.
“We’re pleased to bring the first extended stay property to Manhattan and honored to play a role in growing the Candlewood Suites brand in Kansas. It is thrilling to return to the birthplace of the brand as we hit this important milestone,” said Beth Lohman, general manager, Candlewood Suites Manhattan. “This opening is also exciting for us because this development is an integral part of Manhattan’s revitalized downtown.”
The new Candlewood Suites – Birmingham/Homewood hotel has 81 suites and is located at 400 Commons Drive in Homewood, Ala., approximately eight miles from downtown Birmingham. The hotel offers easy access to Interstate 65 and the Birmingham School of Medicine and Medical Center. Birmingham, Alabama’s largest city, also offers many nearby attractions including the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming visitors to the vibrant ‘Magic City’ of Birmingham and to all that Candlewood Suites hotels have to offer,” said Kathryn Lomasney, general manager, Candlewood Suites Birmingham/Homewood. “Our guests will love the design of our spacious suites, and the hotel’s amenities will allow them to live comfortably and keep a daily routine similar to that of home.”
Candlewood Suites hotels are focused on comfort, space and value, and all feature a combination of studio and one-bedroom suite floor plans with a fully equipped kitchen, executive desk, DVD player, recliner and telephone with voice mail, plus free local calls along with a variety of home-like amenities, including free wired and wireless high-speed Internet access, free on-site Guest Laundry facilities and the 24-hour Candlewood Gym. Unique to Candlewood Suites hotels, guests can also enjoy the convenience of the Candlewood Cupboard®, where a variety of beverages, breakfast items, snacks, frozen entrées and sundries can be purchased on the honour system at any time and where guests can enjoy complimentary, freshly brewed Maxwell House coffee.
The Candlewood Suites Manhattan, owned by Flinthills Hospitality and managed by Noble Hospitality, and the Candlewood Suites Birmingham/Homewood, owned by Lakeshore Holdings, LLC, and managed by N8, LLC, are both franchised by affiliates of IHG.
Hill Cross Furniture are the leading suppliers of contract outdoor furniture. Their new bro-chure selection has been specifically tailored to suit the needs of the outdoor furniture mar-ket and to give you a taster of the type of outdoor furniture they supply.Hill Cross Furniture supplies a wide range of outdoor furniture from both traditional styles and weaves to contemporary plastic. For more information, please visit their website www.hillcrossfurniture.co.uk.
The 5 star Westbury Mayfair Hotel has recently opened its doors to the newly refurbished restaurant headed by former Michelin star chef, Eric Chavot.This high profile project was entrusted to Hillswood Furniture by world renowned designers Alex Kravetz. The brief from the designers was to create a total of nine intimate bays with high profile tall banquette seating units, each incorporating two curved shaped ends to the shape specified by the designers.
As with all Hillswood’s special seating, their frames are made in solid beech. The seats, backs and arms were all deep upholstered for comfort to complement the luxury surroundings.
Hillswood liaised with Eric Chavot on site for the total installation and the whole project was turned around in five weeks.
Alex Kravetz specified the specially printed Italian leather with a distressed finish, contrast leather piping to all the shaped arms. All seams have been double saddle stitched for maximum effect.
In their new general catalogue 2013/2014 Baulmann Leuchten is introducing another family of illuminated bathroom mirrors based on the latest LED-technology.As a standard in the Baulmann bathroom range, the product has a protection rating of IP44, which makes it suitable for the use in bathrooms and wet locations. The warm-white LED, integrated behind the frosted diffuser, provides an all-over glare free illumination.
Even though the overall height of the mirror is only 26mm the LED-driver is fully integrated in the housing.
As usual these mirrors can be produced in different individual sizes thanks to the flexibility of the integrated LED.
Editors note: Hyperlinks are provided throughout this article to the competitive set as seen in HotelDesigns
Just at the moment we seem to be going through a very competitive reappraisal by the brands of their budget offerings. Marriott, have launched Moxy with IKEA as their first partner, targeting 100 hotels. Barry Sternlicht of Louvre has been reworking Campanile and Kyriad, whilst Starwoods have over 50 sites in their recently launched Aloft. Travelodge of course, having survived a major scare with refinancing, have launched their reworked Travelodge room with a major rollout programme, and Accor have restructured their budget offering completely subsuming their All Season and Etap brands into Ibis to boost the numbers to become Europe’s numerical leader in this area. Along with this increase in room numbers comes a brand reworking and HotelDesigns had a look at a couple of them. The first of these was the new build Ibis in Blackfriars, whilst the Ibis Styles in Docklands, next to the Excel exhibition centre is the focus of this Miniview. Premier Inn are market leaders in the UK and are starting to spread their wings with 3 now open in India and a couple in the Gulf. Accor’s Ibis is the brand leader in their depressed French home market and Ibis has for years been a steady choice for UK travellers in driving across Europe. As competition hots up I am starting to see ‘facilities creep’ in the provision – dedicated restaurants and bars being created where properties stood apart from but adjacent to separately operated restaurant provision previously.
Redesign, new styling, boutique styling are all labels that are being applied to the reworking at this level, partially at least under competitive pressure from new design oriented players such as Yotel, Citizen M and Tune. I would describe it as using design properly as part of the branding and marketing tools for the hotels. The hype of the brands about their new styling is as good as an admission that they did not pay enough attention to it in the past, and saw designer fees as an unnecessary expense. Operationally too they are upping their performance with Sleep guarantees and free WiFi provision for example. The Ibis Styles Excel is a conversion of the previous operation and is the opposite side of the DLR station to the Excel centre, so location is good for both delegates and tourists. Car parking is a great bonus, even if limited to the first 50 arrivals. The move by the owners to franchise Ibis Styles has already given a big uplift in occupancy
Accor is Africa’s largest hotel operator with 17,000 rooms (116 hotels) in 18 countries. It is now stepping up its expansion on this continent and aims to open another 5,000 rooms there by 2016.Sub-Saharan Africa, where Accor has 54 hotels from economy to upscale in 14 countries, is a key area for the group, which aims to open 35 hotels there by 2020.
Accor sees opportunity in the area’s economic growth, the urbanization of its large cities, and the growing demand for hotels. It plans to expand principally through its economy and midscale brands ibis and Novotel, but Accor will also expand through its Mercure and Pullman brands as and when opportunities arise in the most important cities. The group plans to create denser networks in countries where it already operates and open hotels in new markets. The next establishment to open in sub-Saharan Africa is the ibis Lagos Ikeja in Nigeria (in spring 2013).
“After operating for many years in Africa, we have high hopes for this continent and are now stepping up our expansion here. By launching our sustainable development program, PLANET 21, in Africa we are asserting our commitment to responsible growth.” declared Denis Hennequin, Accor’s Chairman and CEO. Accor launches PLANET 21 in Africa, to reinvent hotels…sustainably.
Sub-Saharan Africa, a key development area PLANET 21 is the new sustainable development program that involves all Accor’s hotels and customers. The program is structured into seven pillars – health, nature, carbon, innovation, local development, employment and dialogue, which in turn comprise 21 commitments backed by ambitious quantifiable objectives that the hotels must meet by 2015. PLANET 21 includes an innovative program that uses an array of educational messages to inform and encourage customers to contribute actively to the hotels’ actions through a few simple gestures.
Accor’s approach to sustainable development places particular emphasis on local problems. For example, over the last few years, the efforts of the group’s sub-Saharan hotels have focused on four flagship projects: tree planting in the Lompoul Kebemer region, employee health and well-being, careers and training and responsible fishing.
Ever since 2009, Senegal has been home to one of the 14 plantations supported by Accor as part of the Plant for the Planet project which finances reforestation around the world thanks to the hotel bathroom formula “5 reused towels = 1 tree planted”. To date, 590 hotels, including 14 in Africa and two in Senegal, are taking part in this reforestation funding project, which is carried out in partnership with the NGO SOS SAHEL. A total of 1,251,000 trees have been planted on the site and significant benefits are being felt both environmentally (less erosion, villages and fields shielded from the sand) and socially (creation of new revenue-generating activities for the communities involved and organization of a timber exploitation business).
Accor has made the health and well-being of its teams a priority with E-care, a website available to all the hotels in the region that aims to help prevent illnesses (HIV/Aids, malaria, diabetes, etc.) and psycho-social risks (high blood pressure, stress, etc.).
Accor is behind the creation of 11,000 jobs in Africa, including 3,000 in sub-Saharan Africa, and believes that employees’ and future employees’ careers and training are of vital importance. In 2012, Accor Africa welcomed 1,846 trainees in 14 countries, and provided 3 252 days of training to employees in sub-Saharan Africa.
The group’s African hotels are also committed to supporting local development. 82% of them purchase local products and promote them on their menus. In Senegal, a guide to sustainable seafood procurement, produced in collaboration with expert NGO Nebeday, has been used in all the group’s hotels since 2012.
With PLANET 21, Accor’s African hotels, which already boasted encouraging results in all these areas, are now taking another step towards sustainable hospitality.
Morgan, the design-led British manufacturer of contract furniture, has once again exhibited in Florida as part of the ‘Best of British’ line-up at Cruise Shipping Miami. From 11-14th March 2013, Morgan joined forces with Skopos, Brintons, Muraspec, Trimline and SMC Design on Stand 2209 where they presented attractive and authoritative furnishings and interior design solutions for the international cruise market. Products on display included the Pastille 5055 and Seville 753ASQ lounge chairs with button back detail. Pastille dining chairs and stools offer contemporary comfort and elegant show wood detailing; with the 5055 model featuring a hidden swivel mechanism, originally designed for Crystal Cruise Symphony. Seville chairs, stools and sofas feature sweeping curved arms which are reminiscent of vintage style, a diamond stitch and button detail was added to the Seville 753ASQ for Crystal Cruises Serenity. Both collections, created by Morgan Design Director Katerina Zachariades, offer timeless style, compact footprints and a comfortable long sit making them perfect choices for cruise liners.
The cruise sector is a highly successful market for Morgan thanks to their ability to apply the Marine Quality Mark to produce attractive and practical furniture pieces of unsurpassed quality which fully conform to Marine Contract standards. Examples of recent projects include the Crystal Serenity and Saga Sapphire.
Eight inspired collections from Morgan, including some specially-adapted designs, appeared on board the Saga Sapphire, providing comfort and ocean-going style for up to 706 passengers. Designed to appeal to more modern tastes, the Saga Sapphire has a fun, quirky feel which was inspired by the British seaside. Morgan chair and table collections featured are Siena, Como, Seville, Hampton, Verona, Atlantic, Boston and Rotunda.
Seville and Pastille chairs were chosen by the design team of the Crystal Serenity, who travelled over from Canada to meet the Morgan team at the head office factory in Emsworth, Hampshire. Upholstered in white leather, the Pastille chairs are invitingly comfortable and elegant in the retail area onboard, while the Seville dining chairs feature a diamond stitched button detail for a uniquely luxurious finishing touch in the Penthouse Suites.
Latest original Morgan collections include Lucca and Modena, both of which are ideally suited to the cruise sector. The fully upholstered Lucca side chair features a continuous piping detail which accentuates the radiused profile and looks striking when upholstered in a contrasting fabric. The seat appears to float on the elegant show wood base. There is also a matching dining height table. Contemporary and luxurious, the Modena collection features lounge chairs and sofa as well as a modular sofa. The chair is generous and features a sweeping upholstered arm detail that creates a sharp profile but also a soft inviting shape. The modular sofa has been designed with a hand crafted show wood base that links the units and avoids double legs.
Morgan is recognised for its exemplary eco-credentials, a fact independently endorsed by the ISO14001 environmental standard. All products are manufactured in a low energy consuming factory, using sustainable FSC timber, top quality CMHR foams and non rusting fittings.
UK Shower manufacturer and designer, Roman Limited, have just completed a prestigious project on the Paradise Island Resort of Langkawi, Malaysia, supplying just over 300 Shower Enclosures, Wetroom Panels and Shower Trays. The resort includes a series of high specification holiday apartments which overlook a lagoon. The holiday apartments are set against a luxurious backdrop where cable cars run from the top of the mountains down to the nearby beach.
The upmarket resort called for Roman’s luxury 10mm thick glass Sculptures Range, along with their stylish Infinity Trays, for a designer finish. The specifiers also made use of the shower manufacturer’s Project Specification Guide, installing a series of bespoke options uniquely created to suit their brief.
The Infinity Tray range is new to the South East Asian market, having already become popular across the UK and Europe for the project market. They offer a ‘simulated’ wetroom look, with their level access and flawless finish, but with a quick and easy installation.
This is one of a number of high value specification projects that Roman is currently working on, following the launch of their specialist Project Specification Guide. The Guide was launched in October 2012 and was quick to scoop the Gold Award for Marketing at the 2012 Designer Kitchen and Bathrooms Magazine Awards in November.
The Project Specification Guide is available via a printed brochure or through a dedicated website, www.roman-showers.com/psg. It is designed for volume projects, where specifiers are looking for a tailor made solution.
David Osborne, Managing Director at Roman, commented: “We are delighted to have supplied showering solutions for such a high quality resort. The specifiers working on the holiday apartments were very specific about what they needed from a shower enclosure supplier – off the shelf would simply not work for every single apartment. The products installed included some standard products from our Sculptures range including; Wetroom Panels, Hinged Doors and Sliding Doors, but some of these were then tweaked to suit different apartments, using our Project Guide. We also introduced them to our Infinity Tray Range, which we know is something a bit different for this market. They liked the seamless look which was presented due to the waste being disguised with a solid surface cover, so were quick to add these onto the specification. The finished apartments look fantastic and our minimalist showering solutions work perfectly in the space.”
March saw The Campaign for Wool organise an innovative and creative focus on the way wool can inhabit a space both public and private. This was curated by Arabella McNie assisted by Jo Bailey.As wool is natural, sustainable, inherently fire resistant and renewable it offers a timeless and enduring quality for interiors, fashion, build and craft. We have many talented and skilled people in the global textile industry and it is wonderful to see them using natural fibres in such a diversity of ways.
Although my main interest was from the point of view of hotel design, I really appreciate function and form in all the products and artefacts on display as a confirmed ‘fibre fan ‘. The real life sheep on display at the weekend had gone home but these colourful ewes provided a warm welcome.
The wow factor came into play as soon as one entered the entrance hall with Amy Somerville’s mammoth chair upholstered in wool from Mongolian Long-haired Sheep, a lovely chair to curl up in knitting to while away a wet or snowy afternoon, or provide a signature piece for a boutique hotel reception.
Outsized balls of felted yarn from Krafthaus in South Africa’s Western Cape drew the eye as did the exquisitely worked monotone sheep tapestry over the fireplace by Melissa Watts of Maud Designs.
In the corridor the stunning carpet runner was manufactured by Directory member Brintons to a design by Cristian Zuzunaga. The 100 foot runner was made especially for the event with the inspiration for the design coming from DNA and the double Helix. It was produced on Brintons High Definition looms using 33 colours to create the final result.
Ibis has become Europe’s outright number one hotel brand in 2013, with 1,277 hotels and 121,882 rooms across the continent.“This represents a major move in the rankings, as it positions owning group Accor – already the number one hotel group in Europe – as also having the leading brand in the market with Ibis,” comments CEO, MKG Group, Georges Panayotis.
Part of the growth represents new property developments, whilst the bulk is a result of a major repositioning strategy by Accor to amalgamate and uniform the Ibis product with former brands Etap Hotels and All Seasons. Ibis now has the largest number of rooms in Europe, significantly more than any other chain.
“The complete renewal of our Economy supply through the ibis mega brand project, which concerns more than 1,600 hotels in the world, has been implemented by Accor at an unprecedented speed in history of the hospitality industry. It is a response to the evolution of consumer needs and supports our accelerated international development. I am very happy that this first place in the European brand ranking rewards the exceptional mobilisation of Accor’s staff at every level, as well as of all our franchisees,” states President & CEO Accor Group, Denis Hennequin.
The change in ranking pushes former number one American brand Best Western to second spot, now with 90,738 rooms, a small increase over last year. With five new properties and a total of almost 57,000 rooms, Accor’s other brand Mercure makes up the top three.
In another year of very limited organic growth in new hotel constructions, UK brands Premier Inn and Travelodge also showed good movement in supply, spurred by new openings for the London Olympic Games. Premier Inn injected over 5,000 new rooms to reach a total of 50,744, and cement its fourth position in the European hotel brand rankings. Travelodge added over 3,300 new rooms to current stock, allowing the brand to move up two spots in the rankings. Both brands however, continue to maintain the majority of their supply in the UK only.
Other significant brand movers with increasing supply in 2013 are B&B, Holiday Inn Express, Ramada and Premiere Classe.
Meanwhile, Hilton International and Novotel both record a decrease in room supply, however this does not affect any of their standings in the top ten.
“The rest of the year should remain more or less stagnant throughout much of Europe. Although some new supply will enter the market, particularly in Eastern Europe, whilst some properties will abolish their agreement with a brand, overall rankings should not be overly impacted,” concludes Panayotis.
Malaysian hotel group Tune Hotels have announced an aggressive roll-out plan for India with a target of 100 new hotels over the forthcoming years. The first 100-room property will open in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on 1st April 2013 and will reflect the core principals of the Tune Hotels brand – international class accommodation that offers great value and great savings.Tune Hotels have identified the Indian market as a huge opportunity and will be looking to bring their unique set-up to the tourism market. Most hotels in India tend to have 100 rooms per property, but Tune would look to have between 100 and 200 rooms. The brand will also look to focus on the Indian wedding market which offers huge potential for the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market and the opportunity to house a full family in one single hotel.
Mark Lankester, CEO, commented: “We are delighted to be opening in Gujarat and have a full strategy in place. Normally we would target larger locations, such as Delhi in this instance, but when we looked at the background and history of Gujarat, we identified that it is the best performing economy in the whole of India.
If you look at one state which has more citizens living abroad, it is Gujarat, with one million in the UK and US respectively. This is a huge market, and as such, the strategy is for five or six hotels to ideally open in Gujarat in the next three years to target the opportunities that arise with the VFR and business traveller markets.”
The Gujarat hotel will be closely followed by a 120-room hotel in Bhiwadi, Haryana, by the end of 2013 and a 200-room hotel near the New Delhi Railway Station in early 2014. Besides Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai are the other major capitals that Tune Hotels are looking to confirm a presence. Others in the pipeline are in Neemrana and Jaipur in Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Punjab and Bhavnagar, Gujarat.
HOTEL ATMOSPHERES entices customers with freedom from Axor Bouroullec
Paris is as famous for its culture and lifestyle as it is for the scope it gives to individual expression: innumerable creative and original thinkers, even mavericks, have left their mark on the City of Lights; names like Sartre, Lagerfeld and Coco Chanel as well as what has become known as Paris ’68 bear testimony to that reputation. The new HOTEL ATMOSPHERES on the rive gauche fully embraces this spirit of freedom: the hotel bathrooms feature the Axor Bouroullec collection that can accommodate personal preferences like no other. The collection was developed jointly by Axor, the designer brand of Hansgrohe SE, and the French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. The open system of Axor Bouroullec is ideally suited to meet the requirements of a boutique hotel endeavouring to offer a diverse clientele the ultimate in creature comforts. Shelves in the bathroom, a special feature of this collection, are especially useful in a hotel bathroom: so often hotel guests are unable to find a spot in the bathroom where they could place the things they are accustomed to, or they find that the facilities for use of water do not take the ergonomics and the spatial environment into consideration, only offering standard solutions that are often not even very functional.
Axor Bouroullec provides freedom of choice By contrast, the design of Axor Bouroullec features a functional landscape of shelves arranged around the wash basin – shelves that guests are free to use as they see fit: no more soap dishes integrated into the basin that are designed for that sole purpose and nothing else. Arranged at different heights around the wash basin are various shelves that will accommodate all kinds of items, in addition to the soap and the mixer. The collection also “liberates” the mixer from its traditional place centred at the back of the wash basin. The levers can be arranged in any way that pleases the user and makes sense – even to let water flow from the console above the basin, something that amazes guests at the HOTEL ATMOSPHERES: it is both a stroke of genius and a convenient idea from Axor and the designers, the brothers Bouroullec. In the words of a French trade magazine: “C’est l’avant-garde! The first wash basin without a mixer!”
With Axor Bouroullec, the interior architect Vincent Bastie could choose from a collection comprising about 90 products, thus providing a perfect solution for the most diverse range of settings and circumstances. The minimalist, yet not quite geometric design of the multi-award-winning Axor Bouroullec collection represents understatement at the highest level. A compact interpretation in the “Solo” room, a generously spaced arrangement in the “Junior Suite” and other combinations of Axor Bouroullec are spread throughout the multi-faceted hotel: at the HOTEL ATMOSPHERES, guests are spoilt for choice, a pleasure akin to the discoveries of the “Esprit de Paris”.
The boutique hotel is half gallery, half luxury hotel A preoccupation with the personality of this metropolis along the river Seine comes through in the 56 rooms, including two suites and two apartments: the individual designs reflect different facets of the city and prompt guests to choose their personal favourite world: “Nature”, “Palace” or “Urban” are some of the themes; additional spatial designs are interpretations of themes like “Monuments”, “Macarons” (macaroons, a popular almond pastry), and the night life. Over a hundred images by photographer Thierry des Ouches link the arts theme with the Paris lifestyle. The photographs on display throughout the hotel are for sale, in effect adding an art gallery to this exquisite hospitality establishment.
With a fitness room and sauna, this three-star hotel housed in two fully renovated old buildings offers the level of comfort of an international hotel. Part of the contemporary presentation of the HOTEL ATMOSPHERES undoubtedly the loft style of its spaciously redesigned ground floor, featuring bare brick walls and contrasting with the salon atmosphere prevailing in the guest rooms: upholstered beds and colourful highlights, modern classics and baroque quotations. It is the perfect complement to its location in the exciting centre of Paris and the characteristic mix of Notre Dame, Louvre and Musee d’Orsay only minutes away, in proximity to the markets exuding Paris flair, and the elegant fashion establishments, the boutiques in the small side streets of the Boulevard Saint- Germain, and the legendary Café Les Deux Magots. The hotel embraces the versatility of Paris in terms of its style, culture and hospitality and interprets these in its own individual way.
Forbes Group intends to make a real difference to its environmental impact with the latest addition to the range of fabrics in which it makes its table skirtings, chair covers, contemporary and cocktail table covers. EcoFab is a ground-breaking polyester fabric made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. As such, it has a double benefit for the environment: it requires up to 53% less energy to produce than virgin polyester, and it keeps plastic water bottles out of landfill.
In addition, EcoFab is highly practical in the hospitality environment. It has demonstrated impressive crease resistance (especially useful for chair covers, and for storing table skirting), repels stains, is machine washable and non-iron. Like other polyester fabrics, it is also soft yet hard-wearing and doesn’t shrink.
“We have long wanted to source a more environmentally-friendly fabric,” comments Anna Smarzak of Forbes, “but it had to work for our customers in the hospitality industry too. The fact that EcoFab’s stain-repellent and crease resistant properties were so good made it a winner for me. We think it’s the fabric of the future”.
For further information, please see Forbes Group’s website at www.forbesgroup.eu or telephone 01568 616 638.
IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group) has recently announced the opening of the new Holiday Inn Express® Romulus/Detroit Metro Airport, less than a mile from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and less than 30 minutes from the downtown business district.The new hotel opens following a multimillion dollar remodelling that included renovations to each of its 110 guest rooms and the addition of a new business centre, exercise room and guest laundry. Located at 7680 Merriman Rd. at Interstate 94, the hotel offers a free airport shuttle service 24 hours a day and seven days a week, as well as a Park and Fly package, which includes a one-night stay and eight days of parking at a secure facility next to the hotel.
Business travellers will enjoy the hotel’s proximity to the business centres of Dearborn and Detroit – home of Ford Motor Company® and General Motors Company® respectively. The hotel is also near Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus. Leisure travellers will find the hotel location convenient to the Henry Ford Museum, Noah Webster’s home – where the first American dictionary was written – and Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory. Additionally, the Detroit sports venues of Comerica Park and Ford Field are just a short drive away.
In addition to its 24-hour business centre, the hotel also offers a small meeting room and free wireless Internet service throughout the hotel.
The Holiday Inn Express Romulus/Detroit Metro Airport, owned by the Koza family, and managed by Group 10 Management, is franchised by an affiliate of IHG.
Marriott International, Inc. announced plans to open a new 150-room Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Lima, South America’s third largest city, under an agreement with Inversiones La Rioja, S.A., a distinguished Peruvian corporation which owns the existing 300-room JW Marriott Lima and 153-room JW Marriott Cusco. The hotel will be situated at the intersection of Calle Alcanfores and Calle Schell in Lima’s upscale Miraflores neighbourhood known for its shopping, restaurants, antique dealers and breath taking ocean views. “We were taken by the new concept and positioning of the Courtyard by Marriott brand, and are very excited about developing this property with Marriott International in Lima,” said Alfonso Brazzini, President of the Board of Inversiones la Rioja. “With the incredible performance of the JW Marriott Lima, we are confident this hotel will do very well in Lima.”
“The new Courtyard by Marriott in Lima will be a significant milestone in our rapid expansion across Latin America,” remarked Craig S. Smith, President of the Caribbean & Latin America at Marriott International, Inc. “The hotel will feature a modern, functional design while embracing Peru’s vibrant culture and the amenities travelers trust from our globally renowned Marriott International brands.”
“This new hotel strengthens our footprint in Lima, a key strategic market for Marriott International in Latin America, and I am confident it will greatly contribute to our success in the country,” said Laurent de Kousemaeker, chief development officer for the Caribbean & Latin America at Marriott International, Inc.
In addition to 150 guest rooms, the hotel will feature the brand’s refreshing business lobby, a casual dining restaurant, ample meeting space and recreational facilities include a swimming pool and a fitness centre. It will also feature Courtyard’s new relaxing interior design for the guestrooms.
Research by W Hospitality Group, one of the founding members of Hotel Partners Africa (HPA), reveals that the number of planned new hotel rooms in the Hotel Development Pipeline in Africa has increased by 16 per cent on last year, which was 12 per cent up on 2011. This is based on a sample of 29 international hotel chains, with 59 brands between them, and analyses deals that they have signed with owners. As in previous years, the detail behind the headline shows a distinct tale of two Africas. In North Africa, the development pipeline grew by 9 per cent, from 17,217 planned new hotel rooms in 2012 to 18,782 rooms in 77 hotels in 2013. In sub-Saharan Africa, however, the chains’ pipeline now stands at 21,052 rooms in 130 hotels, up from 17,109 rooms in 100 hotels a year ago – a massive 23 per cent increase. This compares to 4 per cent growth in Europe and 8.6 per cent growth in Asia Pacific, according to data produced by STR Global (although the growth in Africa is from a much lower base).
Trevor Ward, Managing Director of W Hospitality Group said: “The main reasons for the slower growth in North Africa include the opening of hotels in the 2012 pipeline, particularly in Algeria, a reduced investment focus on North Africa due to political concerns and a greater emphasis on development in sub-Saharan markets.
“There is a boom in Africa, in all sectors, including hotels. Economic growth in many countries is 6 per cent or higher and global investors are looking at the continent in a much more serious and sophisticated way. We are being contacted by an increasing number of dedicated investment funds seeking to enter the African hotel market.”
The five countries of North Africa all appear in the top ten countries for new hotels, led by Egypt (7,644 planned new hotel rooms), Morocco (5,178) and Algeria (3,160). In sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria has by far the largest pipeline, with 7,470 planned new rooms. The companies leading the way are Hilton Worldwide with 6,230 rooms in its African pipeline, Carlson Rezidor with 5,947, Accor with 5,165 and Marriott with 3,900.
Said Ward: “The major international brands are still blazing the trail, led by Hilton Worldwide, forging ahead with 6,230 planned new rooms for Hilton, Doubletree and Garden Inn brands, an extraordinary 84% increase on 2012. And it is extremely encouraging to see new brands entering the market, including Campanile, Dusit, easyHotel, Fairmont, Hyatt Place and W. This shows the confidence of the hotel chains not just in the continent conceptually, but also as somewhere where they can diversify their brand footprint.”
W Hospitality Group and Hotel Partners Africa released the report at the official launch of HPA to highlight its deep understanding of the hotel sector in Africa. HPA is a new consultancy formed by four pre-eminent consultants to the hotel industry in Africa – Trevor Ward and Vernon Page of Lagos-based W Hospitality Group, David Harper of Leisure Property Services (UK) and Mark Martinovic of Hotel Spec (South Africa and Dubai). Together they are offering their clients an unparalleled range of services throughout the life cycle of a hotel venture in Africa, from feasibility & market studies, valuations, sourcing funding & finance, development management and procurement, to asset management and sales.
One of the UK’s leading independent wallcovering manufacturer, Dixon Turner is pleased to introduce Brushed Steel to its Premier collection.Brushed Steel – a new fabric backed vinyl wallcovering. The delicate textured surface of Brushed Steel, combined with lustrous metallic print effects makes this new range a stunning addition to Dixon Turner’s extensive collection of contract vinyl wallcoverings. The reflective underlay of the texture contrasts with the fine raised filaments to make this product both sophisticated and chic.
The extensive colour palette features rich shades of plum and berry, along with earthy tones of moss, peat and sand. Pearlescent finishes have been applied to the paler colours to add a luxurious, yet usable look. As the product name suggests though, the focus of the palette is metallic, and with a wide variety of gold, silver, bronze and pewter hues, Brushed Steel is sure to create a talking point wherever it is used.
For more information onBrushed Steel or any other Dixon Turner designs, please contact our sales team on: 0870 606 1237, alternatively you can email sales@dixon-turner.co.uk
A ground breaking ceremony was held on the 7th March at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel for a new 30,000-square-foot meeting facility. The 14-month, multi-million dollar construction project will create jobs for nearly 200 workers and is scheduled for completion in June of 2014. Renaissance Hotels is a lifestyle brand within the Marriott International, Inc. global portfolio of 18 brands.The new facility will give the hotel a total of 50,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The centrepiece of the new space will be a 16,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom (able to accommodate up to 1,500 people for a seated dinner) with plentiful natural light throughout. Directly above the new ballroom will be the City View Ballroom and City View Rooftop Terrace including an additional 10,900 square feet of indoor and outdoor space for truly unique large-scale events. The City View Ballroom will offer floor-to-ceiling windows and breathtaking views of the Dallas skyline. The architect and contractor for this project is HC Beck.
The new structure is designed to qualify for the LEED Standard Silver status rating, signalling the hotel’s focus on sustainability and environmental responsibility throughout the renovation process. Key design elements include contemporary décor, vaulted ceilings, and state-of-the-art sound and lighting. The facility will offer a private entrance with valet parking options and motor coach access, as well as catering services focused on modern-American cuisine with a local twist. The hotel’s current meeting and event space will remain open throughout the expansion.
Mark Woelffer, general manager of the hotel, noted that the new facility gives the hotel the ability to house larger conferences and social galas which they were previously unable to accommodate due to lack of space. It is projected to produce approximately $10 million in revenue in its first year of operation, translating to nearly $500,000 in additional tax income for the city — and will create many new jobs at the property.
The Renaissance Dallas Hotel offers luxurious accommodations and remarkable architecture in an excellent location near the American Airlines Centre, Dallas Convention Centre, and Love Field Airport. Consistently ranked among the top hotels in the city, the property includes 514 guest rooms and suites, Celebrity Chef Dean Max’s celebrated Asador Restaurant, rooftop pool, and fitness centre. Marriott International, Inc. currently offers a portfolio of nearly 90 hotels across nine lodging brands in the DFW Metroplex.
Design and comfort take first priority in the new rooms of the Swissôtel Métropole, Geneva. The twelve “signature rooms” are the first of their kind within Swissôtels & Resorts and point the way to future projects for the global hotel group with Swiss roots.The innovative design follows an alpine inspiration, with parquet floors and an absolute eye-catcher, the colourful wallpapers, which symbolize seas of flowers as encountered in the Swiss Alps. The exclusive wallpapers were designed especially for the hotel by the renowned Swiss textile manufacturer Jakob Schlaepfer, a Silk and Embroidery Company of international repute, which supplies luxury fashion designers such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Vivienne Westwood with exceptional materials. The open, mosaic bathrooms are a particular highlight, providing guests with their own personal spa experience via the steam showers or Jacuzzi baths with jet stream. The comfort experience is enhanced by the Swissotel product line Pürovel, which is produced by Swiss farmers using pure biological oils and local herbs.
The signature rooms also demonstrate the latest technological developments: all lights and electronic instruments are navigated via a central control panel and the 150 channel television is integrated into a room-high mirror, with a media connection panel allowing guests to connect an MP3 player, an iPad or notebook and to view an own video, for example. Various additional services, which are available free of charge to guests in the new rooms, are decisive for the unique hotel experience. Minibar, ironing service on arrival, Nespresso coffee machine and free Wi-Fi access are all included. All signature rooms are offering a view over the famous English Garden or Lake Geneva.
According to Stefan Winistoerfer, General Manager of the Swissôtel Métropol, Geneva, “the first guests in the signature rooms have been absolutely delighted. The designers have accomplished a modern and chic ambience, offering a high degree of comfort. Twelve additional signature rooms will be completed in the course of the year”.
The luxury hotel Swissotel Métropole, Geneva is ideally located on the left lakeshore, midst in the business and shopping quarter of the city and only a few minutes’ walk from the old town. The 111 rooms and 16 suites provide the latest technology and constitute the ideal accommodation for both business and private travelers.
Pullman, Accor’s upscale brand for international seasoned travellers, opens Pullman Dubai Deira City Centre with 317 rooms. This new property is the first step of a key year, sustained by a strong expansion in main tourist hubs and a new way to experience upscale hospitality through a cosmopolitan, vibrant and in style journey. This opening will also reveal the first Pullman Artnight, an exclusive and original event which takes guests into the heart of the Pullman brand.“Adding Pullman Dubai Deira City Centre to our global properties is a milestone for us. Our Pullman network currently counts 78 hotels in 23 countries. We have huge ambitions for this brand which offers a strong and differentiated proposal to customers and owners. Middle East’s strong travel and tourism outlook matches Accor’s development goals of managing 150 Pullman hotels worldwide by 2015-2020, among which 15 will be in key GCC destinations.” says Yann Caillère, President and Chief Operating Officer Accor.
Pullman Dubai Deira City Centre: a cosmopolitan, and in style hotel in Dubai Pullman Dubai Deira City Centre is located in the Deira district, connected to one of the city’s largest malls. Close to Dubai International Airport, the location is popular among business and leisure travellers. The hotel has undergone a complete refurbishment to reflect the brand’s creative DNA.
Offering an amazing view of Dubai’s creek and lush landscape of Dubai Golf and Yacht Club, Pullman Dubai Deira City Centre features the best of the brand’s signature services including the Welcomer, Pullman bed, free Wi-Fi, Connectivity Lounge, Co-Meeting offer for the MICE market, Nespresso® experience, Vinoteca by Pullman wine list and Pullman Fit & Spa Lounge.
This hotel radiates Pullman’s DNA and treats cosmopolitan guests to an all-new experience at the top of upscale hospitality range, combining performance and pleasure into a lifestyle where working and relaxing are no longer contradictory terms Christophe Landais – Managing Director Accor Middle East, added: “We are committed to further strengthen our position in the region and the Pullman Dubai Deira City Centre will undoubtedly be the choice hotel for business and leisure travellers. We currently operate four Pullman hotels in the Middle East, and will add two more – the 354-room Pullman Dubai Jumeirah Lakes Towers which will open this year and the 468-room Pullman Doha West Bay which will open in 2015.”
Modern and connected rooms The Pullman Dubai Deira City Centre’s 317 rooms provide first-class comfort and state-of-the-art technology. All rooms have a new bedding concept, which offers memory foam pillows to relieve neck pain and provide a better sleep. The hotel is designed to be a perfect balance between business and leisure. Its environment facilitates efficient and quiet work thanks to its latest connectivity features.
Contemporary food and beverage outlets, facilities for sports, recreation and wellbeing The property, with four restaurants and bars, provides international and local cuisine tailored to cosmopolitan travellers and local customers alike: Le Cafe, a 24-hour lobby lounge; all-day dining restaurant Medley; La Fabrique, a New York-style venue for after-work drinks or to watch the latest sport broadcast; and the outdoor rooftop pool lounge, Azure, the perfect place to unwind, sip cocktails amidst views of the Dubai skyline. The luxurious SOMA Spa, uses famous Clarins products while the ‘Fit Lounge’ has latest generation cardio and weight training equipment.
State-of-the-art meeting areas and latest generation technology to be unveiled soon In October 2013, the hotel will have an entire floor dedicated to meetings and events with 9 totally renovated meeting rooms, a dedicated meeting space of 909 square metres. It will feature the Pullman Co-Meeting concept, which offers comfort and connectivity and also encourages dedication and cohesion. A fully dedicated team, with an Event Manager and IT Solutions Manager, deals with all last minute details (from the break areas, meeting room set-up, dining rooms, video-conferencing services, Pullman Chill out Spaces and innovative breaks) to assure success of all professional events. The Pullman Connectivity Lounge allows clients to stay tuned, print documents and efficiently work with the latest-generation of PCs and printers.
The first Pullman Artnight: a vibrant experience on the occasion of Pullman Dubai Deira City Centre launch Pullman Artnights, series of signature events produced locally around the globe, have been launched for the Pullman Dubai Deira City Centre opening. These international encounters with the Pullman brand will become the common thread for each event, recognizable and identifiable global Pullman moments, rooted in the destination city as well as in the brand DNA: cosmopolitan, in-style and vibrant.
“Whether they are staying for business, leisure, or both, our objective is to offer our guests a cosmopolitan, vibrant and in style experience. In 2013, starting with Paris, London and Brussels, Pullman will start building with both emerging and established living artists a contemporary art collection that explores an essential aspect of our times: the re-emergence of cultural identities in a modern world marked by universality and cultural mixing.” explains Xavier Louyot – Senior Vice President Global Marketing Pullman.
Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago’s largest hotel and the largest Hyatt in the world, is set to unveil a $168 million renovation in early April, enhancing the entire property into a sleek, modern oasis for travellers and locals alike.Located next to the intersection of Wacker Dr. and Michigan Ave. – the crossroads of Chicago – and on the southern shore of the Chicago River, Hyatt Regency Chicago is both an urban landmark and a flag bearer of an international hotel brand. The current renovation seeks to polish this distinguished property, bringing a building which was designed more than 30 years ago into alignment with the most recent additions to Chicago’s architectural skyline including the nearby Millennium Park, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the Chicago Historical Society and other internationally acclaimed works.
“The central vision behind the renovation is that of the atrium and lobby as a grand urban space, a place where the excitement of the milling crowd is amplified by the presence of extraordinary program elements,” says Paul Bentel, Partner at Bentel + Bentel architects and planners. “Whether it be registration and concierge, American Craft Kitchen & Bar, Market Chicago, BIG Bar or a reinvented Stetsons Modern Steak + Sushi, each have been given a stronger identity within the lobby, making it the ‘heart and soul’ of the hotel and a place that is easier to navigate and more energetic than ever.”
InterContinental Hotel Group has signed a franchise multiple development agreement (MDA) with Regional Hotel Chain, a portfolio company of VIY Management (VIYM). The agreement will see 15 new hotels developed in Russia by 2019, which, when open, will double the size of IHG’s estate there as it stands today, and will introduce the Holiday Inn Express brand to the region for the first time.
The new Holiday Inn Express hotels will add approximately 2,250 rooms, when signed, to IHG’s current Russia development pipeline of over 1,700 rooms across 5 hotels.
The news comes just 10 days after IHG announced double-digit profit growth in its 2012 financial results, which saw the opening of 226 new hotels across the globe and an 8% increase it its European revenue.
IHG have invested growth into the Russia market, and have previously announced plans to have 100 hotels across Russia and the CIS open in the pipeline by 2020. IHG has 13 hotels (3,894 rooms) open in Russia, with another 5 hotels (1,773 rooms) in the pipeline that will open in the next 3 to 5 years.
The company said it would work with local investors to introduce, managed and franchised hotels across the country, where there is a need for internationally branded hotels. Its expansion will be driven by growth in regional centres and new fast-growing cities with well-established business communities and tourist attractions.
The report, created by IHG and The Futures Company, is both engaging and illuminating, with various news hooks such as:
Who is ‘The Invisible Traveller’? How travellers are no longer ‘Business or Pleasure’ – the report redefines 4 new types of traveller The East West divide Radical changes in travel in the next 20 years The relationship between travellers and the industry and the shift in power Global trends and emerging markets How technology is radically changing ‘the traveller’ Major dilemmas faced by the industry
A week or so ago the indefatigable David Balmer invited me to the Crosswater nest near the Dartford Crossing for a preview of the launch of the new Crosswater Digital controls and a look at their revamped showroom. Since my last visit some months ago the company has grown in the hotel sector considerably winning contracts from, among others, Hilton. Their large car park bore testament to this, being almost full, and David remarked they were beginning to kick against the walls.
It is good to see a British company that is investing in research and development and bringing new products into the market place with confidence and verve. The company is showcasing its new products, part of a series of launches over the next few months some of which I can’t talk about yet.What I can talk about is the new digital control system devised by Crosswater. I was talking with a US based designer recently about electronic controls in the bathroom and her response was ‘why on earth would you want them’? Well, speaking as someone who has enjoyed a simple electronic shower control for years now, I can say that being able to push a button and step into a shower that is set exactly at the right temperature before I get even my hand wet is a real delight in the mornings (as we all know the US is decades behind Europe in decadence anyway, we are Athens to their Rome.)
The idea that I might be able to start a bath or my shower from the breakfast table or whilst in bed is delightful, but the Crosswater system takes it further than this enabling you, if you are so inclined, to put the plug in and run you bath as you watch the end of the match on your telly. The mobile phone app (currently only available for some minority make of fruity phone, but soon on sensible devices too) enables this degree of control too.
Ahead of English Tourism Week (16-24 March, 2013), Grant Hearn, Travelodge CEO has written to 106 MP’s from England’s key tourism constituencies to ask them to stand up in the House of Commons and fight for the industry. With the right regulatory framework the UK’s fifth largest industry has the potential to create 300,000 jobs by 2020. However a lack of Government action will prevent this from happening, which is why Travelodge’s boss is asking for MP’s support to promote tourism from its second class status in the eyes of policymakers.
In the letter Mr Hearn makes a case that it is high time policy makers woke up and unlocked the true potential of one of the UK’s fastest growing industries and asks MP’s from England’s key tourism constituencies to support a ten point plan to develop a tourism industry capable of leading the economy to sustained growth and job creation.
The ten point plan calls for the Government to move tourism higher up its agenda, and for the sector to be given the status it deserves – by moving it from the Department of Culture Media & Sports to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
As tourism is crucial to economic growth the plan also includes a recommendation for a dedicated taskforce to be created, which is headed up by a tourism minister. This group will be tasked with delivering growth and creating a cross departmental cohesive strategy in cooperation with all tourism partners.
The letter also calls for more to be done to increase the UK’s competiveness, especially to reduce the bureaucracy behind the visa application process which keeps so many BRIC visitors away.
Grant Hearn, Travelodge CEO said: “English Tourism Week celebrates a vital industry in terms of providing economic growth, inward investment and job creation but it has been largely ignored by successive Governments. The industry needs more than just lip service, as we have a huge opportunity within our grasp to help the economy recover. A lack of action is costing jobs, growth and investment, and whilst we dither, our European neighbours and the USA are successfully pursuing growth via forward-thinking tourism strategies.
“The difficulties in the economy are well-publicised, but British tourism can act as a catalyst to help grow the UK’s economy and create much needed jobs. It’s crucial that the Government does everything it can to unleash the true potential of one of the few industries that is continuing to grow, but to be able to do that we need MP’s who will champion its cause.
“Our ten point plan is about positioning tourism as a key element of a sustainable economic recovery, so we hope this provides the catalyst for MP’s to stand up and fight for it.”
The letter is published on the back of a Travelodge report which provides stark evidence into the role that tourism can play in delivering sustained economic growth. The first ever comprehensive analysis into how tourism performed during the double dip recession shows that the industry outperformed the general economy, leading the way in terms of employment numbers and revenue growth.
The report proves that tourism is one of the few industries to have continued growing despite the economic crisis. Whilst GDP grew by 8% from 2007, during the same period the tourism industry increased its revenues by 12.6% to more than £40 billion – representing 10% of GDP.
Against a backdrop of rising unemployment, the reports shows that the industry continued to create jobs, including 120,000 new ones in 2011 alone. As a further illustration of this growth, Travelodge is today announcing plans to help put more young and long-term Britons into employment. The hotel chain is pledging to create 500 new jobs, 100 apprenticeships and 50 work experience positions by 2015.
The report also shows that the UK’s appeal as a tourist destination endured during the double dip recession, with overall visitor numbers up by 3.1% to 157.4 million. Staycations form the backbone of the tourism economy, with domestic trips and holidays increasing by 5.6% to 126.6 million. This shows that Britons have reacquainted themselves with holidaying at home, and city breaks emerge as particularly popular, accounting for almost a quarter (23%) of all domestic breaks.
However, the report also highlights there are huge opportunities to grow tourism particularly when it comes to boosting overseas visitor numbers. Between 2007 and 2011, global tourism grew by 23.4% but during that same period, two million fewer overseas visitors came to the UK, a drop of more than 6%. This means the Government’s target for four million new overseas visitors by 2014 will be missed.
At present, Europe and the USA are leading the way in attracting overseas visitors, particularly from emerging BRIC markets. For every Chinese tourist who visits Britain, eight go to Paris and ten visit America. On average the typical Chinese visitor spends £1,600 whilst in the UK. China has a population of 1.3 billion but in 2011 just 149,000 citizens visited the UK, spending £240m. In contrast the USA attracted 1.1 million Chinese visitors in the same year.
Visitors to the bustling Lake District town of Ambleside have always loved the award-winning restaurant and cinema Zeffirellis, and they now have even more reason to visit thanks to a recent refurbishment that sees 450sqm of bespoke axminster carpet by Wilton Carpets Commercial gracing the venue’s busy floors.The brand new 10-row woven axminster carpet uses a palette of muted grey, soft cream and striking blue in an eye-catching abstract print and now covers the restaurant and two cinema floors. Perfectly coordinating with the sumptuous upholstery and lavish soft furnishings in the restaurant and providing a striking contrast to the bold red cinema seats, the bespoke design was created by Zeffirellis’ management team in conjunction with installers Kendal Quality Carpets and brought to life by Wilton Carpets Commercial’s experienced design team.
“Zeffirellis wanted a truly stand-out carpet that would inject life into the restaurant and cinemas in a unique fashion,” comments Karl Greenall, coordinator, Kendal Quality Carpets. “After browsing through Wilton Carpets Commercial’s stock designs, we were drawn to those with dancing flame-type motifs and knew that these sort of styles would inject the vibrancy that Zeffirellis was seeking. We then created a custom design in beautiful shades, with cream flame strands flying out from one wall and then dispersing amongst the bolder blue swirls for a high-impact look.”
Not only offering a stunning aesthetic, the new carpet also provides the durability that this busy location demands with guests choosing to make a day of Zeffirellis by watching a film in one of the venue’s cinema screens before moving on to the restaurant to enjoy fine Italian cuisine. As Dorothy Smith, managing director, Zeffirellis, explains:
“When considering the new carpet, it was imperative that it offered us outstanding levels of resilience in order to withstand the heavy footfall that we experience on a daily basis, while still having the visual flair that our venue is famous for. Wilton Carpets Commercial delivered this within a very strict time frame so that we could open our doors to our loyal customers as quick as possible.”
For further information contact Wilton Carpets Commercial on 01722 746000 or sales@wiltoncarpets.com
Stylematters has successfully supplied and installed the complete furniture and fixed seating within a 10 day period for Parma Restaurant in Knutsford. The restaurant is set to be a real gem in the community offering freshly prepared pizzas and pastas throughout the day using authentic Italian ingredients. Stylematters, along with our in-house design and fit out company Style Contracts, was delighted to be involved in the redesign of the site. The refurbishment features the design and fit out of a bespoke bar, a luxury mirror wall and a beautifully heated outdoor terrace.
David Oulsnam, chief executive of Style Contracts told us, “Our challenge was to transform the site from what once was a coffee shop into a distinguished yet inviting restaurant atmosphere. By rebranding and refurbishing the indoor dining and outside decking areas, we are very proud of the end result.”.
Working alongside Style Contracts, Stylematters delivered and installed all the fixed and loose seating including our flagship ‘Pickmere’ dining chairs and bar stools and light up ‘Ammici’ poseur tables along with our white marble tabletop. The overall design offers the perfect space to enjoy the freshly prepared delights of head chef, Claudio Iannetta.
Restaurant owner, Marco Dellapina announced, “We are thrilled with the high calibre design and quality of our new interior at Parma. It has been well received by our customers and has created a real buzz in the area.”.
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has recently announced the opening of the new Holiday Inn Express® Philadelphia E – Penn’s Landing, within walking distance of Philadelphia’s historic district and downtown.The new Holiday Inn Express hotel opens following a $4 million conversion that includes renovations to each of the 184 guest rooms, a fully remodelled lobby, a new business centre and an exercise room. Located at 100 N. Christopher Columbus Blvd. in the Penn’s Landing waterfront area, the 10-story hotel is just minutes from downtown Philadelphia River and offers a free shuttle for its guests to the most popular historic attractions.
“Holiday Inn Express hotels are designed to be the smart choice for value-conscious business and leisure travellers,” said Heather Balsley, senior vice president, Brand Management, The Americas, IHG. “With more than 2,100 properties worldwide and 450 more in the pipeline, the Holiday Inn Express portfolio continues to provide our guests with an enhanced-stay experience at a great value. We are proud to welcome the Holiday Inn Express Philadelphia E-Penn’s Landing into the Holiday Inn family with the brand-new sign and everything it represents.”
“We’re pleased to join the Holiday Inn Express brand family and offer visitors a new and attractive lodging experience in the very popular Penn’s Landing district,” said Robert Ambrose, general manager, Holiday Inn Express Philadelphia E – Penn’s Landing. “Holiday Inn Express is a fresh brand that we believe fits well with the needs of visitors to this historic area, whether they are here for business or leisure.”
Guests will discover that the Philadelphia Visitor’s Center, just a half mile from the hotel, is a great place to learn about the area’s historic attractions, which include: The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the National Constitution Center. Also within walking distance are the National American Museum of Jewish History and the Edgar Allen Poe National Historic Site.
Holiday Inn Express Philadelphia E-Penn’s Landing, owned by Delaware Waterfront Associates and managed by Growth Properties Hospitality Management, is franchised by an affiliate of IHG.
This April, the Great Northern Hotel, London’s first railway hotel, re-opens for the first time in almost 12 years following a comprehensive £40 million renovation programme. Occupying a prime position between King’s Cross Station and St Pancras International, the busiest rail transport hub in Europe, the privately owned Grade II listed building has been thoughtfully restored by owner-operator Jeremy Robson of Ram. The Great Northern Hotel actually forms an integral part of King’s Cross station, with the signature dome of the new Western Concourse designed to fit the crescent shape of the hotel itself and is also just 18 metres away from the main Eurostar entrance to St Pancras International.“The restoration and re-opening of the Great Northern Hotel has been a dream of mine for many years. I saw the quality in the original architecture and realised what a careful renovation could contribute to the major regeneration being undertaken at King’s Cross. The hotel has an enchanting beauty and enjoys the most spectacular of locations in one of London’s most exciting neighbourhoods. I wanted to re-create something of real and lasting value; a London landmark that would serve visitors and Londoners alike.” Jeremy Robson
Originally designed by architect Lewis Cubitt, the Great Northern Hotel opened in 1854 as the first of the new generation of Victorian railway hotels. Its Italianate, classical features are textbook examples of the early Victorian period. Reflecting its architectural heritage, the 91-bedroom hotel has been sensitively refurbished and its interior design exudes a timeless elegance with a hint of modernity. The intention has been to evoke the romance of rail travel from a bygone age and to preserve a sense of history and style. David Archer and Julie Ann Humphryes, co-founders of Archer Humphryes Architects (Hakkasan, Sans Souci Hotel Vienna), were commissioned to execute the concept and interior design of the hotel.
Leading international consultancy and construction company, Mace, acted as the hotel’s design and build contractor and also contributed to the funding of the project. Great care was taken to sympathetically refurbish the hotel’s original features and structures such as the façades, windows, lead-lined gutters, cast iron grilles and drainpipes. In regaining the lost stature of this charming building and returning it back to use after many years of neglect, there was much valued collaboration between English Heritage, The London Borough of Camden, the contractor, the owner and the design teams.
Focus SB, played a part in preserving the Baroque interior of the Queen’s State Apartments at Hampton Court Palace.
When the Hampton Court Beauties exhibition ended in December, Harry Brimmel, maintenance manager at Hampton Court Palace, saw a rare window of opportunity to undertake some much needed re-wiring in the Queens State Apartments.On the surface, this rewiring job was simple: replace the old filament lights with LED’s, redundant wiring with new, and fit new light switches and electrical face plates. However, it took four months to complete, while usually a job such as this would take half that time.
“You simply cannot drill through walls here,” Harry explained. The historical significance of Hampton Court Palace meant the refurbishment had to be completed with minimal to no impact on the interior. If there were any changes to the external face, then these had to match the rest of the interior and go unnoticed.
Part of the characteristic of this job was to work around the palace’s grand interior and infrastructure. When preserving a historical treasure, time is not of the essence, but rather patience. So time was taken to thread cable from one room to the next by going up three stories and down again so not to make any fresh insertions into the walls. Pre-existing pathways were followed from lamp to socket to switch.
The electrical plates, the face of the re-wiring, were all made bespoke, in order to match the old, by Focus SB. The plates had to be approved by English Heritage. So, at first, a photograph of a Focus SB made plate was sent to them, and then a member of staff visited Hampton Court to view and give the go-ahead before they were installed. This planning process took around six weeks and Focus SB had to be prepared to make the alterations.
Harry commented: “The amount of work that went into this simple job is incredible. Focus SB was good to us; they were patient and empathetic. This was a very particular job and they never promised more than they could deliver.”
Once the electrical plates received approval they were placed into pre-existing holes in the skirting board. The finishes and design varied, for the Queen’s bedroom and drawing room, a bronze finished plate was used. For the Queen’s Court, sockets with primed flip lids were used. Once fitted, these were painted the same colour of the room and affectively hidden from view.
The Queen’s State apartments were built later than the Tudor Palace, which was constructed while Henry VIII reigned in the sixteenth century. Over a century later, Queen Mary attempted to rebuild Hampton Court Palace in a Baroque style and communicated opulence, power and Catholicism through the flamboyant interiors.
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has recently announced the opening of the Holiday Inn Express Charleston Downtown-Ashley River, in the heart of downtown Charleston.
Having recently undergone an extensive renovation with all -new furniture, fixtures and equipment, all 153 rooms in the eight-story hotel at 146 Lockwood Boulevard include granite countertops and walkout balconies.The Holiday Inn Express Charleston Downtown-Ashley River comes on the heels of the Holiday Inn Historic Charleston Downtown which opened recently in January.
The property also features complimentary high-speed Internet access available throughout the hotel, a fitness centre, large outdoor pool area, a 24-hour business centre and almost 700 square feet of meeting space accommodating about 50 people.
“It is so exciting to be a part of the Holiday Inn brand family and add another Holiday Inn Express to both the Charleston area and our Charlestowne Hotels portfolio,” said the hotel’s general manager, Rebecca Ruttiger. “We are building a great staff to match this great new product. We look forward to having a wonderful partnership with Medical University of South Carolina, the Charleston RiverDogs, and other area businesses and hotels to continue to enhance this Historic City.”
Guest rooms feature contemporary styling, a 32-inch HD flat screen TV, comfortable queen or king-sized beds, a sitting area with a lounge chair and an in-room coffee machine featuring complimentary Smart Roast 100% Arabica coffee. Business travellers will find large desks with ergonomic chairs, free high-speed internet access and free local phone and toll free, phones with private voicemail and complimentary USA TODAY® newspapers. The SimplySmart™ shower will incorporate a proprietary Stay Smart™ Kohler showerhead, signature shower curtain with curved rod, upgraded 100 percent cotton terry towels and a custom line of cinnamon-scented bath products. Guests will enjoy the SimplySmart™ bedding collection, where they will find crisp fresh bedding that features an attractive decorative throw, a medium-weight duvet blanket and soft, 200 thread-count sheets. The complimentary Express Start® breakfast bar features a full range of breakfast items, including a rotation of egg and meat selections, biscuits, yogurt, fruit, pancakes, the brand’s proprietary cinnamon roll, and Smart Roast® coffee.
The Holiday Inn Express Charleston Downtown-Ashley River, owned by Charleston OPCO, LLC, and managed by Charlestowne Hotels, is franchised by an affiliate of IHG.
Elegant and practical the FLEX12 range from Style Seating is sure to be our best selling chair of 2013.Superior comfort, light weight and very practical. Available in your choice of upholstery colour to suit any design scheme.
To view the technical details and more options, please visit our website: www.styleseating.co.uk
Yesterday, 13th March 2013, marked the official opening of the Premier Inn Waterloo located on York Street, SE1 London. The 234 bedroom hotel is an interesting conversion as part of it contains a grade II listed building in the form of the old General Lying In Hospital dating from 1767. The adjacent building houses the main reception, restaurant and bar and is a conversion from an office block.
The two buildings created some interesting challenges for AXIOM Architects and Senior Project & Programme Manager of Whitbread, Steve Hammond, as the buildings do not align on each floor. This meant the hotel could not utilise the impressive entrance to the old hospital as it was difficult to comply with access requirements for Disabled guests and remain sympathetic to the building’s interior.
However, the overall effect is very impressive. The hotel is reflective of London’s architecture – a “bit of this and a bit of that” and it works beautifully. It’s only a shame more could not be made of the large public areas in the old hospital as they would be used as lounge areas in other brands such as CitizenM. Hammond commented: ‘To ensure the Premier Inn “Sleep Guarantee”, we couldn’t use sofas in these [public] areas as people would meet here and disturb guests… it’s something we considered very carefully”.
Whitbread is highly experienced at converting vacant buildings into hotels which our review of the Premier Inn Leicester Square demonstrates. When asked if there had been any special steps taken at the Premier Inn Waterloo to reduce noise levels such as those at the Leicester Square hotel Hammond responded, “With the Leicester Square property, the vibrations and noise from the nightclub required us to do something special with the design of the rooms… it has not been a requirement to do that here [Waterloo] as the extra glazing on the windows was enough.”
The greatest asset the hotel has is the view over Southbank. Lying in bed looking out over the London Eye and Big Ben has to be worth every penny of the budget hotel price you forget you’re paying.
Written by Lorraine Hakes on a visit on the 13th March 2013.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has recently announced the newest addition to its private residence club offering with the launch of Fairmont Heritage Place, Mayakoba. Located in the most exclusive resort complex of the Mexican Caribbean, in the vibrant heart of the Mayan Riviera, Fairmont Heritage Place, Mayakoba is a dream conceived by OHLD and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. Fairmont Heritage Place, Mayakoba features 30 exclusive residences sold in 1/12 fractions available in three-bedroom units (2,152 square feet) with spacious terraces and four-bedroom units (2,238 square feet) with private terrace, plunge pools and roof top garden access. All feature large en-suite bathrooms, full kitchens and open concept dining and living areas. Buyers gain interest in a world-class residence without the hassles of home ownership and like other forms of real estate, ownership interests can be sold, willed, deeded or placed in a trust.
Located within the award-winning Mayakoba resort development – renowned for its singular ecosystem of dunes, jungle, mangrove forests and freshwater lagoons – the residences are set away from the beach to protect the integrity of the coastal mangroves, home to myriad indigenous species of fish, birds and mammals. Owners gain access to world-class golf on Mayakoba’s 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed El Camaleón championship course, host to the only PGA TOUR event in Latin America and the Jim McLean Golf School. Dining and spa privileges are also included at all of Mayakoba’s three hotels – Fairmont, Rosewood, and Banyan Tree Mayakoba, easily accessed via the Mayakoba Connection ferry service connecting the three properties.
Fairmont Heritage Place, Mayakoba offers owner’s luxury amenities including access to airport transfers, valet parking, concierge services, daily housekeeping, 24-hour room service, preferred rates at Fairmont’s Willow Stream Spa and an exclusive, well-appointed Club House complete with owner’s lounge, bar, fitness and yoga facilities, a private pool and teen and kids play areas. As an added incentive, owners can utilize their allotted time at other Fairmont Heritage Place locations around the world or enjoy exchange privileges at Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel’s worldwide collection of distinctive hotels and resorts and through the extensive portfolio of The Registry Collection® program.
UK Shower Manufacturer and Designer, Roman Limited, have launched a case studies section on their website, where their retailers and customers have the opportunity to send in their real life bathroom designs, to highlight how they have used Roman’s product range in a variety of different real life settings.The new section, called Your Bathrooms, is an opportunity for retailers, plumbers, bathroom designers and specifiers to show off their design skills, whilst also offering inspiration to end users.
All Your Bathrooms featured include details of the project, advice and specialist tips, along with an image of the completed bathroom. The retailer, plumber, designer or specifier is also then credited with their contact details and a link through to their website where relevant. All successful submissions are also shared across Roman’s social media network for maximum exposure.
As well as having their company promoted on the Roman website, every successful Your Bathroom that is published has an opportunity to win the ‘Your Bathroom of the Month’. The prize includes £50s in high street gift vouchers, promotion on the homepage of the Roman website and the case study being highlighted as the bathroom of the month across Roman’s social media platforms, for even further publicity.
Roman launched the Your Bathrooms section in response to their website statistics, which highlighted that one of the most visited sections on the website was a small real life case studies section. Further to this, research has proven that consumers research their bathroom online, before making a purchasing decision. They utilise the internet and purchase bathroom magazines to get inspired.
The shower manufacturer decided that the popular case studies section, which was relatively small, needed to expand, to highlight a wide range of different real life bathroom settings which feature Roman products, so they opened up the opportunity to their existing customer base.
The Your Bathrooms section launched at the beginning of February and Roman named Rawson’s Bathrooms in Sheffield, as the Your Bathroom of the month for February. The Sheffield based retailer sent in a completed bathroom design, which showed how a small space could be transformed into a dramatic bathroom.
Roman have set up an easy to use submission form on their website, where retailers, plumbers and bathroom designers can quickly and easily complete the required details and upload photos of the project.
David Osborne, Managing Director at Roman, commented: “We are keen to receive a wide variety of different bathroom designs, from really top end bathrooms, to small bathrooms, from budget bathrooms, to inclusively designed bathrooms. We are interested to receive bathrooms of every budget; whether they incorporate our designer Sculptures range right through to our affordable Haven range. We simply need a good clear picture of the completed bathroom.
“This is a fantastic way for our retailers and other customers to show off their bathroom design capabilities, and promote themselves to the end user, who we know researches online, before even stepping foot into a traditional retailer. Where case studies are of an exceptional standard, we will also work with the retailer to try and get these placed in consumer magazines, for even further publicity for the retailer.”
Vaughan has recently launched a new range of floor lamps available in brass, bronze or polished nickel finish. The Villon and The Ludlow range are designed to take lampshades, to which Vaughan can make to order, and they can also advise on the size and style to suit the Floor Lamp.
The Farringdon and Savona Floor Lamps have matching Desk Lights available which have already proved popular with Hotels such as The Hotel Intercontinental, Cliveden, Hotel Standton Place and Chateau Reylof.
Following the recent premiere, British actors James McAvoy and Mark Strong are currently appearing extensively on our TV screens to promote their new British blockbuster movie, “Welcome to the Punch” released in cinemas across the UK on March 15th. The new Brit-action thriller is written and directed by Eran Creevy working alongside Executive producer Ridley Scott. Creevy, who achieved a BAFTA nomination for his directional debut with the 2008 Urban Thriller “Shifty” describes the experience of working with Scott as “incredible”, adding he felt “privileged to be in the same room as him and be treated like an equal”. The story is that of a former criminal, Jacob Sternwood (Strong) who returns to London from his Icelandic hideaway when is son is involved with a heist gone wrong. This gives Max Lewinsky (McAvoy), one last chance to catch the man he’s always been after.
Some eighteen months before the release of this action packed thriller had even been announced, Lugo Hotel Furniture were delighted to be invited by the production team to become involved in the set design for one of the pivotal scenes of the film.
The Lugo team worked very closely with acclaimed set Director, Crispian Sallis (son of British actor Peter Sallis), head of Red Diesel productions, and a previous winner of an Emmy for his work on Ridley Scott’s epic film “Gladiator”.
Lugo were briefed in great detail to produce a complete five star hotel bedroom set at Three Mills Studios in East London, where the scene was filmed. This included designing and producing all furniture within the scene as well as the soft furnishings. As this luxurious bedroom set was to be showered with bullets during the scene, Lugo’s design team had to pay careful attention to every detail of the furniture to ensure that it performed for the cameras. The glass used on table tops, wardrobe handles and mirrors was specially constructed so that it shattered exactly as the Director had instructed. Similarly the chair, sofa and bed cushions were filled with fine feathers to enable them to explode for the camera upon impact.
Three exact sets of each piece of furniture had to be manufactured by Lugo for the five star bedroom suite in order to allow Crispian Sallis and his team a couple of ‘takes’ to achieve the perfect final scene from different camera angles.
All those at Lugo who were involved with this exciting project are looking forward to a company night out to the local cinema to watch this fantastic piece of British film-making and to spot the fruits of our labour on the big screen. Project co-ordinator to Lugo, Kelly Knight comments “It was a fantastic project to be involved in, and although I can’t wait to see the movie I imagine it will also be quite unsettling to watch our furniture being sprayed with bullets in the hotel shoot-out scene!”.
Greater Manchester-based Dawnvale is proud to have played a significant role in supporting both award winning restaurateur Steve Pilling and Salford City College to create and install one of the UK’s ‘greenest’ and most advanced low-energy commercial training kitchens at the £1m Damson Restaurant overlooking the garden and piazza area of MediaCityUK. The 140-cover Damson Restaurant officially opened earlier this month to rave reviews and is already proving to be a hot-spot for food-lovers from across the North West and beyond. The kitchen meanwhile is providing students from FutureSkills, Salford City College’s £6m advanced skills centre, the opportunity to work for one of the North West’s top restaurant brands in a cutting edge commercial kitchen environment. The ground-breaking project (and vision of Graham Pennington, Deputy Chief Executive at Salford City College) has been in planning and build for over two years, although Dawnvale completed their remit in a 12-week period as agreed.
Working closely with Chef Simon Stanley, renowned restaurateur Steve Pilling and architect Don Hobson (Design Mac) – Neil Guest, Managing Director of Dawnvale set out to deliver leading-edge kitchen facilities featuring the latest sustainable and environmentally friendly technology. In addition to the commercial kitchen, Dawnvale also designed and fitted the new bar, marble floors, bespoke wine displays, a feature drop down ceiling with LED lighting as well as supplying a range of high quality furniture for the restaurant.
Dawnvale’s credentials and outstanding reputation in the hospitality sector span over 30 years. Other notable recent projects include TGI Fridays, Hawksmoor Restaurants and the Chaophraya Group. Renowned for design flair, collaborative working practices and value for money, Dawnvale designs, manufactures and fits bars, restaurants, hotel bedrooms, cinema rooms for some of the UK’s leading hospitality groups and independently owned restaurants and hotels. Neil and the team already had a long-standing relationship with Steve Pilling whose superlative credentials span some 15 years at the very highest level and whose restaurants include the multi-award winning Damson Restaurant in Heaton Moor and The Red Lion in High Lane.
Steve said,
“Salford City College should be congratulated for their vision, passion and hard work in ensuring the industry has not just a national centre of excellence for our young people, but actually one we can safely say aspires to be world-class.
My expertise in running, owning and developing high quality restaurants has, I trust, brought a new and personal dimension to the project. Working with Salford City College and Dawnvale to ensure the facilities and experience will surpass the expectations of students and the paying public has been exhilarating and inspirational.
This will be the perfect environment for students to truly learn and master their craft as well as gain knowledge on the increasingly important elements of running a sustainable and environmentally-friendly kitchen. It’s great news for young people with career aspirations, the North West hospitality sector and the industry as a whole. ”
Said Neil Guest,
“This is undoubtedly one of the most exciting projects Dawnvale has ever been involved in. Every single aspect of the design and build has been created using ‘next-generation’ thinking; we have pushed all the boundaries to harness the very best products available to meet our sustainable and low-energy approach.”
Westin Hotels and Resorts, has announced the opening of The Westin Chennai Velachery. Strategically located in the fast growing business district of Chennai in the Southern part of India, The Westin Chennai Velachery is the sixth Westin hotel in India and the first out of seven new Westin hotels expected to open in 2013 across Asia Pacific. The Westin Chennai Velachery opens in Chennai, India. It is the sixth Westin hotel in India and the first out of seven new Westin hotels expected to open in 2013 across Asia Pacific.
A Modern-Day Oasis in the midst of Chennai Located within 20-minute drive from Chennai Domestic and International Airport, the hotel provides convenient accessibility to Guindy business district, OMR-IT corridor, city centre and Chennai Trade Centre.
Nestled amidst lush greenery of Chennai, the hotel’s sensory rich environment offers a refreshing respite from the bustling metropolitan city and features a breathtaking view of the cityscape and the surrounding green environment. Upon entering the hotel’s lobby, guests are transported from the everyday and are greeted with 35-feet cascading water body located in the central courtyard of the hotel. Visible from the main lobby, Seasonal TastesTM restaurant is a spectacular visual delight offering international cuisine with live cooking stations.
A New Haven for Travellers The hotel offers 215 spacious and lavishly appointed guestrooms and suites with refreshing pool or city skyline views. Each guestroom is outfitted with the world-renowned Westin Heavenly® Bed – an oasis of lush sheets, down and a patented pillow-top mattress, which cradles and contours to the body for truly restorative sleep. Guests can revive in the Heavenly® Bath enhanced with the brand’s Heavenly® Shower, Heavenly® Robe and White Tea Aloe bath amenities, in-room and high-speed Internet access.
Westin brand’s innovative programs and instinctive service transform every aspect of a guest’s stay into revitalizing comfort making the hotel ideal for rejuvenation both for the business as well as the leisure traveller. The Westin Executive Club located on the top floor, is indeed a truly exclusive and pampering experience. It offers panoramic views of the city with complimentary breakfast, Wireless Internet Access, and evening cocktail service with an eclectic selection of hors d’oeuvres.
The Westin Chennai Velachery offers the 24-hour WestinWORKOUT Fitness Studio. For those who prefer to combine their workout routine with fresh air and local scenery, the hotel also offers a group run with the special RunWESTINTM program. Guests can enjoy a refreshing dip in the outdoor swimming pool, or choose from the rejuvenating bouquet of massages and therapies at the Heavenly Spa by WestinTM.
Replenish and nourish the body with one of the many distinctive culinary experiences at the hotel’s three restaurants: Seasonal Tastes, the contemporary all day dining restaurant, features an eclectic display of local and International cuisine as well as Westin brand’s signature SuperfoodsRxTM menu that offers nutrient rich and delicious options to tempt every palate; revel in the flavours of authentic Pan Asia delicacies at EESTTM; or, catch up on favourite sport with a heady selection of beverages at the cricket themed lounge bar- Willows. The open-air Poolside Grill & Barbeque venue serves a repertoire of Latin American, Middle Eastern and Indian grills with the choice in barbeque offerings.
State-of-the-art meeting space With over 12,600 square feet of refined meeting and function space, including 2 large pillar-less ballrooms and 12 break-out rooms and a Business Center, the hotel is an ideal host for everything from intimate business affairs to large-scale corporate meetings. Equipped with high-speed internet access, sophisticated audio visual technology, and first of its kind ergonomically designed performance chair, the hotel offers inspiring and smart solutions for a distinguishing meeting and social experience.
RHA Furniture offers an extensive range of bedside tables for residential and hotel projects.
The range offers a combination of custom made bedside tables in a variety of styles, alongside items from RHA Furniture’s new M18 and recently updated C5 collections.Custom made bedside tables can be ordered as standard items, alternatively they can provide inspiration for the creation of bespoke pieces made especially for your project. Made to any design specification and to meet any budget, all items are contract quality and beautifully made by UK and European craftsmen.
Bedside tables from RHA Furniture’s C5 collections offer a variety of attractive Italian designer pieces including beautiful wood veneers, leather, glass, mirror and high gloss lacquer finishes.
For a more transitional style RHA’s M18 bedside tables offer a range of art deco designs featuring fine veneers, glass mosaic, painted bronzes, hand painted porcelains and gold leaf details.
Like most of RHA Furniture’s products, the M18 range can be customised to meet your project specification and budget.
Hansgrohe SE relies on pushbutton ease of operation and harmony of head and heart for the ISH 2013
Every two years, the Black Forest-based bathroom and sanitation specialist Hansgrohe SE, takes the opportunity offered by the world’s biggest sanitation technology fair ISH in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to present its many new products to a wider audience as a premiere event. “And it’s that time again: from March 12–16, 2013, our Axor and Hansgrohe brands will be presenting solutions for the bathroom at our 1,600 square metre stand in the exhibition hall in Frankfurt – solutions that represent real added value and will boost the quality of life of users every single day,” announced Richard Grohe, the company’s Deputy CEO. “How our head and heart can be in perfect harmony will be demonstrated by Axor with its new Axor Starck Organic collection. The collection combines a unique design with the responsible use of water, and it comes with an innovative, ergonomically sound operating concept. The latest milestone reached by Hansgrohe is the innovative Hansgrohe Select shower control system: there is no complex set of instructions – one stylish pushbutton is all that is needed for control of water sources with a simple click.” Pleasure at the push of a button The idea underlying the Hansgrohe Select technology: to evolve from twisting controls to simply pushing a button. And that goes for the entire product range. Pushing a button has become a perfectly natural way for us all to control various aspects and functions in our everyday lives. Just think of light switches, the telephone, or mouse buttons. So why not switch between the different jets in a hand spray, or between the different outlets in a shower system, also with the simple push of a button? Especially when it comes to controlling water in the bathroom, a reliable mechanical control will always be compared to complex, error-prone electronics. “With Raindance Select, the Ecostat Select thermostats, and an entirely new product category – the ShowerTablets with Select function – we have expanded the new operating concept to cover our entire range, and we look forward to launching a comprehensive burst of innovation at the ISH under the motto ´Pleasure at the push of a button´,” said Richard Grohe.
At http://select-ish.hansgrohe-int.com you can explore the new world of Select products from the bathroom specialist Hansgrohe in advance. This platform will be revealing and introducing one by one the new products within the Hansgrohe Select range in the lead-up to ISH.
Innovations for head and heart For the Axor Starck Organic collection launched in September 2012, the French designer Philippe Starck worked with Axor, the designer brand of Hansgrohe SE, to produce an innovative, organic-minimal design. It is reminiscent of shapes found in nature, it is sculptural yet highly ergonomic. The collection harmoniously blends in with the most diverse range of environments, enriching them with striking features at the same time.
Just as innovative as the visual appearance are the latest technological developments, which result in a new kind of sustainable water use. The Hansgrohe spray laboratory has developed a new, luxurious type of spray especially for these washbasin mixers: it has an unprecedented low flow rate of only 3.5 litres of water per minute, yet without making any compromises in terms of functionality or convenience. On the contrary; soft yet voluminous water pearls give the generous spray a new sensuous feel. A unique feature is the intuitive, ergonomic operating concept, with separate controls for the volume of water and the temperature, allowing water and energy to be used economically.
“Our new Axor Starck Organic collection sets new benchmarks in terms of innovation because it results in greater pleasure using less water, and because it makes operating a mixer easier and more convenient,” according to Philippe Grohe, Head of the Axor brand. “Axor Starck Organic demonstrates that it is possible to combine luxury and comfort on the one hand, and sustainability and the responsible use of resources on the other, in a single, outstanding solution. That is what we will showcase to sanitation specialists, architects and interior designers, as well as to end users, at ISH 2013.”
Lüdenscheid is a city with a history as a centre of metalworking. Growing out of the mining of iron ore in the surrounding hills, the town grew its industries, becoming part of the Hanseatic League of trading states. The industries grew together and provide a centre of excellence in electrical and lighting manufacture, aluminium profile manufacture and toys.
Built around the crest of a hill, around which fortified walls ran, the small old town is a part of a modern bustling city, symbolic of the renaissance of Germany over the last half century. The structures and ownership model of German industry have been much admired in the UK, but the service given to industry both through the education system and the banking and investment community are what is really missing from the British search for quick, short term fixes. The communal attitudes and determination to rebuilding are what characterises both the community of Lüdenscheid and the individual companies that make the strength of German manufacturing.Schulte grew out of the inventiveness and creativity of Siegfried Schulte. An independent engineer Schulte patented a number of products, some of which, like the first stalk switch for automobiles, which combined everything from the blinkers to steering wheel lights he licensed to other manufacturers in Lüdenscheid. Many of the factory owners know each other and much of the materials, such as aluminium extrusions, needed in Schulte production processes come from local companies. This cooperative working reinforces the inventiveness and engineering skills across the community. The environment it fosters is supported through the company social engagement with the town too, unlike some British manufacturers who find themselves obstructed by their local communities antipathy to manufacturing.
Siegfried Schulte was awarded the Rudolf Diesel gold medal by Federal Council of Germany President Johannes Rau for the invention of the first self-regulating residual-current circuit breaker for decentralized use. Some of his over 300 patents form the basis of the production line in Schulte Elektrotechnik, including ‘dead man’ switches which leading manufacturers still build into millions of appliances today.
Enjoying views over the Adriatic Sea and just a stone’s throw from the medieval town of Rovinj, architects working on Croatia’s new Lone Hotel were intent on specifying the most luxurious, high quality fixtures and fittings throughout the five-star complex, which is why they turned to Geberit when it came to sourcing the most suitable piping and sanitary systems.With its sweeping rows of terraces, the Hotel Lone looks like a pleasure ship surrounded by the forest and offers 236 rooms and 12 suites, as well as three restaurants and large conference facilities with four conference rooms, meeting rooms and a VIP lounge.
Architects for this prestigious project, 3LHD, relied on Geberit Know-How for a great many elements of the hotel’s design. Geberit piping systems feature throughout the six-storey Design Hotel, with Geberit Mepla and Geberit HDPE piping providing the ideal solution in terms of sustainability, durability and ease of installation, whilst Geberit Silent-db20 piping was also specified to solve acoustic issues that are so common in hotel design. In terms of roof drainage, Geberit also provided the solution here too, with its innovation siphon-action Pluvia roof drainage system, which provides a reliable service over large areas.
The washrooms in the communal areas of the hotel, along with the bathrooms in each of the guest bedrooms also feature Geberit innovations. It goes without saying that the high-end, luxurious finish that wall-hung sanitaryware creates was the natural choice for the interior designers, and Geberit’s Duofix framing system made installation of this a simple task, while the company’s concealed cisterns, hidden discreetly behind the wall for a minimal finish, offer water-saving benefits to the hotel too. In the public areas where hygiene is paramount, Geberit’s electronic urinal flush controls and taps are fitted as standard.
Commenting on this latest high profile specification project for Geberit, Andy Lever, Commercial Sales Director, said: “It was important to the developers that reliable, high-quality products be used in the Design Hotel. That is why a wide range of Geberit products was used to satisfy the demand for high quality.”
Elevating the guest experience at one of the world’s most iconic resorts, Bellagio recently completed the remodel of all 928 rooms and suites in its Spa Tower.Additionally, the resort introduced three new Executive Parlor Suites designed with entertainment and technology in mind. The 2,500-square-foot suites each feature a billiards lounge and separate high-tech home theater living area inviting guests to host intimate, yet interactive events in a vibrant setting.
“The completion of the Spa Tower remodel marks a significant milestone in the evolution of the Bellagio guest experience,” said Randy Morton, president and chief operating officer of Bellagio. “We continue to seek ways not only to create new experiences and fresh spaces, but also to maintain the superior Five Diamond service synonymous with Bellagio.”
Created by the talented MGM Resorts International Design Group, the new Spa Tower Resort Rooms are consistent with the three designs represented in Bellagio’s main tower. The Resort King Rooms feature an indigo and silver combination or a green tea and plum palette while the Resort Queen Rooms welcome guests with an amber and butterscotch motif.
In keeping with Bellagio’s commitment to sustainability, the newly remodeled Resort Rooms incorporate environmentally responsible elements, including energy-efficient lighting in corridors and guest rooms providing 60 percent greater efficiency; organic carpeting primarily made from wool and furniture made from eucalyptus, both renewable resources; a new double towel bar in the bathroom for increased ability to dry and reuse towels; and a 180 percent improvement in air circulation from the previous room.
In addition to 819 Resort King and Resort Queen guest rooms, the Spa Tower features a selection of more than 100 newly redesigned suites including a new class of 2,500-square-foot Executive Parlor Suites.
The Executive Parlor Suites provide a versatile space ideal for entertaining and socializing, while maintaining a sense of privacy and luxury. This suite features an open plan spotlighted by a billiards table with a dedicated media lounge adjacent to the main room. Certain to keep guests entertained, these suites offer a range of entertainment options including an Xbox® and Blu-ray Disc™ player and a one-touch Creston® remote system to seamlessly control all technology.
The $40 million Spa Tower remodel began in August 2012. This marks the conclusion of the hotel’s redesign of all 3,387 Resort Rooms which also included the recent $70 million Bellagio Tower remodel.
Kesterport are delighted to present the Oasis range which has recently been used extensively throughout the new Hilton Conrad Quinta de Lago. Oasis is one of 11 exclusive contemporary outdoor collections showcasing innovative weave designs and covering any requirements you may have for dining chairs, tables and bar stools through to loungers, sun shelters, partitions or planters.
Fabricated with an internal aluminium frame which is then powder coated to match the weave colour for added durability, the hand woven synthetic polyurethane rattan is available in 30 different colours with loose cushions available in either Sunproof (16 colours) or Sunbrella (10 colours).
Please refer to the ‘Luxury Woven’ segment of our ‘Outdoors’ section for downloadable technical details and dimensions or contact the sales office for more information.
Marriott International has signed an agreement with Jamuna Builders Limited to operate the 700-room JW Marriott Hotel Dhaka. Jamuna Builders Limited is a real estate sister concern of the Jamuna Group – Bangladesh’s largest diversified conglomerate. JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International’s luxury brand that consists of 59 exceptional properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort locations around the world. JW Marriott Hotel Dhaka will be part of a mixed-use development that will also include retail and office components, and construction of the hotel is already under way. Speaking at the signing in Dhaka Simon Cooper, Marriott International’s president and managing director Asia Pacific, said: “We are delighted to be working with Jamuna Builders Limited to open this wonderful JW Marriott hotel in Dhaka. Bangladesh has a thriving economy and the country’s GDP has been growing at approximately 6 percent a year for the past five years. We absolutely believe that now is the right time to bring our luxury JW Marriott brand to Bangladesh and in Jamuna Builders Limited we have an owner with a great vision and drive to make this a truly stunning hotel in a great location.”
The JW Marriott Dhaka will be located in an emerging location in the middle of the city and will feature three restaurants, two bars, a spa with eight treatment rooms, and 2,280 square meters of meeting space. The hotel is expected to be a prime destination for luxury dining and will become the social centre in Dhaka, offering unforgettable travel experiences with the intuitive service, thoughtful amenities and refined design that have become synonymous with the JW Marriott brand worldwide.
Mr. Md. Nurul Islam, Jamuna Group’s Chairman, said: “Considering the huge growth of international business transactions in Bangladesh, especially in Dhaka Mega City and the present economic growth, the number of existing international hotels is not enough to meet the demand.
“The existing service facilities and amenities in hotel and tourism industry cannot completely meet the total demand of business travellers and tourists. We feel that to meet the growing demand of this service industry, we should contribute and we have started developing the largest five-star hotel in Bangladesh – the JW Marriott hotel, in conjunction with Marriott International.”
Mr. Md. Nurul Islam expressed his thanks to Mr. Simon Cooper, the president and managing director of Marriott International, Asia Pacific to approve his project as the JW Marriott Dhaka. He continued: “With its proposed 700 rooms, this hotel will be one of the largest JW Marriott hotels in Asia and will be a landmark of architectural beauty. The site is very close to the international airport and other important areas and institutions in Dhaka.”
A large number of international retail, garment, energy and telecommunications companies, including WalMart, JC Penney, Marks & Spencer, Halliburton, CK, BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil, Motorola, Ericsson and Siemens have offices in Dhaka and are contributing to Bangladesh’s fast growing and diverse economy. Dhaka is well connected to India, the Middle East and South East Asia and more than 30 international airlines fly into Dhaka which has seen passenger traffic grow from approximately 3.2 million in 2005 to 6 million passengers in 2012.
Simon Cooper continued: “With the existing hotel market currently underserved in Dhaka and with the future growth in the infrastructure sector, the demand for quality hotel accommodation in the city is growing strongly. This will be Marriott International’s second hotel in the city as we already have a Courtyard hotel under construction which we expect will open next year.”
Blackburn-based designers, Bibi Interior Architecture, have recently completed a commission for the Whitehall Hotel in Darwen, which required a design specialist to plan and oversee the redevelopment of its principal function room. Built as a manor house in the late 19th Century, the sandstone-fronted Whitehall Hotel is a popular venue for weddings, business meetings and conferences. The function room itself is a relatively recent extension so, whilst the owners Neil and Tracy Bullows wanted it to remain broadly sympathetic to the hotel’s elegant and traditional aesthetics, they were also keen to introduce a strong new element of modernity.
Following a detailed study of the hall and further discussions about the client’s requirements, the team of designers proposed improving the use of space by removing a number of columns and transforming the layout and décor through a combination of both traditional and contemporary materials.
Having explored its 3D visualisations with the hotel owners and duly received instructions to proceed, the team then began managing the refit. This entailed installing a bespoke new bar, replacing the ceiling and floor, and fitting custom manufactured doors throughout. The designers had the doors made to its own specification and also designed the bar, which featured a Corian worktop and textured side panels.
Creative, remotely controllable coloured lighting was also a key element of the scheme. The controls enable different zones to be emphasised and differentiated, whilst strip lights wash the voiles with accents of colour, lending interest and variety to the wall surfaces.
The newly refurbished function room re-opened in February 2013.
“We had a very tight schedule for creating the function room’s design,” said Junaid Khan, managing director of Bibi Interiors. “We had a short space of time to get it approved before our contractors went to work, so we designed and modelled the whole space using 3D software. This enabled the client to approve the materials, design and colours with the minimum of delay. Doing the 3D work in-house gave us the ability to change and develop things very quickly, which is important in the commercial environment.”
Speaking on behalf of the Whitehall Hotel, owner Neil Bullows said: “We were conscious that it was a demanding brief because we wanted to inject some strong, modern themes but they had to be compatible with our established values of quality, taste and tradition. In the event, I think Bibi Interiors did a first rate job, blending our various requirements to perfection and coming up with some design solutions that we’d genuinely never even considered.”
Mori Trust Group and Marriott International Inc. has recently announced an agreement for the US hospitality company to convert the Gotenyama Garden Hotel Laforet Tokyo (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo) to its flagship Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand. Currently managed by Mori Trust and operated by Mori Trust Hotels & Resorts, the Gotenyama Garden Hotel Laforet Tokyo will be rebranded as the Tokyo Marriott Hotel and is expected to reopen in December 2013.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Tokyo, John Marriott, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Marriott International, Inc., said, “We are delighted to be working with Mori Trust here in Japan to open this wonderful hotel as a Marriott Hotels & Resorts property later this year. At its heart, Marriott International is very much a family company with strong cultural values. We believe that these values for people and business are shared with Mori Trust, and we look forward to a very long relationship with them in Japan. I would like to thank the executives of Mori Trust for choosing Marriott International, and I am delighted to be here today to announce this landmark deal between our two organisations.”
Marriott Hotels & Resorts is one of Marriott International’s 18 brands of hotels – as well as being its flagship brand — comprises more than 500 properties in 60 countries and territories around the world. With this alliance, the Marriott Tokyo Hotel will be the fourth Marriott-brand hotel in Japan in addition to its properties in Okinawa, Nagoya and, in 2014, Osaka.
Marriott has been ‘re-imagining’ the guest experience, transforming lobbies and public spaces by designing them for a new generation of business travellers who blend work and play, demand style and substance and desire high-tech and high-touch. Marriott is introducing new concepts designed for the way younger travellers work today.
Miwako Date, Mori Trust Hotels & Resorts President, said, “We are delighted to build a strong relationship with Marriott International with its leading global network. Through this agreement, we aim to further internationalise Tokyo in the Shinagawa area. Taking advantage of its strategic location of Gotenyama, Trust Hotels & Resorts will work toward creating the new Tokyo Marriott Hotel that will be loved by people around the world.”
The rebranding of Gotenyama Garden Hotel Laforet Tokyo will utilise Marriott’s globally recognised brand. The hotel will be converted into a sophisticated space featuring an atmosphere of the upscale and historical Shinagawa-Gotenyama area, with a focus on key elements including tailoring, sophistication and comfort. With the concept of sophisticated customised design, almost all facilities will be renovated to reopen as a modern and elegant hotel in December 2013.
The open atrium (approximately 20m high and 600㎡) contains a restaurant and lounge, as well as a bar and terrace overlooking the beautiful Gotenyama Garden.
Rooms with an average size of 38㎡ are large enough to meet international standards. The main colour of the interior uses a palette of pale rose in memory of the time when Gotenyama was known for its magnificent cherry blossoms. Tokyo Marriott Hotel will also offer unique wedding opportunities, adding a newly-built waterfront chapel that faces the lush greenery of the Gotenyama garden, making it ideal as a romantic sanctuary.
Hilton Worldwide has recently announced the signing of three franchise agreements for its rapidly expanding DoubleTree by Hilton brand in three more UK cities. Having opened 11 hotels in the UK in the last two years, the brand has reached agreement on additional sites in Bristol, Edinburgh and Nottingham.This announcement begins a landmark year for DoubleTree by Hilton, which will see it open five new hotels in 2013, reaching a total of 25 hotels in operation across the UK. This marks a spectacular rise to prominence for the brand, having made its UK debut as recently as 2008 with the opening of DoubleTree by Hilton Cambridge.
Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president, development, Europe & Africa, Hilton Worldwide, said, “Since launching DoubleTree by Hilton in the UK, the brand has built overwhelming momentum, particularly as a conversion proposition for existing properties. Beginning the year with the signing of these three outstanding hotels is testament to our aspirations to continue in the same vein throughout 2013.”
DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre will become the brand’s first hotel in the Scottish capital, which saw the luxury Caledonian, A Waldorf Astoria hotel complete its £24m restoration last year. In a franchise agreement with West Register Hotels, the former Point Hotel will convert to the DoubleTree by Hilton brand this summer following a period of significant investment and refurbishment, operated by BDL Management.
The 139 guestroom property is located in the city’s historic old town, within easy walking distance of the famous tourist attractions and shopping hotspots of the Royal Mile and Princes Street. With a brasserie style restaurant, stylish bar and top floor penthouse offering spectacular views of Edinburgh Castle, the upcoming renovation is set to establish the hotel as a sought after destination venue within one of Europe’s strongest performing markets for hotels.[1]
DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol City Centre is expected to open this spring under a franchise agreement with Focus Hotels Management Limited. Positioned just a quarter of a mile from Bristol Temple Meads rail station and a short drive from the M32, M4 and M5, its central location provides outstanding ease of access for visitors to the city.
After a multi-million pound renovation the former Jarvis hotel will join the DoubleTree by Hilton brand complete with 201 guestrooms over six storeys. Its range of facilities includes a health club complete with sauna, the Arts bar and Kiln restaurant, housed in an 18th century glass kiln style building. The conversion will see these features benefit from an upgrade prior to reopening its doors this spring.
DoubleTree by Hilton Nottingham Gateway, located on the A610 which links Nottingham to the M1, is ideally positioned to appeal to both business and leisure guests en route to the East Midlands city. Under its former guise of The Nottingham Gateway Hotel the site is already an established meetings and events venue. Guests can enjoy its accessible location and facilities which include 582 sqm of events space and parking capacity of 250.
The franchise agreement signed with Exceptional Hotels & Resorts Ltd will see a comprehensive upgrade of the hotel’s 106 guestrooms, meeting rooms, public areas and leisure facilities – including the addition of a new swimming pool. The refurbishment will fully position the hotel within the upscale segment ahead of its expected relaunch in late 2013.
John Greenleaf, global head, DoubleTree by Hilton, said, “This announcement is a great start to what is set to be a landmark year for DoubleTree by Hilton in the UK. Following an outstanding year for British tourism in 2012, we are delighted to be at the forefront of expanding our brand in this market with new properties in three key cities, including our debuts in Nottingham and Edinburgh.”
Big spaces are sometimes hard to light and probably harder still to fill with decorative lighting in the correct proportions. Often large atriums are filled with nothing more than a decorative sculpture, poorly lit, or a swarm of smaller lights to fill the space rather than something more befitting of the actual space. Florinda light shades from design-conscious are available as Pendant and Ceiling fit models, the range starts with a single shade and a triple shade, and then getting larger with 2 sizes that have a central light source surrounded by a halo of shades reminiscent of a daisy with the petals of the flower around the central disc, hence the name.
The Florinda 6 measures almost 1 metre diameter and the largest Florinda 12 measures a whopping 1.5 metres diameter yet still manages to look elegant and sophisticated with her hand finished Plisse fabric shade which is available in a choice of colours that encompass classic and fashionable tones from a simple white and cream to, rich red & bold purple through to more tradition heritage colours of tobacco brown.
Florinda is part of our extensive collection of light shades, which offers a wide choice of styles, sizes and colours that will be sure to have something to fit almost any space and requirement.
Offering continuity of the materials across the range, from big feature lights to small table lights and wall lights, all models can be mix and matched, meaning you can complete a full scheme harmoniously by mixing shapes, sizes and fabrics of the shades making perfect finishing decorative elements to your interior design schemes whilst also choosing appropriate light sources.
So, if you have a big space that needs our big lights, take a look at our PDF Brochure or drop us a little line to find out more.
Toscana Resort Castelfalfi is delighted to announce the opening of its inaugural hotel, La Tabaccaia. Marking a significant step forward in the renovation of the 800 year-old estate in the heart of Tuscany, the boutique, 3-star property is the first of a trio of hotels planned for the development and will officially welcome guests from March 18th. In celebration of this launch, La Tabaccaia is also offering guests a tempting travel package to coincide with the prestigious Mille Miglia classic car race, which winds through Tuscany this May. The architecture and design of the hotel encompasses the ethos of the development as a whole as it is located in one of the village’s existing buildings, the historic features of which have been preserved and rejuvenated. Each of the 31 charming rooms is traditionally Tuscan in style, boasting restored beams and tiled ceilings dating back to the building’s time as a tobacco factory. The chic furnishings meanwhile, are a modern reflection of the building’s rich past and promise comfort as well as an attractive décor.
The developers behind Castelfalfi are thrilled to see La Tabaccaia open its doors to the public on March 18th, as CEO Stefan Neuhaus emphasises: ‘our first guests signify life returning to this precious destination.’
Hotel guests will already have on their doorstep a variety of leisure pursuits to enjoy. The two impressive nine and 18-hole courses at the Castelfalfi Golf Club are counted as some of the best facilities in the region, whilst sumptuous Tuscan dining is on offer at the estate’s first trattoria, Il Rosmarino. Further progress is being made on the expansive outdoor swimming area and adjoining sauna and gym, scheduled for completion in late summer 2013.
Complementing the existing lifestyle offering at the picturesque estate, La Tabaccaia will be joined in 2014 by a luxury Spa and Wellness Hotel, the plans for which are well underway. The 41 apartments in the central borgo meanwhile, will be ready for residents to move into this summer alongside a Residents Delicatessen, offering a slice of the quintessential Italian lifestyle.
This International Women’s Day, Women 1st has announced that is has now supported over 1,000 women through training and mentoring, helping them to achieve their career aspirations in the UK’s hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism industries. This remarkable landmark was achieved thanks to Thistle Hotels’decision to train a new batch of female managers through Women 1st’s Step Up programme. The Step Up programme is designed to transform women’s management and leadership skills by giving aspiring leaders the expertise, confidence and skills needed to become the chief executives and board members of tomorrow. Women 1st also offers a mentoring programme which matches candidates to senior industry figures so that junior female staff can benefit from expert advice and guidance to progress their careers.
Women 1st is the thought leadership, training and mentoring programme for the UK’s hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism industries. It was established by sector skills council People 1st in 2009, after its research revealed that whilst nearly 60 percent of the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism workforce is female, only six percent of director level positions are held by women. Thistle Hotels is amongst a growing number of employers championing diversity and working with Women 1st and taking proactive steps to address gender imbalance across the industry.
Joanna Morgan, service and leadership development manager, Guoman & Thistle Hotels said: “Women 1st is a trailblazer in our industry. We have been developing our female managers through the Step Up programme for some time and are delighted with the results. Women 1st has played a pivotal role in helping our business support people development and it’s great that so many women are on the way to achieving their career aspirations with Thistle.”
Sharon Glancy, founder of Women 1st said: “We have noticed an increase in the number of organisations taking heed of the fact that having more women in board level positions positively impacts financial performance. With women making the majority of purchasing decisions,having more female input on leadership teams can help businesses develop a unique understanding of their largest customer base. It is vital that businesses provide their female staff with effective training, mentoring and networking opportunities to build a talent pipeline of future women leaders.”
Natalie Bickford, HR director Europe for Sodexo and chair of Women 1st, added: “This is a fantastic landmark for Women 1st. Research shows time and time again that gender-balanced teams deliver better results, and the hospitality and tourism industry has a tremendous amount to gain from increasing the number of women working at senior level. Women 1st has a critical role to play in making this happen, and the fact that it has now helped over 1,000 women on their journey to the top is a huge step in the right direction.”
Menzies Hotels, one of the UK’s premier independent hotel groups has unveiled the latest projects from its extensive £7 million redevelopment programme at Menzies Birmingham City Strathallan and the Menzies Woburn Flitwick Manor in Bedfordshire.Conveniently located just a short distance from Birmingham city centre on Hagley Road, the four star Menzies Hotel Birmingham City Strathallan has benefitted from an extensive refurbishment of its ground floor. This has created a spacious lounge and bar area and light and airy brasserie restaurant.
The two main meeting and conference rooms have also undergone a revamp, with both now including dedicated break-out rooms and each meeting room is equipped with state of the art AV equipment, ceiling mounted projectors, large LCD screens and free Wi-Fi. The hotel offers free onsite parking to all guests and delegates.
The impressive Georgian Flitwick Manor which is set in four acres of wooded parkland has been sympathetically restored, with each of its 18 individually designed bedrooms having undergone a revamp along with its three function room. The hotel offers an award winning AA rosette restaurant and is located just 10 minutes from Junction 12 of the M1 and five minutes from Flitwick railway station, offering a direct 35 minute journey into the heart of London.
Speaking on the latest refurbishments, Niall Geoghegan, Chairman Menzies Hotels commented; “Menzies Hotels is dedicated to continued improvements across all of its properties as part of this intensive redevelopment strategy and we’re very much looking forward to guests experiencing the new look.”
All 379 guestrooms of the Marriott Hotel in Berlin have been undergoing a complete refurbishment at the beginning of 2013. According to the concept of the interior designer, Claudio Carbone from Switzerland, only high quality materials and fabrics have been used to provide a classic design of timeless elegance.
All rooms have been equipped with LED luminaires produced by Baulmann Leuchten.
Planning Permission has just been granted by the London Borough of Hillingdon for the redevelopment of the Summit Centre, a 1980’s warehouse complex in the Bath Road to the north of Heathrow Airport.The proposed development comprises of a 3/4 Star, 301 bed hotel and 8,500m2 of BREEAM Excellent rated industrial space. The quality of the proposals was key throughout the planning process, particularly in allowing part of the site to be used for hotel use and to re-assure the local residents about the scale of the proposal next to Green Belt land.
Client: PRUPIM Masterplanner & Hotel Architect: EPR Architects Industrial Architect: RPS Landscape Architect: View Point Associates Planning Consultant: CBRE
Eye-catching bespoke carpet tiles created by Wilton Carpets Commercial now grace the floors of the Hollywood Bowl in Finchley, North London. Inspired by the famous Walk of Fame star-embedded sidewalk in the Los Angeles district the bowling alley takes its name from, these stunning tiles include an eye-catching fluorescent yarn for a unique look.Featuring five-point stars in dappled pink with the alley’s name woven in each one, upon a midnight black mottled background, the carpet tile design replicates the terrazzo and brass materials that the real-life Hollywood Walk of Fame is crafted from. With luminescent yarn highlights that give a soft glow under light, the carpet tiles deliver a striking look for the bowling venue and complement the fifties American-style furniture and retro juke boxes in the entertainment area.
Created in a durable 80% wool, 20% nylon woven axminster construction, the carpet tiles provide the necessary resilience to cope with heavy footfall in public areas as well as offering great levels of underfoot comfort. Easy to clean and maintain too, the tiles will retain their colourful appearance even after rigorous cleaning, and make a sensible decision for busy entertainment locations that may require spot replacement, while still upholding a broadloom aesthetic.
“We are very happy with the finished carpet tiles from Wilton Carpets Commercial, and are especially impressed with the luminous yarn as its shimmering effect creates a real ambience in our venue, day or night,” comments Tom Bardell, assistant manager, Hollywood Bowl. “The tiles have proved to be hardwearing so far, which is important as we experience a high turnover of visitors on a daily basis. The dark colouring is also ideal for camouflaging any spills or stains waiting to be cleaned.”
As Alan Whittle, UK sales director, Wilton Carpets Commercial, explains, this project was completed quickly to the highest possible specification:
“We worked closely with the design team at Hollywood Bowl to produce the carpet tiles quickly for a tight turn-around. Our capability to createaxminster carpet tiles to a high quality finish within the client’s time-frame made us the ideal partner for this project, and the range of yarn colours used in the final tiles, including the fluorescent option, showcases the depth of our design flexibility.”
For further information contact Wilton Carpets Commercial on 01722 746000 or sales@wiltoncarpets.com
UK manufacturers of electrical accessories, Focus SB, are moving into new waters by bringing out a Home Automated Lighting system that, colloquially, has become known as HAL. Intelligent lighting, creative lighting solutions, smart home technology are all current terms being thrown around the market place to describe an integrated lighting, audio and visual control system and now, there is HAL by Focus SB.
Ross Thornhill, a Focus SB HAL product manager said: ‘Clients have come to us looking for a sophisticated means of controlling a lighting system that has pre-set scenes but they do not necessarily want to see complex control options.’
The Home Automated Lighting enables for lighting scenes to be set in a room to create a particular atmosphere. The lighting can also be programmed alongside the music and any visual capabilities a room has also.
One of the properties of this system is that it can also be wired to any electronic blinds or curtains and controlled from a remote control or mobile phone with GPS so, when someone returns homes the gates and curtains will open up in welcome.
Time For the Tech
On installations so far, the HAL 4 600 DS control panel has typically been mounted adjacent to the buildings electrical distribution board.
It has been suitable for controlling low and mains voltage filament lamps and compatible, dimmable, mains voltage led lamps. The HAL panel is networked to the wall mounted control plates with a CAT5/6 data cable.
Focus SB HAL wall mounted control plates can contain OLED display units that have an internal library of icons that can relate to the selected/ programmed scene. The scenes can be programmed for a room use, for example, ambience for entertaining.
At the Berlin International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF), Marriott International announced the debut of MOXY HOTELS, its first entry into the economy tier, three-star hospitality segment in Europe. Designed to capture the rapidly emerging millennial traveller, the new brand combines contemporary stylish design, approachable service and, most importantly, an affordable price. The brand will debut in Italy, with the first MOXY HOTEL expected to open in Milan in early 2014.
To grow the brand rapidly, Marriott is working closely with Inter Hospitality, the real-estate affiliate of Inter IKEA, who will be the initial developer and owner of the first MOXY HOTELS properties. Marriott has selected Nordic Hospitality to be its first franchisee to operate the brand. Nordic Hospitality is an experienced hotel operator that currently manages several Marriott brand hotels in Scandinavia.
“MOXY HOTELS is the essence of the next generation traveller, not only Gen X and Y but people with a younger sensibility, for whom contemporary style is paramount,” said Arne Sorenson, President and CEO of Marriott International. “Every aspect of the hotel was thoughtfully researched and crafted to reflect and deliver on the changing lifestyles and expectations of this fast-growing customer segment. We believe Marriott will lead the way in redefining the traditional economy hotel experience throughout Europe. We are thrilled to be able to launch the brand with Inter Hospitality as an owner and Nordic as our franchisee. With a dedicated real estate partner and an experienced operator, we expect a fast start and the exceptional customer service that is associated with all of Marriott’s brands.”
Marriott plans to add 150 franchised MOXY HOTELS in Europe over the next 10 years, aiming for locations in Germany, Austria, United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, The Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The new brand will fuel Marriott’s companywide growth in the region, which is expected to reach 80,000 rooms by 2015. Amy McPherson, president and managing director of Marriott International in Europe, added, “We see a huge opportunity to expand our market share in Europe with MOXY HOTELS. The economy tier in Europe represents nearly half of total room supply, yet only 20 percent of these hotels are branded. MOXYHOTELS will be a great addition to our portfolio of brands in Europe.”
Peter Andrews, managing director of Inter Hospitality, commented, “The agreement with Marriott and Nordic Hospitality gives us a great opportunity to use our development expertise to build a high-quality hotel property investment portfolio. Our initial focus is on acquiring sites for the new brand in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Austria. Over the next 5 years we aim to secure at least 50 sites for development.”
MOXY HOTELS has been in development for nearly two years. Marriott, together with Nordic Hospitality, has conducted extensive consumer research across Europe including construction of sample rooms for focus group studies.
According to Ramesh Jackson, brand vice president of MOXYHOTELS, “No design element was too small to test with these tech-savvy consumers. We learned that these confident explorers are wildly self-sufficient, but still want a chance to connect with each other in inviting social spaces in person or digitally. Based on the concept test results we believe MOXYHOTELS will revolutionize the industry.”
Harald Jacobsen, President and CEO of Nordic Hospitality, stated: “We are proud to be part of the development of this brand and to be the preferred operating partner for MOXYHOTELS. We believe strongly in the competitiveness of the concept and we are convinced that our partnership with both Marriott and Inter Hospitality will result in a rapid development for MOXY HOTELS.”
The contemporary and stylish 150- to 300-room MOXYHOTELS, which are being designed with the goal of attaining LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, will cater to today’s budget-minded, savvy travellers who thrive on self-service and embrace new technology. Guestrooms will be functional and well-designed, with upscale bath amenities, large flat screen televisions and built-in USB ports located within each wall socket. The colour palette features calming neutral tones reminiscent of rich brown leather, combined with natural materials to evoke an organic, comfortable and restorative feel. Each room will also feature a floor to ceiling signature “art wall” that is hand selected to reflect the local city or surroundings.
MOXY HOTELS will feature adaptable public spaces for guests to relax and socialize offering healthy continental breakfast and an evening bar featuring wines by the glass and local brews. In addition, hotels will have two “Plug and Meet” meeting spaces on the lobby level designed with modern ergonomic seating, large writing walls and 56-inch televisions for presentation projection. The lobby will boast state-of-the art computers and 24/7 market featuring snacks and drinks.
Guests will enjoy free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, and may opt to check in using their mobile devices.
A few years ago I was in Washington to Review a couple of hotels. Staying in a Staybridge Suites I was collared by the manager for advice on how to give some personality to the building. Frustrated by a build system where the hotel was built from plans onto a plot similar to previous buildings, no designer involved just the developer, they were concerned at how the interiors lacked style. In the US where brands are 80% of the market and generally land is available, cloning previous designs is straightforward – but each time a clone is created it becomes less individual, drifts further away from the original vision, which becomes diluted. In the UK, as Ampersand shows, the situation is quite different.
Over here new builds are the exception rather than the rule and the skill of the hotel interior designer is a sine qua non in developing hotels that work in buildings that may be hundreds of years old. Here the brands represent a minority of the operators. Individual owner/operators drive the market competitively, creating hotels that become benchmarks in styling, forcing brands to compete.
This is especially true in the boutique market, where Starwood spawns ‘W’ out of Westin, Accor gives birth to the M Gallery and IHG tries to create its own boutique brands through Indigo to take a share of the market for more individual hotel experiences.It may be argued that the brand giants are, in themselves, inimical to innovative design. Corporate decision making can be defensive whilst owners of hotels such as Ampersand or My Hotel, Magdalen Chapter or Cliff House Hotel are driven to compete with design as they otherwise lack the marketing muscle of a Hilton or other large brand.
With over 80% of bookings now being made via the web this may be changing, but certainly creating an attractive hotel in an old building such as the Victorian structure that houses Ampersand poses particular problems for architects and designers, whilst filling them remains a problem for the owners.
Mr Hilton argues the key to success was ‘location, location, location’ and for Ampersand its position within view of London’s national museums in South Kensington is key to unlocking this particular door. The spires of the Natural History Museum are clearly visible from the hotel and the V&A, Science Museum and other attractions in the aptly named Museum Road are a gentle five minute stroll away.
Next door to the heavily oversubscribed French lycée it is not surprising that the hotel also makes every effort to capture lunchtime trade and afternoon teas with well designed and carefully defined food offerings too. If the brief for each area was clear then the styling created by the designers has made the definition the owner desired. However to this observer it leads to some disconnect between styles in different part of the hotel, although that may just be my taste kicking in. Certainly the design works in each area, and if the intention was to create a slight shock of surprise on moving from space to space then the designers have achieved their aim. The contrast between the cool international sophistication of the lobby and the very English decorative quality of the lounge is marked.
The decorative wallpapers are echoed in the paintings although the result might have a more ironic twist if the paintings had just been of wallpaper, without the surrealist pastiche of glasses full of giraffe. The result is visually busy, and fits with the array of cakes available , their icing decorations matching the decorative treatments of the walls and carpets. The surreal bent is continued through a birdcage (echoing Magritte) perched on a waiter station, all slightly at odds with the Peter Philips influenced bird painting that is a glorious feature of reception. Whilst I may balk slightly at the art it is well chosen and the imagery works as a tongue in cheek supplement to the decor. So often the art in an hotel fails to add to the interiors, but here, as in the ‘M’ Gallery with which the tea room seems to share a common aesthetic, the art adds to the overall decorative effect.
The space at the foot of the stairs is utilised for public internet access computers, with a stylish seating area in the centre and an endstop of a large 3D mural maintaining a visually interesting area as a set piece. As well as acting as the lift lobby and internet space the area also leads into the bar restaurant, which itself has a separate entrance from the street. The decoration is carried through the staircase with a similar chandelier concept to that we showed in our review of the Kempinski Dukes Palace in Bruges. Here the lamps appear to fly off the central pillar like frightened birds, or bugs of some kind. It is a visually delightful device that successfully links the floors. Fire doors are not apparent but secure the bedroom corridors off this space, whilst at the lower ground floor the staircase leads into the further public areas of the restaurant, private dining and meeting rooms.
Bar and restaurant are successful in capturing bistro atmosphere as well as styling and the separate street entrance is enabling that difficult trick that fails to be achieve by most hotel restaurants, that of attracting a clientele in addition to the hotel guest. However with over a hundred bedrooms the space is too small to cater for all guests, but as it is in the heart of an area well served by restaurants that is not a problem and the tea room above is used to cope with the breakfast rush.
Styling here again contrasts with the lobby and tea room, the white painted exposed brick creating a Parisian feel. Large upholstered bar stool caters to the ‘Friday night millionaires’, just as likely in South Ken to be the genuine article of course. Tables are well spaced and the cellar (which this no doubt originally was) lends itself to small private dining areas, and the sense of privacy is enhanced by the brick vaulting. The areas of the cellars are split, each receiving its own unique design treatment. The timber lined private dining area or boardroom is finished in floor to ceiling joinery, including refrigerated wine cabinets and glasses showcase. The joinery is of a high standard and as throughout the hotel the quality of the detailing speaks volumes for a design and build team that has really known what it is doing. This is one of the most beautifully finished interiors I have seen in a long time.
Beyond the ‘boardroom’ is a library and beyond that a larger space set up as a meeting area.The beautifully detailed joinery is painted, with the colour being picked up in the carpet. The carpet also mimics the colouring of the timber edge to the flooring , itself a device the designer has used to link these dissimilar areas successfully. All the spaces are bright and well lit not just with inventive lighting installation but with the benefit of plenty of natural light from the front despite them being basement areas.
The overall result is harmonious and despite my reservations about the variation of design between the different areas, the result overall hangs together well, with the differentiation providing a series of enjoyable and different interiors as the guest moves through the hotel. Whilst the design of the public areas manages to create the feel of modern contemporary open spaces, it is in the corridors that the Victorian hotel origins of the building become most apparent. However the design treatment of them carries the same felicitous touches as the public areas.
Pattern and images are used powerfully with subtlety throughout the interiors, from the etched glass screens in the entrance lobby, the ‘birds’ of the chandelier to the digitally imaged pigeons on the wallpapers. Colour, carried through from the basement, is used to break up the corridor visually preventing the tunnel effect that is so apparent in many hotels. Lighting is almost traditional in the corridors but the large motifs, taking advantage of modern printing techniques, are also used with some subtlety to create interest. In using similar motifs to the bedrooms the designers have carried a design unity through the bedrooms from the corridors.
Corridors are carpeted and retain the skirtings and dado of the original styling. Carpet pattern again harmonises with the wallpaper design, simplicity and sophistication going together. With the end of minimalism I worried that many designers would shout with colour, but here the designer shows a cool sophisticated handling of colour and pattern that marks them out from the herd, whilst at the same time there is a sense of place, almost a sense of drama, about the treatment of the interiors.
The sense of drama continues through the bedrooms and bathrooms, along with an indulgent comfort. The usual use of high quality linens contributes but it is the thoughtfulness of the design, the attention to detail that stand out here. Small details like the buttoning on the upholsteries have been thought through as a part of the scheme with button colours picking up colours in the cushion fabrics. It may seem a small insignificant detail but it is one that contributes to the overall feeling of quality that has been created. Similarly the placing of sockets above the bedside table enables phone or tablets to be plugged in by the bedhead for use whilst in bed.
Similarly in the bathrooms small details add to the overall effect of luxury, and in the suites the addition of the water proof televisions enhances the sybaritic bath experience. We all know the devil is always in the detail but here the interior designers is a shining example to others in the profession of how things should be done.
In Ampersand London gains another excellent new hotel, continuing openings which, like that of the Arch continues the London tradition of bespoke boutiques that are stylish, well designed and offer a very attractive alternative to the brands. With good food and good service complimenting good design this will become a stalwart (and no doubt profitable) part of the London scene.
continues its mission to keeping hotel guests connected with the launch of their new MediaHub SL Desktop connectivity panel. This new option makes installing in-room device-friendly TV connectivity effortless and budget concerns non-existent. It is plug & play right out of the box. And, with a price tag starting at just under £56GBP ($87USD), hoteliers now have an affordable option for improved guestroom connectivity with little or no renovation requirements. (Prices correct as of 20/02/13)Hotel guests can use MediaHub SL to experience their music, videos, photos and other multi-media content from their personal multimedia device through the hotel room’s flat screen HDTV. Neil Betterton, vice president of product development for says, “what is great about MediaHub SL is the fact that it has all the audio/video connections a guest would need for watching their Netflix movies, listening to their iTunes playlists or enjoying other content from their mobile device on the in-room TV, including high definition video from their iPad® or other tablet. The MediaHub SL also provides a high-current USB power for charging.”
As digital content continues to move into the cloud, that familiar content is now on-demand wherever you go. According to Betterton, “more and more people of all ages are accessing content in completely new ways – from Netflix, Hulu, and Pandora on their gaming consoles and Bluray players and from their mobile devices when away from home. Watching on a mobile makes sense on an airplane, but when they get to the hotel they want connect into the TV and get back to that at-home type of experience.”
The hotel guest is getting savvier as technology advances every day. Smart hoteliers are responding with simple device-friendly connectivity that protects against guests tampering with the back of the TV or other technology installed in the room. Betterton explains, “Hospitality will see usage of this connectivity continue to grow as more and more hoteliers recognize the need for this type of amenity in their guestrooms. Right now their guests are sticking their arms behind in-room TVs to connect their multimedia devices. Connectivity panels are a necessary amenity, and we have made it affordable and painless for hoteliers to add it to their guestrooms.”
MediaHub SL Desktop is packaged complete with cabling attached and encased for improved back-end aesthetics with uncomplicated cable running to the TV. A shorter one-meter, or three-foot, cable length option leaves the perfect amount of slack for placing the panel just beside the TV in a clean, clutter-free installation – this means no renovation, no cutouts, no assembly, and no conduit cable running is required. Simply connect the cables, set it down and guests are ready to use it. Additional mounting plates are available for added security.
“We also managed to engineer MediaHub SL to be compatible with literally any hospitality TV on the market, new or old,” says Betterton. MediaHub SL Desktop features range from passive mode to integrated auto-switching with the TV or set top box. MediaHub SL can be turned on by using the guest remote control, through prompts in the VOD channel roster or by using an auto-switching feature that utilizes the TV’s serial port and automatically switches the input when the guest plugs in.
We have thought of everything with this panel range,” says Betterton. “Better compatibility, universal device connectivity, slim and attractive design, ease of installation… all at an affordable price. I’m exciting to see the opportunities is now offering hoteliers and their guests at all star-level properties for advanced device-friendly TV connectivity.”
For more information on MediaHub SL range and their other connectivity devices for the hospitality industry, please visit
The Arabian Travel Market (ATM) road show arrived in Amman on Sunday 10 February to conduct an educational seminar at a time when Royal impetus is driving Jordan’s ambitious tourism development plans.The Hashemite Kingdom is ploughing ahead with its 25-year master plan for sector development and government figures report a 15.3% increase in 2012 tourism receipts on 2011 figures, adding US$3.47 billion to the economy.
According to Jordan’s Central Bank, the increase in tourist revenues was due to the pick-up of inbound tourism numbers, with an increase in visitors noted from Iraq, Libya and the US in particular.
Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels’ EMEA Q3 2012 Quarterly Newsletter reported that hotels in Jordan achieved the best trading results in the Middle East, primarily due to an 18.1% increase in occupancy. Amman was the best performing city in the Middle East & Africa region for the same period, with 30.4% RevPAR growth.
The Jordan Tourism Board will lead a host of high-profile participants to Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2013 which takes place at the Dubai World Trade Centre on 6-9 May, such as Amlak Hotels & Tourism Investment and first time exhibitor Belle Vue Hotels. Commenting on the on the renewed optimism and confidence in Jordan, Mark Walsh, Portfolio Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions, said:
“Jordan currently has a pipeline of around 3,858 hotel rooms, with 2014 set to be a banner year for openings, with a number of high profile hospitality names making their market debut, and the country is definitely on the cusp of a tourism revival,”
Leisure demand, thanks to the country’s rich cultural heritage, remains the key tourism driver and one of the key elements of the Kingdom’s tourism master plan is development in and around the Dead Sea and Aqaba with a number of hotels set to open in 2014/15, including the Westin Aqaba Harbour Resort & Spa, Starwood’s Luxury Collection Al Manara Hotel and the JW Marriott Aqaba Hotel & Spa, along with the headline grabbing US$1.5 billion Red Sea Astrarium – a Star Trek-themed amusement park.
“The current annual capacity of 3.5 million passengers at Queen Alia International airport, will be superceded by expansion plans to accommodate up to nine million passengers per year with the imminent launch of the new US$750 million terminal, and a second phase taking that to 12 million in the coming years,” added Walsh.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the total number of visitors to the country fell by 7.3% in 2012, to 6,314,250, compared to 6,812,426 in 2011, however 4,162,367 overnight tourists were recorded in 2012, up a healthy 5.1% from 3,959,643 in 2011. The number of visitors heading to Jordan’s key archaeological sites also dropped, although Petra Archaeological Park reported a 15% increase in December 2012 visitors against the previous year.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai and set to celebrate its 20th anniversary, the show has grown to become the largest showcase of its kind in the region and one of the biggest in the world.
New to the 2013 event, ATM is launching the digital and technology day focusing on online travel developments and showcasing headline speakers from across the industry.
Taking place again this year is the New Frontiers Award, which was created to recognise outstanding contributions to tourism development in the face of overwhelming adversity.
The perennially popular industry Careers Day will wrap up the week providing the opportunity for visitors looking to make a career move to meet with the exhibitors’ HR contacts looking for their next recruit.
The Viaduct design is now available from the Contract Chair Company and is a well priced and versatile range of furniture suitable for restaurant and bar areas.The range comprises stacking side and armchairs with upholstered seat and back panel with the reverse also being upholstered giving that elegant look from all angles, along with a slatted back design both in armchair and side chair versions. Both ranges also come with matching barstools.
Please contact sales@thecontractchair.co.uk or call 0800 8494 135 with your enquiries and we will be pleased to offer you our best prices.
Previewed at this years’ KBB in Birmingham, the Simpsons new range of Elite shower enclosures received unprecedented interest. The bright chromed enclosures are now available throughout the UK. The Elite range comprises hinged and sliding doors, side panels, single and double door quadrant options. Doors are fully reversible with a noteworthy 40mm adjustment for easy installation in any bathroom. The brightly chromed aluminium profiles create a coordinated design statement by complementing the chrome finish on shower valves, bath and basin taps and accessories.
The 8/6mm toughened glass used throughout the Elite range is supplied with Simpsons Clear Glass protection completely free. The invisible coating provides a barrier against the damaging and ageing effects caused by everyday toiletries like shower gel, shampoo as well as lime scale and mildew. To make cleaning even easier the sliding doors and Quadrants are supplied with quick-release rollers.
Simpsons Product Manager Lee Talon commented, “We received great feedback on the design features of the Elite range. We listened to our customers and incorporated many of their suggestions, and in so doing, we feel the range is in a class of its own and a potential market leader.”
Simpsons Elite Benefits and Features:
• Lifetime guarantee • Power shower proof • Reversible design • Quick release easy clean rollers (sliders and quadrants) • 40mm adjustment for uneven walls • A comprehensive range of widths and designs to suit all installations • A portfolio comprising showers, trays and accessories
Dawnvale Hospitality Interiors are pleased to announce the launch of this new stylish range which includes a large and high back lounge chair with quilt style outer back, sofa with a quadrant stitching detail and stackable low stools to suit a variety of venues.All items are available in any specified upholstery, include CHRM foam for the UK contract market and are as attractive as they are well made.
For further information please contact our Furniture Division on 0161 684 7879 or view our new dedicated furniture website www.dawnvalefurniture.com
The JW Marriott brand has officially celebrated its newly opened landmark luxury hotel in the Middle East – the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai (February 26th). Acquiring the coveted title of World’s Tallest hotel from the Guinness Book of World Records, the 72-story property is the first JW Marriott Marquis outside of North America and the 59th addition to the brand’s global luxury portfolio. A host of international VIPs, including Marriott International’s President & CEO Arne Sorenson are in Dubai this week for the official unveiling.
Soaring at 355 meters (1,164 feet), the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is just 26 metres shorter than New York City’s famed Empire State Building. In Dubai, known throughout the world for its awe-inspiring architecture, the hotel’s towers have already become an icon on the city’s skyline.
In addition to serving luxury business travellers, the hotel, which is owned by Emirates Group, targets the lucrative and increasingly important MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) market by filling a long-identified gap in the region. Groups, meetings and conventions of up to 1,000 people can now meet, stay and dine, under one roof. The hotel is the first in Dubai that is able to accommodate large groups and will play a key role in attracting major conventions and events to the destination. Along with cutting-edge business facilities, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai features more than 7,500 square meters of indoor and outdoor event space, including two ballrooms, and a large selection of world-class dining and entertainment options.
The JW Marriott Marquis Dubai offers an enticing array of nine restaurants, and five bars and lounges, including the sky-high steakhouse Prime 68; the experiential sushi restaurant, Izakaya; and stunning cocktail bar Vault, which is situated on the 71st and 72nd floors and features panoramic views of the city. The hotel is also home to Rang Mahal by Atul Kochhar, the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin Star.
The 4,000 square-meter Saray Spa and Health Club draws inspiration from the caravanserai silk route across Arabia, with treatments designed to ensure mind and body renewal. Treatments include the Signature Milk and Honey treatment, an Arabic Coffee Awakener, and Lemon Mint Body Polish. A sprawling pool deck covers the 7th floor of the hotel with a 30-meter swimming pool. Aqua Poolside Bar and Grill draws inspiration from Miami’s renowned South Beach, offering light snacks and beverages throughout the day.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has announced the opening of Le Méridien Atlanta Perimeter, the first Le Méridien hotel to open in the Atlanta metropolitan area and one of nine new Le Méridien hotels slated to open within the next 12 months. Located in the bustling Perimeter Center business district, just minutes from downtown Atlanta, the hotel is owned by RockBridge Capital and managed by Wischermann Partners. Following a comprehensive, 12-month, $20 million renovation, Le Méridien Atlanta Perimeter boasts 275 spacious guest rooms and suites along with an outdoor pool, fitness centre, spacious 12th floor club lounge, and 10,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting and event space. Guests can also enjoy a selection of coffees, cocktails and fine wines at Longitude 84, the hotel’s sleek new lounge, and Portico, the hotel’s ground-floor restaurant slated to open this spring, will feature an eclectic menu of globally inspired cuisine and a spacious terrace ideal for private gatherings and special events.
“The inspiring design featured throughout the spacious guest rooms and public areas, the newly created club lounge and the addition of a new restaurant with an expansive patio complete the transformation of this property,” said Jim Merkel, President and CEO of RockBridge. “The rebranding coupled with the strength of the Starwood system, will position Le Méridien Atlanta Perimeter as the premier hotel in the market. We are excited about adding this showcase property to our portfolio.”
Le Méridien Atlanta Perimeter features the Le Méridien HubTM experience, which re-interprets the traditional lobby into a social gathering place for creative people to converse, debate, and exchange. Le Méridien Hub offers both guests and locals a creative atmosphere where contemporary, curated artwork sets the environment. Le Méridien Hub further builds on the brand’s award-winning arrival experience and coffee culture, curated by Le Méridien brand’s Cultural Curator Jérôme Sans. Le Méridien arrival consists of four elements: large-scale artwork in high impact areas to reset the mind and stimulate dialogue and curiosity; the sensory experience, illustrated through Le Méridien signature scent, sound and use of light, creating a unique and distinctive atmosphere; UNLOCK ARTTM programme, featuring LM100 TM artist designed key card collections that not only offer access to the guestroom but also to Le Méridien affiliated contemporary cultural centres in the city; and a 24-hour soundtrack curated by Sans.
Alexandre Glauser, Area General Manager of Centara Hotels & Resorts Sri Lanka together with Teddy Roland, Hotel Manager, Janaka Priyashantha, Chief Engineer and Priyantha Kannangara, Assistant Chief Engineer of Centara Passikudah Resort & Spa Sri Lanka inspect progress on the construction of Centara Passikudah Resort & Spa Sri Lanka, which is scheduled for soft opening in April 2013. Centara Passikudah Resort & Spa Sri Lankais set on the beautiful Passikudah Bay, on Sri Lanka’s North-Eastern Coast, and offers a fine choice of facilities appealing to couples, families and those longing for active holidays. The shallow waters of the bay are ideal for windsurfing and kayaking.
Resort accommodation comprises 126 spacious rooms and suites with each featuring a private balcony or terrace.
There is an all-day dining restaurant, lounge bar, Spa Cenvaree, fitness centre, and the Bay Ballroom which has a maximum capacity of 150 persons.
The recently opened Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa, situated on the rugged northwest coast of Mallorca, and already regarded as the island’s most luxurious resort, is to offer a wide range of incentives and attractions to commercial clients in the coming year. With many facilities designed specifically for the meetings and conference market, the hotel is targeting the months of April, October and November with a range of many all-inclusive amenities and services for parties occupying ten rooms or more.
Room rates start at €185 per night, inclusive of breakfast and taxes, and as part of arrangements for conference organisers and agents, the hotel is offering a selection of complimentary benefits. These include transfers to and from Palma Airport, welcome drinks on arrival, VIP room amenities, up to two upgrades to the next room category when securing groups of 20 attendees or more, one complimentary room for every 40 secured rooms and access to the hotel’s luxurious Talise Spa. In addition, the hotel can organise a wide selection of outdoor activities. Sporting options include golf, mountain biking, kayaking and sailing while cultural attractions embrace visits to local museums and art galleries, food markets and a historic train journey from Soller to the island’s capital of Palma.
The Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa occupies a cliff top overlooking the Port of Soller, and enjoys extensive, uninterrupted sea views on one side, with a backdrop of the Tramuntana mountains – recently declared a UNESCO Heritage Site – on the other. The hotel’s intimate ambience ensures that guests feel part of their surroundings while enjoying the level of service and traditional hospitality associated with Jumeirah.
The hotel includes 120 rooms and suites, two restaurants, a fine wine cellar, four bars and two swimming pools. Its sumptuous Talise Spa offers many relaxing and locally inspired treatments and includes a gym with the latest equipment, an al fresco heated hydropool overlooking the mountains and a wide choice of thermal facilities.
Michel Horn, Vice President for Operations at Centara Hotels & Resorts, Wim Fagel, General Manager of Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok together with Pattana Prompat and Nakarin Prompat, representing the ownersof Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok unveil the signage of the hotel as the team prepares to welcome the first guests on 1 April. Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok, a four-star property located at Rachaprarop and above the Watergate Pavillion shopping complex, is the fourth hotel to be opened in Bangkok by Centara Hotels & Resorts.
Centara’s two longest-established hotels in Bangkok, Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, and Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok, are both integral to prime shopping malls, a factor in acquiring the new management contract.
The new hotel and shopping complex are located inside a newly constructed 20-storey building, with the hotel taking up a total of 10 floors and featuring a total of 281 guestrooms. Of these, 147 will be superior rooms, 102 will be deluxe rooms, and 32 will offer a family-friendly concept.
Facilities will include an all-day restaurant with a total of 160 seats indoors and outdoors, a rooftop restaurant with 64 seats, and a rooftop bar with 76 seats. There will be a Cense by Spa Cenvaree with five treatment rooms and a 56sqm fitness centre.
Two meeting rooms, each of 90 sqm, will cater for the meetings and events sector.
The Watergate Pavillion shopping complex is being built in two phases. Phase 1 consists of 5 floors and two basements, totaling 60,000sqm, with more than 800 shops and food outlets.
Constantly striving to ensure its piping systems and equipment meet the demands of modern working environments, Geberit has approved a new electrofusion box for improved connection of its Geberit HDPE and Geberit Silent-db20 systems.Geberit has worked with UK-based company Advance Welding to produce the AW315G, which offers superior performance and greater overall efficiency during the welding process compared to its predecessors.
The AW315G, 110v electrofusion box is a highly efficient way of connecting pipes and fittings using extreme heat and pressure produced during welding to make simple, reliable, rigid joints between the pipes. The heat is produced from flowing a constant electrical current flow through the embedded heater wires within the sleeve fitting, which is placed around the two pipes, to produce the heat required, while the required pressure to make the joint is obtained via the shrinking of the fitting under welding conditions.
The new improved AW315G electrofusion box is capable of automatically welding couplings of up to 315mm at 110v and is far less susceptible to voltage fluctuation and handling damage for greater reliability on site. Competitively priced at a similar point as the outgoing Geberit 110V box, the new AW315G can also be serviced and repaired in the UK, making maintenance a far simpler task.
The new AW315G, available from Advance Welding, is now fully approved by Geberit for use with Geberit HDPE and Geberit Silent-db20. The 240V ESG 40/200 and starter switch remain in the Geberit range
A ground-breaking range of lever-operation brassware joins the market-leading line-up specially created for British bathrooms by Crosswater.Svelte, is Crosswater’s latest comprehensive range of solid brass basin, bath and showering products. The sleek design of the tap spout delivers a thin blade of water, which is easily controlled by the single, equally slim control lever.
Svelte comprises all basin variations; a low-pressure standard mono mixer, an extended height version for vessel basins, a wall-mounted option and a “mini” basin tap which is perfectly proportioned for smaller cloakroom or en suite basins. For bath filling a wall-mounted bath spout and matching deck mounted panel valves are offered.
Showering options from Crosswater are strong and varied. Svelte’s lever set will suit each of Crosswater’s extensive range of recessed shower valves from single to three outlet options. As always delivery is available ‘next day’ throughout most of the UK via Crosswater’s own delivery fleet.
Crosswater’s product manager Lisa Soffesays, “Svelte has an instantly memorable visual style that offers a compelling design advantage that is different from all existing Crosswater and market offers. Svelte provides the retailer with an exclusive ‘wow’ product. We worked tirelessly on this project to ensure that the radical Svelte design was suited to most types of UK installation. The unusual shape of the water delivery will certainly attract showroom attention.”
The 1st of March marks the official opening of the Swissôtel Goa. Located in the town of Calangute, one of the most popular tourist destinations in North Goa, it’s only 16 kms from the capital city Panaji and within an hour’s drive from Goa’s international airport. The 135 guestrooms and suites are designed and distributed between nine three-level buildings, set within a tropical garden featuring idyllic lily ponds and a courtyard pool area. Rooms vary in size between 31m on category, and feature modern design elements. An all-day dining restaurant, pool bar, cafe, fitness centre, adult and children’s pools, kid’s club, as well as conference and banquet facilities will delight even the most discerning guests.
The hotel will also have an exclusive beach club for its guests on Calangute beach. Designed by Malaysian Architects Chong Chee Ching and Greg Dall, the elements in the lobby and throughout the resort are accented by numerous works by the Indian artist Krsna Mehta are distributed throughout the resort which present modern and colourful design highlights. The most important night-life happenings and restaurants of North Goa are only a few minutes’ walk from Swissôtel Goa.
Goa is a former Portuguese administrated region and is India’s smallest state with a population of approximately 1.5 million. This year-round vacation destination with its famous cuisine and Portuguese influence provides inspiration with its endless beaches which have delighted tourists from around the world for many years.
Construction started on Friday 25th January 2013 for an Associated Property Investors (API) led £20 million retail and leisure development at 19–31 Manchester Piccadilly. With construction work expected to finish by December 2013, upwards of 100 jobs will be created in the run up to Christmas.The building is well known in the city as the site of the Woolworths fire in 1979, and was more recently an amusement arcade.
Funding for the development has just been secured through HSBC bank and it can now be announced that the occupiers of the scheme will be:
• Budget hotel chain Travelodge, operating 157 rooms and a 102 seat Bar Cafe. When opened, the hotel will create 32 jobs within the local community. All entry-level roles will be filled via Job Centre Plus. This will be Travelodge’s twelfth hotel in Manchester and the fifth in the city centre. This development will boost the Company’s rooms to 763 in the heart of the city.
• Morrisons M Local convenience store covering 12,000 sq ft and creating around 20 jobs. Morrisons’ convenience stores put more emphasis on fresh food than other convenience retailers with a focus on value and fresh product ranges – including produce, meat, fish and bakery products. The store may also include a hot food to go counters, takeaway coffee and a salad bar.
• Zizzi will be occupying 6,750 sq ft whilst Nandos is going to take 5,000 sq ft with over 50 jobs being created at the restaurant.
GMI Construction Group of Leeds is the appointed contractors, with Garnett Netherwood the scheme architects.
Jones Lang LaSalle’s Leeds and Manchester offices acted on behalf of API. Jenics represented Travelodge.
Chris Dalzell, Managing Director of API, said:
‘As owners of the building we are very pleased that after a long period of under use, we have been able to bring forward the refurbishment of this important and well known building in Piccadilly Gardens. The impressive tenant line up is testament to both the quality of the location and the strength of the Manchester economy’
Paul Harvey, Managing Director for Development at Travelodge Hotels, said:
“We are delighted to have secured this prime site in the heart of Manchester city centre. This development will be our fifth hotel in the centre of the City.
“Manchester has traded very well over the past five years, with a thriving leisure offering thanks to its strong retail offer, vibrant social scene, the Manchester Arena and the continued success of the city’s famous football clubs, City and United. When you also account for a strong business sector, boosted by the MediaCity UK development and arrival of the BBC at Salford Quays, the demand for good quality, value accommodation in Manchester city centre is growing.
“Our new Travelodge fronting Piccadilly Gardens is perfectly located for Manchester’s great shops, bars and restaurants and is only a couple of minutes’ walk from Manchester Piccadilly train station. With two great restaurants and the Morrisons’ supermarket on site, it will be a fantastic place for our customers to stay.“
Gordon Mowat, Group Strategy Director at Morrisons, said:
“We’re excited to be bringing another Morrisons M Local to Manchester. Our convenience stores make it easier for busy professionals to cook a meal from scratch or pick up fresh ingredients on the way home.”
Opened in November 2012, the InterContinental London Westminster Hotel is the first InterContinental to open in London for over 36 years. Just a stone’s throw from the corridors of power and within earshot of the chimes of Big Ben, this new 4 star property exudes period appeal set within Queen Anne’s Chambers, a former government building built in the 1800s.Following a £150m investment by Shiraz Boghani and family of Supreme Hotels, the elegant interior of the hotel sits behind a 19th century townhouse exterior to provide sanctuary for business and leisure guests alike in the heart of Westminster. 256 guest rooms are spread across six floors and include 45 individually decorated suites with separate lounge and bedroom.
All rooms feature well-appointed marble bathrooms with walk-in shower and separate bath. Showers and bathroom fittings are from internationally-renowned, German specialist Hansgrohe.
March sees the launch of a versatile, decadent new velvet collection from the Accents range by Skopos. Previewed recently alongside the new Erddig & Elle luxury print collection at Sleep in November, Beau works perfectly as a confident plain for upholstery, drapery and bed throws and equally as a base cloth for wet printed and unique digital designs.
100% Trevira CS, the Beau collection is available in 21 hand-picked contemporary colours with a chic vintage twist. Created specifically for the contract market, inherently flame retardant, this quality presents fantastic opportunities for both the contract hotel, cruise and leisure sectors and demonstrates versatility for use across Europe, Middle East and America, complying with all contract standards.
As an upholstery plain, Beau performs to 45,000 martindale rubs and as a product for drapery, a washable durable solution with a luxurious thick drape and soft velvet pile. As a printed product (showcased in Erddig & Elle) Beau achieves 40,000 martindale rubs.
Skopos is an ISO9001 accredited company and has over 30 year’s specialist experience in the design and manufacture of high performance FR contract fabrics for the hospitality sector.
Fashion weeks around the world have highlighted fabric trends will be largely texture driven, and once again the worlds of fashion and decor are colliding with runway looks quickly translated into exciting interior ranges by the leading design houses and vice versa.Leading the way with the latest décor trends, Fabrics and Papers has added several new ranges of textured fabrics to its site at fabricsandpapers.com, the home to one of the largest collections of designer wallpapers, curtain and upholstery fabrics to view and buy online. The new fabrics will add depth, subtle pattern and colour to a room and create a truly individual look.
Designer’s Guild’s Padua is a textured collection to delight in, encompassing fabulous stunning lustrous velvets in a range of designs from damask to snakeskin, together with stunning weaves in chunky dogstooth, delicious boucle and rugged linen.
Portello is a robust linen cotton basket weave in an elegant wide banded stripe.Zeno is a chunky and durable large scale dogtooth design, with a richly textured surface in an array of beautiful crisp colours. Calistaornate cut velvet with miniature circular damask pattern is at once contemporary and classical; the slub textured ground contrasts and brings depth to the smooth finish of the velvet pile.Oriago a cross dyed snakeskin velvet has an abstracted natural feel, it’s gorgeous organic lace like patterns have a broad appeal and function; this statement jacquard is a joy to behold.
Osborne & Little’s Amerindia collection by Lorca is inspired by the designs of the American Indian Tribes and features rich earthy colours and thick soft weaves. The colours included in the palette are terracotta, stone, saffron, burnt orange, black, cassis, air force blue, ivory and sage.
Mohawk is a thick weave textured fabric with interlocking pyramid design. Hopi is a natural linen cloth with an embroidered lozenge design. Zuni is a vertical stripe of broad bands in jute and cotton. Kiowa is a thick, heavy horizontal stripe woven fabric.
Zoffanys Quartz Weaves offer twelve lustrous qualities including silks, sheers, stripes and semi-plains woven with beautiful yarns and subtle patterns in soft mineral colour palettes of rose quartz, chalk and silver and richer dramatic palettes of lapis, gold and amethyst.
Cordonnet embroidery fabric features a floral trail embroidered with metallic yarns on silk taffeta. The effect is rich and decorative, combining traditional motifs with theatrical grandeur and is ideal for drapes and curtains. Diamond sheer woven voile is a large-scale contemporary design embroidered on an ultra-sheer silk ground. The pattern of wide zigzag stripes is both dramatic and minimalist. Cinnebar is a fabulous heavy linen interwoven with metallic yarns to give a shimmering richness to the weave. This fabric is suitable for upholstery or could be used for feature cushions.
In competitive times, making your customers feel pampered can keep you ahead. Forbes table protectors slip between your tables and linen and cushion the table top to give your guests a superior dining experience.While your customer relaxes into the dining equivalent of a well-padded sofa, you can enjoy the fact that the table protector reduces noise, protects the table from the rigours of daily use, wipes clean and is easy to fit.
A generous layer of leatherette bonded to soft felt, the table protector is cut to size, so can be tailored to any table shape. It can also be supplied with an elasticated band to anchor the protector to the table, or used in conjunction with Simple-fit table skirting for a luxury dining experience.
Forbes table protector is also available for use on room service tables or rectangular buffets, with an optional Velcro lip edge.
To find out more or to discuss the options, please speak to one of our customer advisors. We shall be delighted to help.
Bradford-based Knightsbridge Furniture has donated two trucks to the Yorkshire Aid Convoy to help in the charity’s annual delivery of clothing, medical equipment and other essential supplies to Eastern Europe. The pair of 12-tonne Mercedes Benz trucks have just been collected from Knightsbridge headquarters on Thornton Road and will be put to work immediately, forming part of an aid convoy which leaves for Romania in early March.
‘With our own strong local roots, we were delighted to be able to support this Yorkshire-based charity in such a practical way,’ said Knightsbridge MD Alan Towns as he handed over the keys.
Driving one of the trucks away was Yorkshire Aid Convoy trustee and volunteer Gary Dooley. ‘Millions of families in Romania and the Ukraine face a lack of food, clothing, education and employment every day,’ he reflected. ‘With help from companies like Knightsbridge, we can make a real change to their lives.’
Knightsbridge Furniture designs and manufactures seating, tables and bedroom furniture for the international healthcare and hospitality market. The company has been based in Bradford since its formation some 70 years ago.
The progress of the Knightsbridge trucks as they travel across Europe can be followed at www.yorkshireaidconvoy.co.uk
Hilton Worldwide has recently announced the opening of Hilton Sharjah, the company’s 11th branded hotel in the UAE and its first in the Emirate of Sharjah.The 259-room Hilton Sharjah, a conversion property previously known as Corniche Al Buhaira Hotel, is a visually striking property, ideally positioned on the picturesque Corniche Road and overlooking Sharjah’s biggest lagoon. The hotel is also a convenient 10 kilometers from Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world with over 50 million passengers annually.
Rob Palleschi, global head, Hilton Hotels & Resorts said: “We’re delighted to open our first Sharjah hotel in such a prime location and at a time when increasing numbers of business and leisure travelers are staying in the Emirate of Sharjah. As a leading worldwide hospitality brand, we are pleased to bring our globally recognized attributes of style, high standards and quality service to this exciting and promising new market.”
The Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel, situated at 999 9th Street at K Street, NW, announced the completion of the redesign of its 807 guest rooms and suites, a 30 million dollar investment by its owners, Sunstone Hotels. Renaissance Hotels is a lifestyle brand within the Marriott International, Inc. global portfolio. “We are thrilled with our fresh new room product. When our guests discover our new rooms, they will appreciate the essence of modern lifestyle elegance without sacrificing warmth and functionality,” says Sharon Lockwood, general manager, Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel. “The new guestrooms and our recent lobby re-concept are part of the hotel’s evolution into more of a lifestyle space beyond being termed a convention hotel.”
Created by Dash Design of New York, the guestrooms and guest corridor interiors along with its customs furnishings reflect an interpretation of quintessential casual American fashion and tailored design.
Guests will find a soothing neutral color palate of khaki and coco-browns with splashes of reinterpreted denim blues and reds. Each room is accented with clean and modern furniture. The leather lounge and desk chairs are inspired by twentieth century modernism. LED reading pin lights are mounted on headboards with easy to reach plugs for guests to plug in their own mobile devices. The luxurious spa-like bathrooms have rain forest shower heads, backlit mirrors and accent wall coverings featuring a custom collage of historic events in Washington from 1940 to 1970. Artwork capturing glimpses of Washington, DC’s history pop in the guest rooms in the form of presidential profiles, signatures, and the city’s original design plans of Pierre Charles L’Enfant.
Business and leisure travellers both will appreciate the maximization of space and functionality with a six foot work surface, upgraded wireless internet and 18-inch laptop safes; and will enjoy amenities like a built-in mini-refrigerator, i-pod docking station, Aveda® spa products, and 40-inch HDTV.
Completed in May 2012, the Hilton London Wembley was an instant headline-grabber with its prestigious setting just a stone’s throw from the hallowed turf of Wembley Stadium. Part of a wider Wembley development, the newly built hotel by architect and interior designer The Manser Practice features a flush black granite exterior which is highly polished to reflect the surrounding buildings including the stadium’s iconic arch. Inside, a spacious glazed foyer creates a feeling of openness and visually connects to the activity outside in the Arena Square. Four original collections from Morgan appear throughout the building, grouped in certain areas with well-recognisable furniture design classics. Vintage inspired, the Seville collection is an interpretation of the traditional wing chair and club armchair. Stylish and comfortable, a Seville lounge chair features as a statement piece in all 361 hotel bedrooms.
Also from the Seville collection, bar stools, low back chairs and high back chairs upholstered in bright red fabric add a splash of colour to the stylish Icons Bar.
Seville high back two-seater sofas also feature in the Executive Lounge area along with dining chairs from the Seville and Verona ranges.
The ninth floor Sky Bar is the crowning glory of the hotel with its spacious outdoor terrace and stunning views over Wembley Stadium and Wembley. With a striking contemporary take on vintage style, Miami was the collection of choice for here with sofas and chairs providing generous dimensions and distinctive style in equal measure. Close to the bar itself, Seville bar stools in sunshine yellow are grouped around high bar tables and provide a relaxing sit with their curved upholstered back.
The Atlantic dining chair was specified for the all-day Association Restaurant. Characterised by a sculptured curved back, Atlantic is elegant and also very comfortable, making it one of the most popular dining ranges from Morgan. Available with or without arms.
Further facilities that can be enjoyed by the Hilton London Wembley guests include a health club with indoor swimming pool, steam room and sauna, complimentary business centre, flexible function and conference rooms, and a ballroom which accommodates 700 people.
Morgan worked closely throughout the project with Jane Johnson from The Manser Practice and Jonathan Pool, Project Design Director, from John Sisk and Son who were the main contractor.
The brand new Villeroy & Boch Omnia Architectura DirectFlush WC is its first wall-mounted WC with a flushing volume of just 3/4.5 litres. The pan has no rim whatsoever, making it easy to clean and very family friendly. The WC features timeless and dynamic design, with its compact form making it perfect for bathrooms of all shapes and sizes.
Making cleaning even easier, the WC is available in Villeroy & Boch’s revolutionary dirt resistant ceramic – CeramicPlus. Taking only 10% of the time to clean compared to standard ceramic sanitaryware, CeramicPlus not only looks fantastic but offers a permanent high quality finish.
The WC is available with a quick release seat and cover, as well as soft closing hinges. Priced from £382 and measures 37 x 53 cm.
Generator, Europe’s fastest growing hostel brand, is excited to announce the launch of its newest design-inspired boutique property in one of Europe’s most architecturally astounding cities; Barcelona. With boutique hostels already in Berlin East, Copenhagen, Dublin, Hamburg, London and Venice and more on the way this summer in Berlin Mitte, Generator is offering a new level of style and comfort for those who want big city centre adventure without breaking the bank. For the ultimate way to take in the city, rooms on the upper floors include private terraces offering astounding views of the city skyline (including the Sagrada Familia) and across to the Mediterranean. Generator is bringing contemporary yet affordable design for those keen to explore this city so synonymous with Gaudi.
Generator Barcelona – Opening March 2013 Built in 1963, this renovated building is both a hostel and hotel and is conveniently located just a five minute walk from two main metro stations, Diagonal and Verdaguer in the heart of the trendy Gràcia neighbourhood. Under the guidance of Generator’s chief designer Anwar Mekhayech (from Toronto-based The Design Agency, and part of the design team working with Soho House and Shangri-La) the first Generator property in Spain has been carefully styled to reflect the surrounding city and to inspire visitors exploring the crown of Catalonia.
Facilities include: • Free Wi-Fi • Stylish lounge and communal area open 24hrs a day • Bar open from 8am-2am • Café serving delicious local and international food (along with tasty tapas) • A range of rooms including privates, twins, doubles and dorms (female only and mixed) – all with en-suite bathrooms • Laundry facilities • 24hr reception
The Seville design from Stylematters is a contemporary twist on a vintage wing chair design. Equally in vogue whether you select a combination of the latest designer ranges of fabric, or opt for subtle, understated classics, and let the form do the talking. Our in-house designers introduced this new range in response to demand from customers in the restaurant and hotel sector. We listened to our customers, interpreted their needs and ideas, and the result is stylish, up to the minute products.The Seville collection is an ideal solution for any hotel, restaurant or gastro pub looking to accommodate their customers in harmony and comfort.
The range comprises high and low back lounge chairs, sofas and even footstools in both plain and deep buttoned backs. The modern design creates both comfort and looks for a truly custom solution. And it doesn’t stop there – the same attention to detail goes into the construction; from kiln-dried hardwood frames, to the specialist high-resilient upholstery, and reflex seat cushions, meaning that your customers enjoy the ergonomic design, whilst your seating always looks great.
All our furniture is available in any contract fabric or leather and can be customised to match your venue and tastes.
Stylematters manufacture all of our bespoke furniture here in our UK factory, so we have the ability to offer a truly bespoke in-house solution. If you would like more details on our products or have a product you would like to develop give us a call now on 0844 880 6620.
UK Shower Manufacturer and Designer, Roman Limited have reported that their yearlong social media campaign, which saw them documenting a year in their life through photos, was a fantastic success.The company published a photo every working day throughout 2012 – there was a total of 252 working days for the company during 2012, so they titled the campaign Project 252. The photos were uploaded daily to the company’s Flickr page; from here they were also shared across the company’s Twitter and Facebook pages, with them then being added on a weekly basis to the Roman website.
The stats from the Flickr page highlight that the photos have so far received 38,779 views (as of 4th February), and averaged around 3,000 views per month during 2012, when the campaign was running.
The photos showcased all different aspects of the business, from pictures of the products being manufactured on the shop floor, to customer service operatives receiving chocolates from grateful customers, from new showroom displays being installed, to the company Directors and Area Managers out on the road travelling the country. Our suppliers and customers also got involved by sending in their Roman related pictures.
The most viewed photo was Roman’s April Fools prank, which showed the company announcing a ground-breaking new ‘cordless’ shower, which was of course a spoof. This picture alone received 401 views. Locations for the photos came from far and wide, with pictures being taken in Malaysia, Dubai, Qatar, Hong Kong, Malta, Amsterdam and France, as well as all over the UK, from Stornoway down to Maidstone.
David Osborne, Roman’s Managing Director, commented: “We were thrilled with the impact Project 252 had. Not only were we getting high numbers of views for each photo, but many of our followers also shared the pictures across their own social networking pages. We managed to cover every aspect of the business, as well as photographing the majority of the staff at one time or another throughout the campaign. It became a real talking point amongst our customers, who soon began submitting photos for inclusion themselves. We will keep the library of photos as a permanent section on the Roman website and we have also created a printed booklet featuring every photo, which makes a fabulous keepsake.”
Valentine’s Day (14th February) was chosen as a suitably romantic date for the opening of Merchants Manor, Cornwall’s newest luxury country house hotel, after a “six figure budget” transformation. With a spectacular location in award winning, sub-tropical gardens overlooking Falmouth Bay, Merchants Manor combines relaxed luxury with traditional Cornish warmth and hospitality.
The name change from the previous Green Lawns – branding for the project has been undertaken by local firm A-Side Studio – pays respect to the family that built the original hotel and celebrates Falmouth’s mercantile past. The emphasis will be on attentiveness, comfort, relaxation and “hospitality” in its original meaning.
“We have no time for the “package holiday” style,” commented Sioned Parry-Rudlin, who with husband Nick Rudlin, owns and manages the new hotel. “Every one of our guests is individual to us and we will prepare them a unique and individual experience.”
Originally the Manor House residence of a prominent 19th Century merchant family, the House on the Hill, was built 100 years ago. There has been an hotel here for over 50 years. Merchants Manor has 39 rooms, a function space for 350 and a 13 metre heated indoor swimming pool, sauna and hot tub.
The original Manor House was created with a no-expense spared philosophy and the restoration takes advantage of the lavish open spaces and meticulous details of the building. As Sioned and Nick have worked in senior positions in the US and in some of London’s most famous hotels and restaurants their standards are high – and they have insisted on a strong Cornish influence on the hotel’s restoration. The first stage, now completed saw local craftsmen involved in every detail.
Scotscape Ltd is proud to announce the launch of a new product line at this year’s Ecobuild Exhibtion. Available in the UK for the first time, the SlimgreenWall system offers the perfect solution to cost effective interior vertical greening, in an aesthetically pleasing and easy to use unit.Exclusively available via Scotscape Ltd, the SlimgreenWall is perfect for use in offices, hotels, spas, hospitals, shopping centres, restaurants, bars or private properties. The system operates independently making it easy to install and maintain. It offers a fresh alternative to traditional pot/plant combinations, clean, vibrant and easy to maintain, a great space saver and eye catching.
Each living picture can be planted to incorporate clients’ preferences – imagine a herb wall in a restaurant or even in a domestic kitchen!
SlimgreenWall is available in three ready-made sizes but can also be made to bespoke specifications with a variety of frame finishes available including brushed stainless steel, steel and wood.
The benefits of plants in interior settings are far reaching – plants purify the air and generate oxygen, thus leading to a healthy work environment. SlimgreenWalls assist with noise reduction and create relaxing and rejuvenating environments.
Visit the Scotscape at Ecobuild 2013 – 5-7th March to see these fantastic systems in action. Stand S1940.
Qatar is one of the fastest growing markets in the Gulf, with business and leisure tourism on the ascendant as the country develops its infrastructure as part of a US$65 billion investment plan ahead of its hosting of the 2022 football World Cup.According to Qatar Tourism, the official government body, the country is entering a sustained decade-long period of development and growth, with over 85,000 new hotel rooms set to bolster current inventory by 2022. Alpen Capital’s October 2012 GCC Hospitality Industry Report highlighted the ‘slow but steady’ growth in tourism receipts, which saw a CAGR of 15.9% in the period 2002 to 2011.
“Tourist arrivals in Qatar are expected to rise at a CAGR of 1.9% between now and 2022, and the government’s US$65 billion commitment to infrastructure development has proved to be a major incentive for long term investment by leading hospitality providers,” said Mark Walsh, Portfolio Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions.
In 2012, the capital added to its upscale inventory, with the opening of the St Regis Doha and new InterContinental Doha The City, as well as the country’s first Hilton hotel. A second Four Seasons hotel is currently under development and budget brands are making an appearance with the popular Premier Inn chain debuting on the city outskirts later this year. Currently the luxury segment accounts for between 66 and 78% of supply while, mid-scale and economy supply is between 22 and 34%.
“Tourist arrivals in Qatar are expected to rise at a CAGR of 1.9% between now and 2022, and the government’s US$65 billion commitment to infrastructure development has proved to be a major incentive for long term investment by leading hospitality providers,” said Mark Walsh, Portfolio Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions.
Qatar has an exceptionally strong presence at this year’s ATM show with major organisations such as Qatar Tourism Authority, Katara Hospitality and Qatar Airways all participating. “Katara Hospitality alone has more than 4,000 hotel rooms already operational or under construction and with the introduction of more and more budget properties, Qatar is committed to the development of a well-rounded tourism product in line with the 2030 national vision for a sustainable economy,” he added.
Hotel room capacity in Qatar is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.1% over the next five years, hitting US$1.1 billion by 2016 (up from US$0.6 billion in 2011). The country’s national carrier, Qatar Airways will launch six new routes in H1 2013, growing its current network to 123 key destinations. Ground has also been broken on the new US$14 million Doha metro network. “As world-class infrastructure projects gives rise to new economic opportunity, with tourist arrivals expected to reach as a many as 3.7 million by 2022, Qatar will see a transition from a predominantly business-led visitor profile to a stronger business-leisure mix with the football World Cup a milestone marker for the hospitality and tourism industry,” commented Walsh. Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, 2013 will see the show celebrate two decades of success.
Covering the entire week, the popular Seminar Theatre programme will address industry hot topics from developments in the aviation sector, inbound and outbound trends as well as the development of tourism over the last 20 years of Arabian Travel Market.
The line-up for this year’s Arabian Travel Market will once again bring together the UNWTO regional tourism ministers’ conference and the WTM Vision forum, which will focus on Middle East travel trends and the online travel market.
An average person spends over 20,000 hours (up to a third of their lives) in bed, and every year up to 40% of the population (over 16 million of us) will suffer a bout of back pain.
March will see the return of National Bed Month, an annual awareness campaign from the Sleep Council highlighting the importance of a better night’s sleep to health and wellbeing.
To achieve a quality sleep, you need a quality bed that is right for you, providing you with a good level of support and comfort. When choosing a bed, it’s important to take some time and effort to choose the best option available to you.James Keen, Retail Sales Director, Hypnos offers his top tips on choosing the right bed for optimum sleep quality and comfort.
CHOOSING A MATTRESS
“We always recommend that people should go and try it before they buy; it’s surprising how many people don’t actually do this. While spending a lot of money on a new bed may seem daunting at first, a well made and well-maintained bed will last for years.
“Always remember to test out a range of beds to discover if you like your mattress firm or super soft. Finding out what works for you is the first step towards a great night’s sleep. If you’re sharing the bed, try them out together – what suits one person won’t necessarily suit another.
“Size matters. You should be able to lie side by side with your arms behind your head and your elbows out without touching. Ideally your bed should be about 15cm longer than the taller user.
“When trying a bed, you should lie down in your normal sleeping position and make some turns for at least 10 minutes. Don’t forget to remove your coat and shoes and make yourself feel relaxed and comfortable.
“There is a simple check you can carry out to discover whether your current mattress is too hard or soft – simply slide your hand under the small of your back. If your hand fits easily between your back and the mattress, it may be too firm. However if your hand cannot fit under your back at all, it may be too soft.
“In the current market, there are various types of mattress to choose from. Hypnos specialises in handmade pocket sprung mattresses and we believe that a pocket sprung mattress will give the most comfortable night’s sleep.
“A pocket sprung mattress is designed to actively minimise pressure points on the body, helping to increase blood circulation and alleviate tension, which in turn allows muscles to relax. The independent movement of each individual pocket spring means that the mattress will mould itself to your body, leading to a natural alignment of your spine.
‘A single pocket spring, rather than multiple layers of pocket springs, also creates a “bellow-like” affect that drives cool air around the mattress, making it a more hygienic option. The extra breathability ensures better ventilation, helping to reduce body moisture and maintain a comfortable body temperature.
“In terms of the fillings used, Hypnos mattresses contain different combinations of natural materials such as wool, cashmere, silk, Alpaca, Mohair, latex, horse hair and silver, which ensure that each mattress is not only supremely comfortable and supportive but also breathable – promoting healthy air flow, regulating body temperature and reducing body moisture, while repelling allergens.
DIVANS
“For the best foundation to any bed, we recommend choosing a divan along with your mattress in order to get the maximum level of comfort.
“There is a choice between a traditional deep divan base and a more modern shallow base. Hypnos advises a sprung divan, as it offers additional deep comfort and extra support.
“Choosing a divan also means that customers can make a personal design statement by specially selecting their preferred headboard design, upholstery fabric and choosing which feet they would like, perfectly matching any interior.
“A further bonus is the prospect of adding hidden storage drawers within the divan, saving valuable space in the bedroom.
AND FINALLY…
“Don’t forget to turn your mattress – many people forget to do this, but modern sprung mattresses employ thicker layers of natural upholstery materials to provide comfort and the feeling of plushness which gives you support and a really good nights’ sleep. Over time, sleeping on them every night, these layers will naturally compress to form to your body, which is why we recommend turning your mattress with the seasons, to restore the comfort get the best quality sleep.
“The health benefits of a good night’s rest are well documented, such as better posture, looking younger and being more efficient and productive at work, so a good bed is always worth the investment. To further reinforce the confidence we have in our own beds, Hypnos offers its customers a 10-year guarantee.”
RevPAR, cash flow from operations and EBITDA margin improved in 2012. Structural changes were undertaken during the year to build a strong platform for continued profitability improvement.Comments from the CEO “Despite a continued fragile global macroeconomic climate, Rezidor’s Like-for-Like RevPAR continued to show a positive development with a healthy growth of 4% in the fourth quarter of 2012. For the full year, RevPAR grew by 5%, fuelled by a strong growth in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa.
The RevPAR improvement together with the continued weakening of the Euro, resulted in a revenue increase of 7% in Q4 2012 including a strong growth of 18% in fee revenue from our managed and franchised business. Our EBIT margin and the net result were negatively impacted primarily by termination costs for lease agreements which we exited in the quarter and write-downs of assets resulting in a MEUR 13 loss after tax. Cash flow from operations, adjusted for the termination costs, improved by MEUR 12.
Our commitment to profitable asset-light growth continues. All of the 4,000 room openings and 7,100 room signings in 2012 were either managed or franchised contracts.
Rezidor achieved another important milestone by converting two lease agreements to franchise agreements in Sweden. Together with the earlier announced exit from seven leases in France, these transactions represent a positive effect of ca 0.5% on the EBITDA margin going forward.
Our continued global commercial focus in partnership with Carlson, the effective execution of Route 2015, and the cost cutting programme combined with significant organisational changes have strengthened our platform; paving the way for continued profitability improvement in the years ahead.”
Wolfgang M. Neumann President & CEO
Fourth Quarter, 2012 • Like-for like (“L/L”) RevPAR was up by 4.2%. • Revenue increased by 6.6% to MEUR 240.6 (225.6). • On a L/L basis Revenue increased by 2.8%. • EBITDA amounted to MEUR 15.6 (14.1), and the EBITDA margin to 6.5% (6.3). • Loss after tax amounted to MEUR -13.3 (-13.5), negatively impacted by termination costs due to exit of contracts of MEUR -9.4 (0.0), write-downs of assets of MEUR -6.7 (-9.9) and a write-down of deferred tax assets of MEUR -3.3 (-8.5). • Basic and diluted Earnings Per Share amounted to EUR -0.09 (-0.09). • Ca 1,100 new rooms opened and ca 1,300 new rooms were contracted.
Twelve Months ending December 31, 2012 • L/L RevPAR was up by 4.6%. • Revenue increased by 6.9% to MEUR 923.7 (864.2). • On a L/L basis Revenue increased by 4.0%. • EBITDA amounted to MEUR 50.9 (35.1), and the EBITDA margin to 5.5% (4.1). • Loss after tax amounted to MEUR -16.8 (-11.9), negatively impacted by termination costs due to exit of contracts of MEUR -9.4 (0.0), write-downs of assets of MEUR -12.3 (-11.6) and a write-down of deferred tax assets of MEUR -3.3 (+3.2). • Basic and diluted Earnings Per Share amounted to EUR -0.12 (-0.08). • Cash flow from operating activities improved to MEUR 16.5 (14.1), negatively impacted by termination costs of MEUR 9.4 • Ca 4,000 new rooms opened and ca 7,100 new rooms were contracted.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has announced that it has introduced its Westin brand to the heart of Birmingham, Alabama. The Westin Birmingham boasts an ideal location as the anchor of Uptown, the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex’s all-new entertainment district. The Westin Birmingham joins Sheraton Birmingham Hotel as Starwood’s second property at the BJCC. The opening of The Westin Birmingham is part of the continued expansion of the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex, the city’s leading sports, entertainment and convention center. The Westin Birmingham is adjacent to the new restaurants and nightlife venues in Uptown, as well as the sports arena and two performing arts theaters within the complex. The hotel is also close to numerous corporate offices, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the University of Alabama-Birmingham and Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM).
The Westin Birmingham features 294 luxurious rooms, state-of-the-art meeting facilities and the full suite of Westin signature amenities and services. The newly constructed hotel is an ideal venue for weddings, social galas and business functions, providing 7,000 square feet of meeting and banquet facilities equipped with the latest in meeting technology, plus an additional 2,500 square feet of pre-function space. Additional facilities include a full-service restaurant, a WestinWORKOUT® Gym and an outdoor pool.
The sensory-rich environment at Westin offers a respite from the rigors of travel and sets a welcoming tone. The Westin brand’s innovative programs and instinctive service transform every aspect of a guest’s stay into a revitalizing experience. All guestrooms and suites at The Westin Birmingham feature the world-renowned Westin Heavenly® Bed – an oasis of lush sheets, down and a patented pillow-top mattress, which cradles and contours to the body for truly restorative sleep. Guests will revive in the Heavenly® Bath enhanced with the brand’s Heavenly® Shower, Heavenly® Robe and White Tea Aloe bath amenities, in-room and high-speed Internet access. The hotel also offers the Westin brand’s signature SuperFoodsRX® menu, which includes nutrient-rich and delicious options to tempt every palate.
Almost 40 years ago, the Messilah Beach Hotel opened in Kuwait and quickly became the favourite destination for both locals and visitors alike. The hotel served its clients for decades and created many unforgettable memories.Situated in the same idyllic location, the spirit of the old Messilah Beach Hotel is about to be revived and memories awakened with the opening of the Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa this Spring.
Jumeirah Group’s first property in the Gulf Region outside the United Arab Emirates features many aspects of Arabic architecture in a contemporary setting. Traditional oriel windows of Mashrabiya designs are a characteristic throughout the resort and respect Kuwait’s rich heritage. Messilah is inspired by its location and its name derived from the old Kuwaiti word, Massiyalah, where rain water gathers and flows into the sea. Water is a recurring feature throughout this beachfront resort with streams, channels, fountains, pools and many other water features. This theme is also reflected in the prestigious Talise spa which means ‘beautiful waters’ in a Native American language.
Mark Griffiths, General Manager of the hotel said: “Kuwait’s new landmark will bring with it an exciting set of new experiences interlaced with heritage and history. Jumeirah Group’s extensive international experience coupled with the highest standards of service will reward the guests of Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa with exhilarating experiences unrivalled in Kuwait when it opens later this Spring.”
The Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa is part of Jumeirah Group, the Dubai-based luxury hospitality company. Regarded as one of the most luxurious and innovative hotel chains in the world, with numerous international awards, Jumeirah Group will offer Kuwait a one-of-a-kind experience that combines its professionalism with Messilah’s existing extensive history to help create memories.
“Living up to the Jumeirah promise of Stay Different TM, we are keen on delivering the best of everything from dining to leisure and relaxation. We look forward to opening our doors soon and welcoming our first guests,” added Mr. Griffiths.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
To keep up to date with all the latest news and features, sign up to receive our weekly newsletter and bi-monthly HD Edit.
