Hotel Designs

The Rezidor Hotel Group has opened its second hotel in Georgia: the Radisson Blu Hotel Batumi, Georgia. The stunning new landmark with wave-inspired glass façade offers 168-rooms in a prime beachfront location within easy reach of Seaside Boulevard, Batumi’s business, commercial and nightlife destination, and minutes from the International airport.The hotel’s minimalistic design was overseen by Italian architect Michele De Lucchi. All 168 guestrooms offer floor-to-ceiling glass windows, providing panoramic vistas across the city, coast and countryside, as well as signature Radisson Blu amenities, including: complimentary high-speed internet, Nespresso coffee machines and LCD flat-screen televisions.

The hotel’s 19,000-square-foot wellness facility features an Anne Semonin SPA and a fully-equipped fitness centre. The spa offers five treatment rooms, a couples’ suite, indoor pool, outdoor pool surrounded by a sun deck with chairs and parasols, kids’ pool, Finnish sauna, aroma steam bath and relaxing “Ozone” Bar for refreshments.

Dining options at the Radisson Blu Hotel Batumi include the relaxed Medea Bar & Restaurant and the hotel’s signature Clouds Bar & Restaurant on the 19th floor. This spectacular rooftop venue is perfect for pre-dinner cocktails, followed by a menu of local and international grilled dishes.

The hotel’s beachside meeting space includes seven air-conditioned meeting rooms equipped with the latest audiovisual conference technology, as well as a Grand Ballroom, spanning 3,700 square feet with space for up to 350 guests. The Grand Ballroom can also be divided into three sections for smaller events and conferences.

Bowmer & Kirkland has just completed a project for the Manchester Airport Group Plc to create one of the UK’s greenest commercial hotel developments.Project value: £14.9m
Client: Manchester Airport Group Plc
Location: East Midlands Airport, Nottingham

Objectives
To deliver one of the UK’s greenest commercial hotel developments – in line with East Midland Airport’s commitment to be carbon neutral by 2012. The hotel features 218 bedrooms, full conference and meeting facilities, a swimming pool and health club.

Additional features
In line with East Midlands Airport’s commitment to be carbon neutral by 2012, the hotel utilises a range of low energy technologies to reduce the energy demand of the building; supplemented by an on-site Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engine with a Pure Plant Oil (PPO) Tri-Generation Energy Centre, to export electricity to the national grid outside of normal occupancy hours. This innovative system collects and stores waste heat in a thermal store to heat and cool the whole hotel, delivering an 87% reduction in CO2 and supplying 90% of the consumed energy from a renewable source.

The build also incorporates a number of Sustainable Construction Techniques. A sustainable Surface Water Drainage system with porous paving in the car park; attenuation tanks and a rainwater harvesting system is also integrated into the design of the hotel to serve the WC’s in the building and water the external landscaped areas.

Challenges
A key challenge was the fact that a project requirement was to achieve an excellent environmental rating at an economically viable price point. In addition, one of the coldest winters on record provided challenges at various stages of the build.

Solution
• Fundamental to the successful delivery has been a detailed understanding of all of the cost drivers in hotel construction ensuring value is maximised at every level.
• Using cost consultants and project managers with experience of delivering more than 3,500 rooms across many different hotel brands.

Outcome
The hotel reaffirms Rezidor’s position as one of Europe’s leading airport hotel operators with 27 hotels (7,096 rooms) currently in operation and a further 3 hotels (938 rooms) in the development pipeline.

IHG (InterContinental® Hotels Group) and the Real Estate Group RICSHER, S.A. de C.V. have opened the doors to the new Crowne Plaza Tuxpan, Mexico.

The Crowne Plaza Tuxpan is in a prime location situated on Carretera a La Barra Rd Km 6.5 in La Calzada neighborhood. The hotel is at the edge of the spectacular Tuxpan River, distinguished by the tranquility of its warm waters, and just five minutes from the beach. It also offers convenient access to the commercial and industrial area and is 40 minutes from the El Tajin airport.The Crowne Plaza Tuxpan’s contemporary style is a product of the young Veracruz architect José Luis Vázquez Cuellar. The hotel has 136 guestrooms, a grand luxurious Presidential Suite and one Imperial Suite, both equipped with a Jacuzzi for rest and relaxation. In addition, guestrooms are equipped with high-speed Internet access, voicemail, a work desk, ergonomic chair, LCD TV with satellite, direct dial telephone, safe, coffeemakers, hair dryer and vanity mirror.

The hotel has a club floor that offers a complimentary deluxe continental breakfast, wine and cheese during the evenings and a lounge with a large, comfortable social area. Other features include a gym, outdoor pool and children’s pool. The hotel has three restaurants: Tambuco Restaurant, which is a parrilla offering cuisine cooked over a wood fire grill and the capacity for 167 guests; the exclusive Tanhuijo Bar with live music and seating for 120; and the original pool bar “Tochtli” on the river’s edge.

For meeting planners and social events, the hotel offers the Tochpan Convention Center with seven meeting rooms that have the largest capacity in the region — holding up to 1,700 people; and three boardrooms — Tampamachoco, Tenechaco and Tabuco — with a 10 to 49 person capacity. Crowne Plaza is The Place to MeetTM with the signature comprehensive meetings program that ensures a seamless planning process and exceptional meeting experience consisting of three key components: a Two-Hour Response Guarantee, a Crowne Meetings Director and a Daily Meetings Debrief.

A master plan by Goettsch Partners (GP) has been selected as the winning scheme in the design competition for a prominent site in the new Pazhou district in Guangzhou, China. Three urban parcels form the triangular site, which is planned for seven buildings totaling 428,000 square meters. The client and developer is Poly Real Estate (Group) Co., Ltd., China’s leading state-owned real estate company. Set along the Pearl River Delta, the Pazhou district anchors the city’s expansion to the east. The winning master plan establishes a framework for the three-parcel site as a vibrant and iconic commercial destination that merges the new riverfront with the larger urban fabric.

A nautilus-like spiral defines the organizing concept for the complex, with its physical center providing a direct visual link to the city’s historic pagoda. The centerpiece of the development is a large public piazza, which helps unify the three urban parcels while clearly segregating pedestrian and vehicular activity. Sustainable design initiatives start with a series of elevated bridges that provide unobstructed breezeways and shade for the ground level. These bridges also house indoor social spaces linking the towers and are topped with habitable garden spaces that minimize the urban heat-island effect.

A landmark tower at the northeast corner of the site anchors the development in the skyline, positioned for maximum visibility and presence. The six other buildings encircle the piazza and are designed with podium-level retail and dining venues that activate the public spaces. Sky bridges between buildings define the perimeter of the piazza and link the complex, while maximizing views to the riverfront and adjacent canal. These elevated structures also form gateways that lend an overall permeability to the complex.

In the piazza, a terraced court rises from the site’s lower-level pedestrian access, passing beneath the development’s main connecting roadway. Lined with retail and restaurants, this court features a series of distinct landscaped amenities and terminates at a jewel-like exhibition facility, intended to be an educational and cultural venue. This entire network of pedestrian pathways also has a direct link to the area’s subway lines, providing convenient and intuitive access to the development.

Identified by a larger plan as parcels 4, 5 and 10, the three urban plots each includes a mix of commercial functions. Parcel 4 totals 210,000 square meters, featuring the landmark office and hotel tower, as well as a separate serviced apartment tower; the two are organized in a semicircular arrangement fronting the main piazza. Parcel 5 comprises 100,000 square meters, with three office towers triangulated on the development’s southernmost portion and configured around a secondary public plaza. Parcel 10 totals 118,000 square meters, including an office tower and a hotel, aligned along the adjacent canal. While each building will have its own unique identity, collectively, the buildings will form an ascending spiral, defining a singular urban gesture for the complex.

The Pazhou project represents GP’s fourth major assignment with Poly Real Estate. Other projects include a 159,000-square-meter mixed-use development in Deyang, including hotel, office, conference, and cultural functions; a 200-meter-tall office building in Shunde; and a two-tower, 150,000-square-meter office complex in Chengdu. As one of the largest real estate developers in China, Poly Real Estate operates 119 subsidiaries across 35 cities nationwide.

Bellstar Hotels & Resorts is excited to announce the opening of a leading conference and weddings venue in Canmore, Alberta. The Three Peaks Conference Centre & Aurora Theatre at Solara Resort & Spa, was recently completed and has proven to be an instant hit with business groups, convention organizers and brides-to-be. Facilities, which include meeting rooms, multi-use spaces and a theatre, are fully-equipped with the latest audio-visual technology. Three Peaks Conference Centre brings a new standard of venue to this popular Canadian Rocky Mountain resort community.

This 5,000-square-foot conference centre caters to a diverse range of groups, from company retreats and conferences, to visioning sessions and weddings, with space to accommodate up to 300 people in three unique rooms. The Solara Conference Room showcases built-in projection screens with the flexibility to be separated into two smaller meeting rooms (Bow and Chinook) and the Aurora Theatre, where up to 100 guests can enjoy a full size (24ft x 13ft) projection screen and retractable seating for set-up versatility. The Solara Conference Room and Aurora Theatre are equipped with high-tech audiovisual equipment and surround sound systems.

The flexible Solara pre-conference foyer space, which accommodates up to 70 guests, may be used for delegate registration, morning breakfasts and standing receptions. The Solara Grand Foyer – a bright, open space with floor-to-ceiling windows and an impressive fireplace – is an ideal delegate registration area or a casual standing reception for up to 40 people. Amenities at the 38,000-square-foot resort include hot pools and a family play area. A fitness centre and a health spa operated by One Wellness, will launch in the fall, although interim spa services are available via a unique spa suite, housing a full service satellite spa.

Eight decades after French architects imagined an exquisite mansion in the heart of Vietnam, their vision is now fulfilled as La Residence Hue Hotel and Spa joins the elite MGallery Collection — a collection of memorable and unique hotels by Accor.Introduced in 2008 by Accor, the largest international hotel operator in Vietnam, the hotels and resorts in the MGallery Collection are chosen from thousands of upscale properties on the basis of outstanding design, vision, history or location. World-traveller and actress Kristen Scott Thomas is the ambassador for the MGallery portfolio of properties, which numbers 45 unique hotels on 5 continents with the inclusion of La Residence Hue.

The 81-year-old boutique hotel is the third property in Vietnam to become a member of the MGallery Collection, and the first in the country to join the MGallery roster of “historic” hotels, alongside time-honored establishments such as the Covent Hotel in Amsterdam, the Grand Hotel Beauvau in Marseilles, and the Hotel Frances in Santo Domingo.

Besides its heritage background, the hotel also boasts strong design connections borne of its architectural roots. At the height of the art deco movement in 1930, the mansion at 5 Le Loi in Hue was built as part of the French Governor’s official residence in the former colony of Annam.

Over time, the hotel, with its distinctive bowled façade, long horizontal lines and nautical flourishes, has become a Hue landmark and a destination in its own right. With 200m of frontage along the south bank of the fabled Perfume River, the hotel’s terraces, gardens and ample banks of windows offer outstanding views of Hue’s Flag Tower bastion and Truong Tien Bridge.

Inside, the hotel’s age-old ambiance is evoked by a fusion of art deco styles. In three, linked buildings, the hotel’s 122 guest rooms and suites blend old-world charm with Asian opulence. Nostalgic touches like louvered shutters, hardwood floors and lofty ceilings evoke the romance of the Indochine era, encouraging guests to take a step back in time.

The Signature Suites — including the palatial, 76-square-metre Resident’s Suite — are a collection of individually designed and uniquely decorated spaces.

In the centre of the hotel’s main building is Le Gouverneur Bar, where a spectacular mural by Roland Renaud arches over the room, depicting scenes of Vietnamese daily life. The hotel’s fine-dining restaurant, Le Parfum, serves up a blend of Mediterranean cuisine with strong French overtones, plus traditional Vietnamese dishes.

International hotel operator, Club Quarters, is developing a new hotel and restaurant scheme at Kingsway, London WC2. With an outdoor terrace to Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the 10,000 sq ft restaurant building and 160 room hotel development are currently on site and due to open early in 2012. Leisure property specialists Davis Coffer Lyons has been appointed by Club Quarters to seek an flagship restaurant occupier for the space, which has open plan layout and exceptional floor to ceiling heights.

Club Quarters already operates 14 hotels across the UK and the USA, including three in London located at Trafalgar Square, St Pauls, and the City, primarily aimed at business travellers.

Rob Meadows, Davis Coffer Lyons, said: “This is a really impressive space both in terms of size and grandeur, with two prime entrances and an al fresco dining terrace. Kingsway is one of London’s main through-roads, with high pedestrian footfall and close to Covent Garden and the London School of Economics. The area is bustling with Londoners, day trippers and international tourists and is very much in need of a quality, innovative dining concept to enhance the range of catering provisions on offer in the area. The space can provide the opportunity to establish an iconic restaurant and it is rare to find this size of premises with a large al fresco terrace in this part of London.”

Hilton Worldwide has recently announced the signing of four new Hampton by Hilton hotels in Turkey, as it expands its brand offering in what is a key development market for Hilton Worldwide, with 34 hotels either currently operating or under development in the country. The four new signings are: Hampton by Hilton Istanbul Kayasehir; Hampton by Hilton Rize; Hampton by Hilton Corlu; and Hampton by Hilton Gaziantep.

Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president, development, Europe and Africa, Hilton Worldwide, said, “We have already seen significant growth of our Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn brands in Turkey and now we have a further four Hampton by Hilton hotels under development. These latest signings join the existing Hampton by Hiltons currently under development in Ordu and Bursa, which are expected to open later this year.”

Hampton by Hilton Istanbul Kayasehir
The new-build hotel will be located in the heart of Kayasehir, a new satellite city currently under construction to the north of Istanbul, which will be home to more than 250,000 residents. Hampton by Hilton Istanbul Kayasehir will feature 144 bedrooms and form part of a mixed use development including a shopping centre, leisure facilities, restaurant outlets and office space. The hotel will benefit from the extension of the Istanbul metro line, a new highway and a third Bosphorus bridge – all key infrastructures improvements either planned or underway. The hotel build will consist of a six floor tower with three meeting rooms, a 24-hour fitness suite and car parking. The announcement of Hampton by Hilton Istanbul Kayasehir follows the signing of a management agreement with Makro Insaat Ticaret Ltd. Sti.

Hampton by Hilton Rize
Overlooking the Black Sea and located on the main coastal road to Artvin, the new-build Hampton by Hilton Rize will feature 90 bedrooms and will be located approximately seven kilometres from the city centre. Rize is becoming increasingly popular as a tourist destination, with the local area known for its incredible mountain range, which attracts visitors for outdoor activity tours. The hotel will also benefit from the city’s organized industrial zone, which boasts significant industry including tea production, nut processing and food manufacturing. The nearest airport is Trabzon, which is approximately 72 kilometres away. The announcement of Hampton by Hilton Rize follows the signing of a franchise agreement with YTP Turizm Yatirimlari ve Iisletmeleri A.S.

Hampton by Hilton Corlu
Located on the east side of Corlu, a rapidly developing industrial city, the new-build hotel is strategically located on the main thoroughfare from Istanbul to Turkey’s border with Greece and Bulgaria. Hampton by Hilton Corlu will feature 136 bedrooms and form part of a mixed-use development with restaurant outlets in close proximity to the hotel. Corlu International Airport is approximately five kilometres away and the hotel will benefit from its proximity to the Cerkezkoy Organized Industrial Zone, one of the largest industrial zones in Turkey and home to multiple major industrial companies. The hotel will consist of a seven floor tower with three meeting rooms, 24-hour fitness suite and car parking. The announcement of Hampton by Hilton Corlu follows the signing of a franchise agreement with Onur Isil Otomotiv Insaat Turizm Sanayi veTicaret Ltd. Sti.

Hampton by Hilton Gaziantep
The new-build hotel will feature 116 bedrooms and will be located in the city’s busy commercial district, within the Milenyum Business Centre, which is also home to office, retail and restaurant outlets. The hotel will benefit from three meeting rooms, a 24-hour fitness suite and car parking. Known as a gateway to the Middle East, the city has an important role in Turkey’s commercial and industrial infrastructure with four organized industrial zones and connections to key cities in the region. The announcement of Hampton by Hilton Gaziantep follows the signing of a management agreement with Muharrem Balat – Insaat Yuksek Muhendisi.

With a Turkish pipeline of six Hampton by Hiltons, all of the new hotels will feature the brand’s signature offerings, with a stylish lobby, free internet access throughout and working zone. Guests will also enjoy comfortable and flexible bedrooms all featuring the Clean and Fresh Hampton Bed. The hotels are designed and styled to appeal to business and leisure travelers, offering best-in-class service and comfort. Additional guest amenities include the free On the House hot breakfast, a 24-hour snack area, and a bar area to help guests connect after meetings.

The 4-star Drayton Manor Hotel officially opened its doors to guests on Monday 15th August.

Drayton Manor Theme Park’s Managing Director, Colin Bryan, Hotel Manager, Martin Wright and popular Thomas & Friends™ character, The Fat Controller, were at the launch to cut the ceremonial ribbon and welcome the hotel’s first guests personally. The hotel boasts 150-bedrooms, all of which have wi-fi access, air-conditioning, an en-suite bathroom and LCD TVs as standard. Each room has a stylish, contemporary interior, complete with a unique framed photograph of one of the theme park’s rides. Guests can choose from a range of rooms including standard, family, interconnecting, executive and deluxe rooms, as well as three presidential rooms, each with fantastic views overlooking the theme park and grounds, for those wanting that extra something special.

Eleven rooms are Thomas & Friends™ themed, each with a hand-painted scene on the wall and ceiling, depicting a different character from the Thomas & Friends series, along with unique themed bunk beds, and train track patterned carpets in the corridors leading to each room.

Guests can choose from two restaurants, Parklands Brassiere and Parklands Restaurant as well as two bars, Parklands Bar and the Carousel Bar, so guests will never be stuck for a choice of fine food and drink.

The hotel will also be a popular venue for both private and corporate events as it includes a beautifully styled, large hospitality suite, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows. This suite can accommodate up to 150 delegates for the likes of conferences, exhibitions and product launches or wedding parties and other celebrations. In addition, the hotel has three smaller rooms, each accommodating up to 12 people, making them ideal for board meetings.

Colin Bryan comments: “It’s been a long time coming and we’re all really pleased that the hotel is now ready to welcome visitors through the door. With the hotel now open, we can turn Drayton Manor into more than a theme park, it will become a leisure resort where families can come and enjoy a few fun filled days away from it all and let our excellent hospitality team take care of all their needs.”

Directory companies involved with the project includes:
AMS Group
RJD Interiors Ltd
Contra Curtains Limited
Hypnos Limited – Contract Division

Courtyard by Marriott, continues to gain popularity in the Indian market as the brand recently opened its seventh hotel, 179-room Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre. The opening today of Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre marks the third Marriott International hotel and the second Courtyard in the exciting Indian city. The Courtyard Pune City Centre is owned by The Advantage Raheja and operates under a long-term management agreement with Marriott International headed by Harinder J. Singh as general manager. Bright vibrant colors and modern smart design, the new Courtyard Pune City Centre features great in-room amenities such as the deluxe bedding, iPod docking stations, high speed internet access and a 37” LCD television. Throughout the hotel, from the lobby area to the guestrooms, Courtyard allows guests more control and choice over their stay, with services and amenities that create a healthy balance between business and leisure.

The hotel features a variety of great restaurants that appeal not just to guests, but also to Pune’s local food lovers. MoMo Café, offers all day dining options, combining Western dishes with local favorites. Red Zen features Pan Asian cuisine while Momo2Go is the perfect option for those who are looking for grab-and-go salads and sandwiches.

Presenting great value for money, the hotel caters well to both international as well as domestic travelers. The property also features four spacious banquet halls, a fitness centre, an outdoor swimming pool, party deck, a business centre and an executive lounge.

Simon Cooper, president and managing director Asia Pacific, Marriott International said, “The Courtyard by Marriott is a smart business hotel that caters to the needs of the traveler who is on the move. Asia-Pacific as a region has seen a tremendous growth curve as far as economic thrust and business acumen is concerned. A second Courtyard property in Pune was needed looking at the steady expansion the city has seen in various industries. We are delighted to be opening the Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre and to be working with such great partners in The Advantage Raheja.”

Rajeev Menon, area vice president – India, Malaysia, Maldives and Australia added, “With the influx of IT, ITES, manufacturing and automobile industries we see tremendous potential in Pune in the coming years. Given the demand, this is our third offering from Marriott International in Pune. We are extremely delighted to present our newest hotel today which is magnificently built and will stand ahead for the great hospitality standards that Marriott International is committed to offer.”

Swiss Development Group has commissioned visionary and award-winning architects and designers Michael Graves & Associates and Marc Michaels Interior Design to create 51º Spa Residences, the world’ first residence with in-home thermal spas direct from the source. Situated at the Northern head of the Leukerbad valley, overlooking the historic village, renowned architect Michael Graves vision for the luxury development pays homage to the iconic chalets of the 19th century golden age of mountaineering in Switzerland. Celebrating the serenity of the region and its famed thermal water, the extraordinary development appears to be carved out of the rock of the mountains and rise against the backdrop of the dramatic landscape. From a roughly massed base of boulders, the architecture rises into a staggered six story building encircled with private terraces and balconies created from reclaimed stone and timber complete with a slate roof.

51º Spa Residences offers owners the ultimate marriage of intricately crafted Old World luxury combined with a streamlined, contemporary design. Every residence is designed around a wood-beamed great room, the centrepiece of which is a massive open fireplace and key features include split-log walls, wide-plank floors and high beamed ceilings. Each residence is a symphony of today’s cleanest and purest materials – reclaimed oak, translucent white quartz, charcoal green slate and smoke-gray granite, taking inspiration from the natural surroundings.

Leukerbad’s famed thermal waters are central to the development and design. Each residence has its own personal spa facility with an indoor/outdoor soaking pool, steam room an indoor master bathtub, all of which have direct unlimited access to Leukerbad’s thermal spring. The Moon Bath, a Concetta stone slab tub, built into the oversized balconies provides residents with an unforgettable mountain experience with stunning views over the mountain range.

Phase 1 of 51º Spa Residences is expected to complete in late 2013.

It starts with a blob of pigment. Dipped into a furnace full of molten glass. What happens then is, as with all highly skilled craftsmanship, a little piece of magic. Huffing and puffing, toing and froing. Plenty of heat. The roar of burners in the furnaces drowning out conversation. Heat. My shirt sticks to me and I start trying to remember the camera specs. At what point does a digital camera melt?The two craftsmen work in near silence, a dance around the work area from furnace to bench, sensing each other’s movements, swinging their lances(’punteys’) with their points of molten glass in an unchoreographed but much practiced dance. Cheeks puffed, they blow and heat again in the furnace. The globule grows and is shaped by blowing down the hollow bow pipe, and fondled with gloves blackened by scorching. Sparks rise from newspaper pads , the continuous roar of the furnaces, the heat of the glass forming a counter point to the pauses and gestures.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (Fairmont) has recently announced a new property scheduled to open in 2014 in Taiyuan, a historic city in Northern China and the capital of Shanxi Province.The luxury hotel will be situated along the Fen River offering spectacular views, yet within walking distance of the new Central Business District in Taiyuan. Shanxi Jun Lian Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. (Junlian) is developing the Sumeru project, a mixed-use development featuring luxury residential accommodations, a 7,000 square meter private club and retail facilities in addition to the hotel. The nearby convention and exhibition facilities, as well as a new major sports center currently under construction, will generate substantial business and leisure travel and demand. Taiyuan is a strategic center for industry and energy development in China as well as an important location for education and research in fields such as science and technology.

Fairmont Taiyuan will offer corporate and leisure travelers 330 guestrooms and suites, located on the upper floors of the tower anchoring the development. Guests will enjoy an extensive selection of lounges and restaurants featuring a variety of culinary offerings. For corporate events and local galas, the hotel features 3,500 square meters of function space, including a 1,500 square meter ballroom. Fairmont Taiyuan will include a Willow Stream Spa, the award-winning signature spa brand as well as fitness and pool facilities. All therapies at Willow Stream in Asia are “energy inspired” drawing from modern Western and traditional Chinese philosophies using prestigious international spa products.

Taiyuan, an important industrial city along a key communication route in the region is bordered by mountains including the famed Tianlong with its ancient grottos and over 1500 statues and embossings dating back to 420 and spanning 10 dynasties. The city itself has a 2500-year history, evident by the number of rich cultural and historic temples and attractions.

Fairmont Taiyuan joins Fairmont Beijing, China; Fairmont Jakarta, Indonesia (2014); Fairmont Makati, Philippines (2012); Fairmont Nanjing, China (2012); Fairmont Peace Hotel, Shanghai, China; Fairmont Singapore and Fairmont Yangcheng Lake, China.

During the period of May 28th to June 10th 2011 the 5-star explorer cruise liner MS HANSETIC, part of the Hapag Lloyd fleet, had to undergo regular maintanance works in a shipyard in Hamburg. As a part of these works all cabins and suites had been refurbished according to the contemporary designs of the German interior designer, Wilfried Köhnemann.

All cabins now offer remarkable comfort and an individual atmosphere for a maxiumum of 184 guests, having “on board” table lamps and wall-mounted luminaires produced by Baulmann Leuchten.

As a burgeoning contender in the franchise market with two new franchise partners and a reputation for rapidly expanding innovation in new style hospitality – Roomzzz Aparthotel have released their latest figures after 10 months of this financial year that show remarkable growth for the independent brand. Figures are reading a certified 27% growth year on year highlighting a trend which is continuing to move forward. Heartening news indeed for a brand whose expansion is well documented.

Mark Walton Head of Roomzzz Aparthotel comments ‘the brand is evolving, morphing into a force which is smashing historic growth patterns and sales figures. Our investment into researching the marketplace is considerable and this knowledge has enabled us to make bold directional changes to drive and keep up with demand’.

Roomzzz are known for their own take on deciphering their target audience and tailoring the appeal of the brand to match and manage expectation of customers across the four sites which will soon show an additional two sites taking the company from a Northern (originally Yorkshire) brand to a Nationwide concern. Both new sites as part of the franchise model success occupy prime locations with one in East London near to the Olympic stadium and one in the centre of Bristol. The sites have been carefully chosen to relate to audiences looking for affordable yet luxury boutique accommodation solutions in City central locations.

Walton continues, ‘The Roomzzz Aparthotel franchise model has already been very well accepted and we are in discussions with several more franchisee partners to take the brand site total into double figures for 2012 and 2013 and could see us expanding into Europe’.

Exciting times ahead for the brand which has recently tackled the last bastion of customer service – real time loyalty with a new product, The Royalty Club. Figures are showing a 70% increase in new business as a result. Recently launched to a corporate audience the traditional concept of ‘corporate rate’ has been updated with real time discounts giving a far greater advantage to business travellers.

Two new sites are opening 2011/2012 in southern locations. Bristol and East London. One of which is under construction the other is in planning.

The newly completed 550-bedroom hotel for Mint Hotel Group is the latest and most prominent element of Amsterdam’s Eastern Dock Island regeneration project, sitting within Erik van Egeraat’s masterplan, adjacent to Amsterdam Centraal Train Station. The hotel occupies the sharp point of the development, with the historic canal basin directly to the south. The remainder of the Eastern Dock Island is densely developed and carefully sculpted with housing, offices, the Amsterdam City library and a music conservatoire.

Bennetts Associates’ hotel rises from eight to eleven floors and comprises of three linked blocks of bedrooms above two public floors that contain conference and dining facilities.

The composition of the building ensures that the bedrooms, terraces and the SkyLounge rooftop bar make the most of the views across the waterside and Amsterdam Old Town. The large suites, which sit in the angular corners of the building, have panoramic views across the dock whilst the central courtyard increases daylight to the internal bedrooms.

To the south and west of the hotel, the public areas spill out onto a pedestrian quayside, facing the city and acting as a “shop window” for the hotel. Road access is beside the railway embankment, contained by a continuous, elevated range of buildings on all the masterplan sites.

The hotel’s facades are a complex series of layers, consisting of moveable perforated shutters, glazing and brickwork, echoing the spirit of traditional Dutch architecture. The palette of materials in each part of the building responds to the different architectural styles around the site: the south-facing elevation incorporates the most brickwork in response to the architecture of the old town which it faces, whilst the east and west facades and bridges between the three blocks are predominantly glazed, reflecting the architectural language of the more contemporary parts of the city. All internal courtyard-facing facades are clad in red zinc, responding to the changing quality of light to this central area.

Rab Bennetts, Director of Bennetts Associates said: “It is hard to imagine a more dramatic and challenging site for a large hotel anywhere in Europe and it has been extremely satisfying to watch the project take shape within such a dynamic and forward-looking regeneration project.

We are delighted to see our third major project with Mint Hotels reach completion and it represents the latest stage in a hugely rewarding client/architect relationship. Mint Hotel’s belief in good design was fundamental to seeing this project come to fruition.”

The hotel is the third major project that Bennetts Associates has undertaken for Mint Hotel Group and follows the practice’s recent completion of a 583-bedroom hotel near the Tower of London. The firm’s first hotel, the 460-bedroom Mint Hotel (formerly City Inn) in Westminster, was completed in 2003.

Delicately illuminating the deep recessed ceiling of the Equus Bar at the Royal Horseguards Hotel London, suspended strings of clear acrylic shapes offer subtle sparkle to the bar and reception areas. Designed in collaboration with STS Design, to give a contemporary organic focus to the coffered ceiling with glints of bright light whilst highlighting the classic Victorian features, each recess houses hundreds of random acrylic shapes, all highly polished to catch the light. Eight low voltage 35w IRC downlighters are encased within each stainless steel ceiling plates giving flashes of brilliant light, reflected by the individually strung acrylic drops.

Part of a major restoration for this magnificent 5 star Guoman hotel, the Equus bar is now an eclectic mix of furnishings combined to recreate the ‘Gentleman’s Club’ atmosphere of yesteryear.

The Mezzanotte series of bollards has been designed to allow architects and designers the flexibility to personalise many path, barrier, parking and perimeter lighting applications with twenty two options to choose from.Manufactured from Lecce or Lava (volcanic igneous stone) and diffused plate glass, Mezzanotte combines clean lines with strong, solid features. Available lamp options are fluorescent, halogen and metal halide.

Stone is the world of materials par excellence. Every architect or designer that appreciates the tactile and chromatic aspects of stone is passionate about Materials, and when using natural stone it makes us at Ca’belli think about territory, its evolution, its future, the fragility of its equilibrium, but for the population of that territory stone can becomes an identification, a reference for the area, such as is found with Bath and Bath stone.

The path traced by the many hands working stone, from its extraction to the final use, fulfils a gap in our society; an antique wisdom that is kept alive through the use of almost forgotten workmanship.

Stone Architecture enables us to recuperate a physical relationship with nature’s products, with their transformation and with the use that man makes of it. Mere utopia, maybe, but the aim underlying our Stone Architecture is to allow Mother Earth’s inhabitants to develop a renewed awareness of sustainable growth. Other learning experiences and opportunities arise naturally all along this stone route.

Our future is based on materials, innovationn and design. This formula sums up Ca’ Belli’s work. Our team is made up of craftsmen, designers and experts in a creative workshop that is our essence and the core of Made in Italy.

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Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announces that it has signed an agreement with Silk Way Airlines LLC to open a Sheraton hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan this Fall. The opening of the Sheraton Baku Airport Hotel marks the entry of Starwood into the country and is part of the company’s strategic expansion plan to open more than 60 Sheraton hotels around the world in the next three years.According to Roeland Vos, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa, and Middle East, the hotel marks an exciting milestone for Starwood’s continued growth throughout Eastern Europe. “Reaching out to new frontiers is a focus of our expansion strategy, so we are delighted to partner with Silk Way Airlines as we debut the first Starwood hotel in Azerbaijan,” Vos commented. “Baku is the main economic hub of the country and one of the most important tourist destinations in the region. Sheraton’s strong reputation will assist in further positioning Baku as a destination for the international traveller.”

The Sheraton Baku Airport Hotel will be located directly in front of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport, the main airport in Baku. The hotel will have 207 guest rooms, including 14 suites, offering the only branded accommodation option in the vicinity of the airport. The hotel will also feature extensive dining, conference and leisure facilities as well as signature Sheraton amenities including the luxurious all-white SweetSleeper beds, a Sheraton Club Lounge and the Link@Sheraton experienced with Microsoft communications hub where guests can socialise and also go online.

Sheraton recently announced that it has invested more than $100 million into upgrading 120 Club Lounges around the world. The enhancement to Sheraton Club Lounges – one of the most popular Sheraton signature amenities – is the final chapter of the brand’s recent $6 billion revitalization effort.

The organic movement that swept the food industry is manoeuvring into GHM’s spas, property by property, banishing chemically enhanced formulations for the purest, greenest product lines available.Starting this month in Chiang Mai, Thailand, GHM embarks on a spa-by-spa makeover, embracing new organic lines from Voya, Ila and SpaRitual and a green philosophy that deepens the hotel management group’s holistic bona fides.

“We’ve always had a holistic spa concept, but until now the choice of suitable product lines has been limited,” says Brenda Ramen, GHM’s spa director. “Savvy spa goers are demanding alternatives to chemically based formulations. If I wouldn’t put it in my body, why would I put it on my hair or skin?”

The new line-up from GHM champions products approved by the Soil Association in the UK and the USDA in the United States. They contain no harsh chemicals, no parabens, no toxins — products that go beyond pure and natural to organic.

The commitment to organic products by GHM does not come without cost. The shelf life for its new product lines is far shorter than its former lines. But commercial concerns took a backseat to what Ramen describes as an ethics-based approach.

Items by Ila, for example, are hand-made in the Cotswolds, England. The company uses exotic ingredients — such as rose oil from India and argan oil from Morocco — and takes pride in its quality control.

Ila’s founder, Ramen says, regularly visits the oil farms to make sure she gets something that’s genuine and 100-percent pure.

“The Moroccan argan oil is especially fantastic because it’s rich in anti-aging fatty acids and it’s a ‘dry oil’ so there’s no greasy residue on the skin,” says Ramen.

To jump-start the new initiative, Ramen summoned GHM spa trainers and managers from as far away as Miami and Muscat for a two-week training session in Chiang Mai. Manufacturers detailed the new lines and Ramen reinforced the hotel group’s commitment to this new, expanded realm of responsibility.

“Our guests want upscale amenities, to be sure, but these days they’re as concerned — I’d say more concerned — about green solutions and green products,” says Ramen. “It’s not just the planet people are concerned about, it’s their own bodies. They’re after health before wealth.”

Once the makeover is complete in Thailand, Ramen — a 17-year veteran of the spa industry and native of Canada — will see to the same changes on the spa menu at one of Asia’s most renowned resorts, The Nam Hai in Vietnam.

From there, the new menus and products will debut at The Chedi Muscat in Oman, The Setai in Miami, The Legian in Bali and The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah, also in Bali.

By the time the six-month project wraps, all GHM wellness specialists will qualify as experts on what makes the new products unique and how to apply those lines in the new treatments.

The Drayton Manor Hotel has released a sneak preview of its rooms ahead of its imminent opening on Monday 15th August.The photos show the luxurious family room, which can accommodate up to two adults and two children and comes with wi-fi, air conditioning, an LCD flat screen TV as standard, as well as a comfy sofa to relax on following a day in the park or at a corporate event.

The hotel has also released a preview of the Thomas & Friends™ themed rooms. There will be 11 of these rooms, which have each been hand painted with fantastic images of the characters from the popular Thomas & Friends TV series. The rooms will also feature unique themed bunk beds each with fitted televisions.

The 150-room hotel will help transform the park from a popular day out attraction to a leisure resort. Guests will be able to enjoy a full day in the park without the worry of a long journey home that same day. Whether it’s a family wanting to wind down after an action-packed day in the park, or a couple looking for a fun-filled weekend break, the hotel can accommodate everyone.

The hotel is also the ideal venue for those travelling on business as it’s located only a short distance from Birmingham city centre and has excellent links to national motorway networks. The hotel’s excellent hospitality facilities ensure it’s a sound choice for those looking to organise for corporate events and exhibitions as well as private parties.

The hotel also boasts two restaurants, Parklands Restaurant and Parklands Brassiere, along with two bars the Parklands Bar and the Carousel Bar, where guests can unwind and relax.

New restaurant, bar and F&B offering for Brighton hotel

PURE Pop-up Restaurants & Events has announced a new partnership with The Royal York Hotel, Brighton.

The collaboration, which will see a new F&B concept in every aspect of the boutique hotel from bespoke conference and banqueting menus and room service, to private dining in the Karaoke pods and a new concept restaurant and bar, starts this summer as an extended partnership with the 51-bed, 4* hotel. Pop Restaurant and Bar at The Royal York Hotel will unite a sumptuous mix of city chic with bohemian seaside charisma in a vibrant and bustling Brighton surrounding, just minutes from the famous Palace Pier.

POP will be managed by Nicola Delmege, a well-known face in Brighton having owned and run The PV @ The Jury’s Out, Brighton since 2003. Evensus Ltd owner and managing director, Jerome Ibanez will retain overall management of the venue in partnership with the hotel.

Neal Brunning joins the team from The Courtyard in Brighton. As Head Chef of POP, Brunning has created a menu that celebrates the restaurant’s seaside location and local suppliers. Dishes include Roast Cod and Clam Chowder, Risotto of Crab, Avocado Ice Cream, and Pan Seared Wild Sea Bass Fillet with Crab beignet.

PURE marks its first foray into hotel catering partnerships with the summer launch of POP Restaurant and Bar. Part of bar, restaurant and event management company Evensus Ltd, the team behind the launch have previously managed restaurants, bars, pop-up venues and private event spaces, working with leading chefs and establishing partnerships with brands such a Relais Chateaux and Pommery Champagne.

POP launches on 7th September.

To exceptional services, add exceptional recognition: the Domaine Les Moulins and its Original Camping have just been awarded their 5th star, thus becoming one of the most prestigious sites in France.This crowing point sets the seal on a new concept, “Glamping”, a mix of luxury and authenticity, glamour and nature.

On the glamour side are high quality facilities – heated pool and wellness spa, steam room and relaxing massages – and services to match its 5-star rating: bar-restaurant, kids club, entertainment for all, but also the piano bar and shows, room service, daily papers, etc.

On the camping side, Domaine Les Moulins has been able to restore its former glory by putting to the fore what gives the campsite all its charm: a real connection with nature.
Comfortably installed in their homes made of canvas and pale wood (tipis, tents or ecolodges), the Original Campers live as close to nature as possible without harming it since all facilities are part of a 100%.sustainable development approach.

Domaine Les Moulins is now a “must”, thanks to a passionate entrepreneur, Alain Dominique Perrin.

Businessman and philanthropist, founder of the Cartier Foundation and developer of the famous “Must de Cartier” brand, mentor of an institute for training the elite, patron of the arts and owner of an extraordinary vineyard at Chateau Lagrezette: it goes without saying that Alain Dominique Perrin shows a taste for eclecticism.

And the running of two high-quality campsites in Noirmoutier, in tune with the environment and coastline, adds a new touch to this impressionist tableau.

Yet there has been real consistency in the path taken by this aesthete and businessman: whatever adventure he has started, he has always strived for exacting standards and excellence.

Whether it is to environmentally friendly camping, beautiful pieces of jewellery or an exceptional grape variety, Alain Dominique Perrin always brings his mastery of the business world and his passion for the beautiful and the good.

A brilliant illustration how to combine the useful and the pleasant…

What are your thouhgts on “Glamping”? Comment below!

Inverlochy Castle Management International (ICMI), the hotel management consultancy behind some of Scotland’s most luxurious hotels, has expanded its ever-growing portfolio with the acquisition of two new properties – Holm House in Cardiff and Albergo Villa Casanova in Tuscany.ICMI is currently enjoying phenomenal success with a number of hotels stretching from the corner of North West Sutherland to the central belt. The addition of two new properties marks the venture into new luxury markets.

ICMI is famous for transforming the reputation of hotels and advising on all aspects of hotel management from the kitchens, to interior design, to sales and marketing.

With top names such as Albert Roux OBE and John Green of John Green Communications on board, the team has grown to win national acclaim. They won the Hotel Consultancy of the Year Award at the Scottish Hotel Awards in both 2010 and 2011 and have won a plethora awards for their properties over the last two years.

Albergo Villa Casanova in Tuscany is the result of a complete renovation of an 18th century farmhouse set in 360 acres of mixed woodland just ten minutes from Lucca.

It’s a distinctive and relaxed five star hotel which boasts 14 luxury suites, magnificent terraces, an infinity swimming pool and a tennis court.

Holm House in Cardiff is a 12-bedroomed boutique hotel which boasts stunning views across the Bristol Channel to the islands of Flatholm and beyond. The hotel is home to a luxury spa which includes a relaxation room with sea views; a gym and a large hydrotherapy pool.

For the first time in the 117-year history of the National Trust, one of Britain’s largest and most respected charitable organisations, an external agency has been brought in to oversee a major interior design project. Cornwall-based designers Absolute Interiors were commissioned to breathe new life into the tea rooms at Killerton House, the 18th Century mansion located on a 6400 acre Devonshire estate near Exeter. After a record visitor year in 2010 (in excess of 140,000) the National Trust felt that the ground floor venue needed a facelift.

To create a new restaurant space that would pay tribute to the heritage of the estate and its period features in a contemporary but sensitive way, teh designers spent one month weaving elements of the Killerton story into the renovation work and adding layers of detail inspired by various physical aspects of the existing estate. The ‘Killerton Kitchen’ restaurant as it is now known includes reclaimed furniture and floor stencils that allude to the interiors of Killerton’s Prayer room, Flower room and Housekeeper’s Room.

Meanwhile, quirky touches such as a recycled yoghurt pot counter-top, teapot lights and bespoke montage wallpaper featuring family photographs of the original estate owners and founders, the Acland family, give the new space a fresh and endearing ‘talking point’ quality.

“We felt deeply honoured to be working with the National Trust,” says Helen Blake “The estate itself is magnificent but there was a clear need to revitalise the ambience and character of the restaurant space. With a project like this we obviously wanted to respect its historic value and heritage while adding a new sense of appeal and interest for visitors. There was also a need to be highly practical with the design work as the interior is regularly well-used. We hope people will feel the new restaurant has a genuine ‘wow factor’ but also that it blends seamlessly with everything that Killerton represents.”

Killerton’s General Manager Phillip Smart adds, “This was a real first for the National Trust so we had to get it right. Killerton is a lovely place that continues to draw thousands of visitors every year. To move forward and retain the appeal of the estate we needed to ensure that the new restaurant area would be something that retained the spirit of Killerton but also something that would really turn heads and add to the visitor experience. It was a pleasure to work with Absolute as they made it their mission to completely understand exactly what we needed to achieve. Their creativity and ideas were refreshing and incredibly perceptive and the feedback we’ve received so far about the design work has been excellent.”

The Block vertical and horizontal range of indoor and outdoor lighting has IP55 water ingress protection. In this line of products the “Lecce stone” obtained from Ashlar block is structural, thus the material acquires great impact and presence. Six light options are available including metal halide, to address a wide range of illumination needs.The union of materials offered by Nature and common to all mankind makes each and every object born of Ca’ Belli unique. Thus the creation of Nature combined with the creativity of our designers reach out to all our senses, and the primeval and cultural roots that are part of our DNA.

Made in Italy, Ca’ Belli has always used natural materials from various regions of Italy, processed by craftsmen who have passed down the trade from generation to generation, likewise, glass processing that has not changed over time and the blowpipe technique is still used by us today.

Ca’ Belli has also gained a unique understanding of stone based on design, materials and abilities, enabling us to start from an innovative concept and obtain objects that can be introduced in projects of varying dimensions. Our standard selection will meet most needs but there are projects that have characteristics that are so unique that they need specially designed luminaries. These “specials” often come from ideas of the client or architect, so together we define, design and utilise materials and light sources to create the object demand.

Our future is based on materials, innovation and design. This formula sums up Ca’ Belli’s work. Our team always involves craftsmen, designers and experts in a sort of creativity workshop that is our essence and the core of Made in Italy.

Please visit FW Lighting’s website to see many more unique designs and to order your copy of the 2011 Ca’ belli catalogue.

A seating collection that will help make your world a more colourful place.RHA Furniture’s extensive B10 seating collection offers a wide range of standard colours, plus the option to specify any colour you desire.

Not only does a colourful chair look striking, but can give any interior a real sense of individuality.

The new Croissant (B10) is available as a side chair, armchair & lounge chair. The seat & back can be upholstered in fabric or leather of your choice; the beechwood frame can be stained or lacquered any colour you desire.

The Cafe (B10) is available as a side chair, armchair & bar stool. The beechwood frame can be stained or lacquered any colour you desire. You also have the option to have the seat upholstered in fabric or leather of your choice.

For further details on the whole seating range please contact RHA Furniture or visit www.rhafurniture.com.

8Hotels has announced the launch of Diamant Hotel Brisbane.

Opened in 2009, this near new 84-room contemporary boutique hotel has now joined the upper scale Diamant collection of sister properties located in Sydney and Canberra. Superbly positioned on tranquil Astor Terrace, elegantly designed and home to Brisbane’s hot newcomer O’Bar and Restaurant, the Diamant provides for a quintessential boutique hotel experience. 8Hotels CEO Paul Fischmann commented; “We are delighted to bring the Diamant brand to Brisbane. Brisbane is fast becoming Australia’s most dynamic city with a forceful movement dedicated to creativity, arts, design and commerce and we’re proud to be a part of the fast paced progress of this cosmopolitan city.”

The Diamant Brisbane is the second Brisbane property for 8Hotels alongside the iconic Limes Hotel located in Fortitude Valley. 8Hotels now offers guests two of Brisbane’s best boutique hotel experiences.

To celebrate the opening of the Diamant Hotel Brisbane, 8Hotels is giving away an iPad2 to a lucky Facebook member who ‘likes’ the Diamant Hotel Brisbane before the 31st of August 2011.

Being recognised as one of the most green-friendly and environmentally responsible hotels in Hong Kong, Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong is once again at the helm of taking the dining experience to a greener and more engaging level.Gone are the days of lengthy-paged menus… Believing cutting the amount of paper used does even more to preserve resources and reduce carbon emissions, Langham Place Hotel’s vibrant dining outlets are replacing traditional menus with over 30 handy iPads. With just a click and flip on the sleek screen, guests can pick their nibbles and drinks in seconds…you know the drill…

Elaine Joe, Executive Assistant Manager – Food and Beverage who led the evolution of menus, says, “We used to update menus with new items every season. Upon the implementation of iPad menus, we have elevated the dining experience by creating sparkling surprises on the menu every week, not to mention reducing the use of paper tremendously.”

The hotel’s fun and interactive vino app, the WINE BUFF, is used in Ming Cellar and is a favourite with guests. Besides housing the hotel’s wine menu, the WINE BUFF engages guests in a series of wine-related entertainment. While foodies can test out Wine Guy Zach Yu’s innovative Chinese food and wine pairing top tips, the boys can have a cheeky moment and pick what they think are chick wines…a.k.a. wine for the ladies and wine for the men. Spin the wheel (or even better, spin the bottle…) and adventurous guests may discover an unexpected grape that works for them better than their regular…

As Ming Cellar develops more captivating features for the WINE BUFF in the coming months, Tokoro – Robatayaki & Whisky Bar, Portal – Work & Play and The Backyard have all rolled out iPad menus enabling them to constantly and continuously update them with their impressive gourmet goodies. In the near future, guests can expect even more stimulating tastes to be unveiled…Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong, evolving, yet again…

Travelodge has announced that it will be seeking to develop ‘Metro’ (small) style hotels, in prestigious locations and in office blocks across the UK; in a bid to meet the growing demands of its customers. These properties which will be between 20 to 40 rooms in size, will allow Travelodge to build small hotels in highly priced, much sought after locations and occupied office buildings across the UK. The desired locations will include:

• The City of London
• London Boroughs such as: Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, Fulham and Richmond
• Major UK cities such as: Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, Cardiff, York, Bristol, Chester, St Albans and Edinburgh
• The coastline of the UK
• Popular holiday hotspots such as: Cornwall, Devon, the Lake District, the Scottish Highlands and near to theme parks

The ‘Metro’ hotel model will allow the hotel chain to open properties near to existing popular Travelodge’s in locations where larger development sites are either not available or have unrealistic price expectations. In addition to enabling the budget hotelier to open in suburban locations where larger sites may not be deemed desirable by local authorities and development land is at a premium.

Properties that will be considered under this new scheme include: floors in office buildings, business parks, pubs, old cinemas / theaters, snooker halls, listed buildings, retail outlets and derelict buildings.

The desire to build smaller Travelodge hotels has been inspired by two successful development ventures the company invested in during 2010. The first initiative was opening a ‘Metro’ style prototype hotel in one of Edinburgh’s busiest tourist areas (Rose Street which is just off Princes Street). Travelodge built a hotel in a Georgian listed building which also houses two bars and a restaurant. The 43-room hotel sits above the three properties and has a small entrance sandwiched between the bar and restaurant. The hotel has become one of the company’s top performing hotels due to its key location..

The second venture to support the ‘Metro’ style Travelodge concept is the successful conversion of 52 Innkeeper’s Lodge’s into the Travelodge estate following their purchase from Mitchells & Butlers in July 2010. The majority of these acquired hotels are under 40 rooms and have proven to be highly profitable additions for Travelodge. A prime example is the 18-room Southgate Travelodge, in the London borough of Enfield, which has been full nearly every night since acquiring it. There is little competition nearby and there are no development opportunities within the local vicinity, despite the clear demand for hotel rooms.

This new building approach will run alongside Travelodge’s existing growth strategy to expand to 1,100 hotels and 100,000 rooms by 2025. The ‘Metro’ style properties will still be called Travelodge hotels and the room size will be based on a standard double Travelodge room (15sqft)

The ‘Metro’ Travelodge’s will be run by existing managers of nearby larger Travelodge hotels and will provide the perfect training ground for trainee managers, recruited via Travelodge’s new Apprenticeship programme – JuMP (Junior Management Programme).

This announcement also ensures that Travelodge will continue to be the most active developer in the hotel market. Since the collapse of Lehman brothers, the company has opened or exchanged on over 14,000 rooms/4.5m sq ft, more than any other leisure company in Britain. Travelodge has also become the largest hotel brand in: London, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Cambridge.

Over the last five years Travelodge has heavily focused on city centre growth to rebalance its portfolio – away from roadside locations. Today these motorway and trunk route sites represent just 25% of the company’s hotel stock with the remaining quarter in suburban, seaside and tourist locations.

Travelodge currently has 472 hotels (over 32,000 rooms) across the UK and is currently building 40 hotels this year.

This new collection from fledging Belgian company Bastalpe is a sophisticated range of dining tables and benches. The simple linear form of the powder coated aluminium frame punctuated with black core Trespa (high pressure laminate) tops makes this a durable and robust product suitable for bar and restaurant areas.

The senior management team that will run the new 4-star 150-bedroom Drayton Manor Hotel, at Drayton Manor Theme Park, has been appointed and is all set for the opening on Monday 15th August.The team consists of Martin Wright, General Manager; Michelle Dean, Revenue Manager; Julia Freeman, Sales and Marketing Manager; Toni Higginbottom, Finance Manager; Stephanie Tandy, Human Resources Manager; Alan Bell, Head Chef; and Gerry Ross, Food and Beverage Operations Manager.

The hotel will have 11 Thomas & Friends™ themed family rooms, each one featuring Thomas & Friends decor and specially designed Thomas the Tank Engine bunk beds.

Guests will also be able to enjoy the two restaurants, Parklands Restaurant and Parklands Brassiere, as well as the two bars. Meanwhile, younger guests will love the indoor Thomas & Friends themed playroom.

Martin Wright, said: “I’m confident that we have a strong and capable management team, which will provide a first-class service from day one of the hotel’s opening.

“The Drayton Manor Hotel is a major multi-million pound investment for Drayton Manor Theme Park. The management team and I plan to ensure that this investment helps transform the park from a popular day out venue into a family holiday resort.

“The hotel will also be a venue for corporate hospitality events and private functions, which will complement Drayton Manor’s existing facilities.”

Staff Biographies
Michelle Dean has worked in the West Midlands hospitality industry for 19 years for the likes of Intercontinental Hotels, Holiday Inn, Park Inn and Radisson.

Julia Freeman began her hospitality career at the age of 16 working in a country B&B. Since then, she’s worked for a range of hotels including De Vere, IHG & Corus in various roles, such as conference and banqueting host, events sales manager, wedding co-ordinator and business development manager.

Toni Higginbottom has worked in finance for large hotels in the Peak District and most recently a new build hotel in Stevenage.

Stephanie Tandy gained CIPD membership in 1994. She spent the past 15 years working in London for the likes of Thistle Hotels, The Melia Group and the Firoka Group.

After starting his career as a trainee chef, Alan Bell worked his way up the hospitality ladder to cook for royalty, politicians and celebrities. In the past 25 years, Alan has worked for major hotel chains, including Hilton, Millennium Copthorne and De Vere.

Despite a degree in English & Education, Gerry Ross chose a career in hospitality, which has seen him operate a range of roles from head chef to restaurant manager.

Law firm Boodle Hatfield has advised Grosvenor in respect to the development and subsequent letting of a new boutique hotel in Mayfair.The hotel, to be developed by Grosvenor, will feature a unique habitable sculpture (currently called Habitat) by Anthony Gormley, the artist best known for his Angel of the North in Gateshead.

Once completed, Rex Restaurants Associates, which owns The Wolseley, will be granted a 30 year lease of the hotel, which will comprise a new landmark restaurant, around 80 luxury bedrooms / suites, conference facilities and a spacious spa.

The hotel will be on Balderton Street, between Oxford Street and Grosvenor Square, developed within a distinctive Art Deco building previously used as a car rental depot.

Simon Williams, a partner in Boodle Hatfield’s Commercial Property, who acted for Grosvenor, said: “This hotel will be a striking addition to Mayfair. The Anthony Gormley sculpture will be the West End’s most unusual bedroom.”

The Boodle Hatfield team was led by Simon Williams and partner Caroline King. David Johnson provided construction law advice. Rex Restaurants Associates were represented by Berwin Leighton Paisner. The architects are Reardon Smith.

Boodle Hatfield boasts a strong track record in the hotel sector. In March last year Simon advised Grosvenor on its involvement with Premier Inn for the development of a new 180 room hotel in Liverpool and in November he advised Marriott International on its acquisition of The Berners Hotel in London, which will become the UK’s first Marriott brand lifestyle boutique hotel EDITION.

Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts is to add another Russian hotel to its portfolio: the international hotel chain with Swiss Roots has signed a management contract for a deluxe hotel in the Russian city of Sochi. Sochi is renowned as a beach destination and due to the nearby Caucasus Mountains has been chosen as host city for the 2014 Winter Olympics. From then on the city will also host the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix for ten years.Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts already has a presence in Russia, having run the highly successful Swissôtel Krasnye Holmy, Moscow, for many years, and soon guests of the hotel chain will also have the opportunity to stay in a beach resort in Sochi. “200 deluxe rooms and Suites, several restaurants and bars, 1000m2 meeting space as well as a Pürovel Spa are planned for the new hotel,” explains Meinhard Huck, President Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts. “Most of our company’s hotels are primarily city hotels in large metropolises, but the Swissôtel Sochi Kamelia will be a beach resort in a wonderful park with old trees and a private beach. I am sure individual tourists and business travelers will feel at ease here likewise.” The new hotel will be a reconstruction of a historical building in connection with two modern side wings – the opening is expected by 2013.

The owning company of the future Swissôtel Sochi Kamelia is the 1993 founded OAO Sistema-Hals, a real estate and development company, which has realized more than 40 large-scale projects with a total area of over 400’000m2, having become an inseperable part of the urban image of the Russian capital. In 2006 OAO Sistema-Hals was the first one among Russian developers to list in the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange – currently, the development portfolio of the company includes about 80 projects. “Swissôtels will ensure a high level in service and management for this distinguished property and certainly set a positive trend within the hospitality business on the Black Sea coast”, says Evgeny Borkin, Vice-President and Head of the Business Development & Strategy Department at OAO Sistema-Hals.

Sochi is located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea in the southern Russian province of Krasnodar and attracts about 4 million holidaymakers a year from Russia and increasingly also from abroad. The warm climate and the scenic views over the snow-capped mountains of the Caucasus are the key attractions of the holiday resort, which is popular with Russian socialites. As snow continues to lie in Krasnaya Polyana, 70 km away, up until June, it is easily possible to combine a beach holiday with the occasional skiing trip. Krasnaya Polyana is to be the main venue for outdoor events at the 2014 Winter Olympics, while all the indoor events will take place in Sochi city.

At Focus/11, get in on the design action

This autumn, all eyes will be on London’s most inspirational interior event where industry professionals, media, design lovers and influencers discover the latest collections and get unparalleled access to world-renowned experts at design lectures and informed seminars.Over four days, Focus/11 provides a unique platform for world-class talent. The event showcases design excellence from over 480 international brands at 88 Design Centre Chelsea Harbour showrooms as well as outside participants in King’s Road, Chelsea.

A show like no other, this year it promises remarkable opportunities to engage with design; whether you are looking for ideas for a residential scheme, solutions for a commercial project or simply inspiration. Discover the latest design directions or develop your knowledge of the season’s key fabrics, furniture, wall coverings, lighting, accessories, kitchens, bathroom, outdoor living, tiles and carpets. Lively discussions, masterclasses, book signings and ‘in conversation’ sessions with luminaries such as US style guru Barbara Barry will guarantee one-of-a-kind design experiences.

With an ongoing commitment to supporting design, Focus/11 continues to embrace new initiatives and fresh thinking. This year, the spotlight will be on the iconic domes of Design Centre Chelsea Harbour. An aerial installation in striking black devised by landscape designer Jinny Blom will feature shoals of fish and decorative leafy sea dragons. Graceful, yet, aesthetically spectacular, it sets a confident tone. Pop-up venues and a stylish restaurant are naturally integrated into the event.

An up-to-the-minute blog will give a new voice to the show and reflect the style and verve of the participants. An online destination for design insiders and admirers, it will provide a virtual design world and will encourage a personal connection to Focus/11 as it unfolds.

At Focus/11 access all areas of innovative design.

Trade Preview: Sunday 25, Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 September

All Welcome: Wednesday 28 September
Open from 10am-6pm

FREE ENTRY

Focus/11
Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, Lots Road, London SW10 0XE and outside participants in King’s Road, Chelsea

For event information:
Call 020 7225 9101 or email

en*******@dc**.uk












www.dcch.co.uk

On July 1, 2011, Kempinski Hotels added a new premium class resort hotel with large meeting facilities located on the Black Sea coast to its international portfolio – Kempinski Grand Hotel Gelendzhik.Kempinski Grand Hotel Gelendzhik sits on the first line of the Black Sea coast, in Cape Tolstiy on Gelendzhik Bay. The 8 hectare site encompasses: five-star hotel with 379 rooms, including 7 bungalows, private beach, indoor and outdoor pools, a multi-functional congress centre, an amphitheatre for outdoor events, tennis courts and sports ground, spa centre, aquatic centre, 3 restaurants, and a children’s playground.

The 379 rooms of the Kempinski Grand Hotel Gelendzhik include 30 suites, and offer guests exceptional comfort, together with outstanding views variously overlooking the sea, the mountains, or the park filled with ancient pine trees.

The majestic Presidential Suite provides 198 sqm of superb living and entertaining space, featuring a panoramic balcony, terrace and the benefit of a private entrance to the Gelendzhik presidential lounge, with a separate reception area.

Numerous restaurants and bars are available – children’s restaurant, beach restaurant, pool bar, and round-the-clock lobby lounge are just some of the hotel’s dining attractions. The main restaurant Riviera can accommodate up to 400 guests, and its open-air summer terrace is a wonderful way to enjoy the hotel’s organic food. A gourmet restaurant Fusion specialises in sophisticated European and Asian cuisine.

The unrivalled conference facilities have already established the Kempinski Grand Hotel Gelendzhik as a popular venue for high-level events. With 4,900 sq. m of multi-functional space, the congress centre is the largest in Southern Russia. Highlights of the venue include a modern cinema and the conference hall itself, with seating for 830 people.

The spa centre of the Kempinski Grand Hotel Gelendzhik comprises an indoor swimming pool, two outdoor swimming pools, phyto bar, beauty centre and a fitness centre. The range of treatments and relaxation options is exceptional: saunas and steam bath treatments, salt grotto and spa suites for massages and exclusive spa rituals.

Reto Wittwer, President and CEO of Kempinski Hotels, says: “We are delighted to be managing this excellent property, our first resort complex in Russia. We are confident that the unique recreational opportunities and conference facilities of the Kempinski Grand Hotel Gelendzhik, combined with the renowned hospitality traditions of Kempinski Hotels will ensure not only the success of this wonderful project, but also enhance the tourism appeal of the entire region.”

Thailand-based ONYX Hospitality Group recently marked a key milestone in the development of one of its pipeline projects, Amari Hua Hin, with a ‘topping off’ ceremony. Located in the perennially popular seaside town of Hua Hin, the new Amari is part of a mixed use development project which also features luxury, privately owned condominiums, set on 7.5acres.

Scheduled to welcome its first guests in early 2012, Amari Hua Hin will showcase 228 rooms and suites offering sophisticated comfort and exclusive service within a two building structure. Set amidst picturesque landscaped grounds, the hotel’s recreational facilities will include a swimming pool, fitness centre, children’s club and a stylish contemporary spa.

Catering to both leisure and business guests, Amari Hua Hin will also offer state-of-the-art meeting and conference facilities and a range of exciting dining experiences.

Situated just 4km from the lively town centre and within close proximity to the beach, Amari Hua Hin will be a stylish new addition to this much-loved resort town.

The Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers, one of New York City’s largest and most legendary hotels, has recently announced the completion of phase one of its $150 million renovation. During the first phase of the renovation, Sheraton’s flagship property completely renovated and expanded the size of 1,080 guest rooms and grand suites, added a state-of-the-art Cisco TelePresence™ Suite, and redesigned its Sheraton Club Lounge.The New York property, whose renovation design is being led by internationally-renowned Wilson Associates, will begin phase two of the redesign in December 2011. The second phase, which is expected to be finished in April 2012, includes updates to remaining guest rooms. The 50-story, full service hotel is owned by Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. and currently offers 1,781 guest rooms.

Guestroom Transformed – Larger rooms feature Modern Design
Following the completed renovation, all guestrooms and suites will be larger and will feature a fresh look with rich colors, graphic patterns and clean lines, inspired by Sheraton’s new brand design. Additional features include:
• Sleek, low credenzas and wall-mounted flat panel televisions, allowing guests to easily store luggage on top of and below the furniture
• All-white Sheraton Sweet Sleeper® bed, designed to meet AAA’s Five Diamond Award® criteria
• New convenience power outlets at the base of all decorative lighting
• Mini-bar units built into the wall offering coffee service
• Completely renovated bathrooms, some with walk-in showers
• Chaise lounge chairs, which convert into a bed
• Energy efficient, state of the art four-pipe HVAC system which allows guests to control the thermostat their room, providing personalized comfort regardless of the season
• Technologically-enabled guestrooms featuring a wired and wireless Internet platform and radio frequency identification locks

A Lounge with a View
The completely transformed Sheraton Club Lounge, which offers spectacular views from its 44th floor post, now features chic design elements and is a perfect spot for business or leisure travelers looking to unwind and indulge. Additional amenities include:
• Expanded seating capacity, including counter height seating
• 24-hour guest access, with coffee and Espresso station
• Complimentary breakfast and evening hors d’oeuvres
• Five televisions, including two personal TVs at tables adjacent to the bar
• Integrated business center with three computers and a printer

Global Business with Local Convenience
Adding to the hotel’s 60,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, the Sheraton now boasts an ultra high-tech Cisco TelePresence Suite, providing global business communication options with the convenience of a local meeting space. The technology offers:
• A video conferencing environment that feels like everyone is sitting in the same room
• Ultra high-definition video and audio relay
• Participants can speak to one another with true-to-life gestures and voice levels and utilize the suite’s technology to share various types of content
• Fully-secure network connections

Introducing Sheraton Fitness Programmed by Core Performance
As part of the multi-million dollar make-over the Sheraton New York now features the Sheraton brand’s signature fitness offering – Sheraton Fitness Programmed by Core Performance. Core Performance, developed by Athletes’ Performance, the global leader in performance training, nutrition, and physical therapy and Sheraton partnered to create customized training and nutrition programs for travelers. The hotel’s completely renovated fitness experience was designed exclusively for Sheraton guests and is derived from the same training methodology used by professional athletes. The program helps travelers train and eat healthy while on the road, as well as refresh, recharge and refocus their minds and bodies.

Lemni by Ca’ Belli Luce is a selection of contemporary designed interior wall lights utilising LED or fluorescent lighting to create subtle up/down lighting effects. Made from alabaster and slate, the rectangular design creates a high visual impact. Natural materials with their intrinsic qualities of age, preciousness and durability epitomize Ca’ Belli’s winning choice; different typologies of natural stone: Slate, Lava and Serena Stone, Marble and now Alabaster. The attentive selection of materials, combined with the craftsmanship of master stone cutters sees the stone block transforming it into an expression of man’s creativity.

Made in Italy! Ca’ Belli has always used natural materials from various regions of Italy, processed by craftsmen who have passed down the trade from generation to generation, likewise, glass processing that has not changed over time and the blowpipe technique is still used by us today.

Ca’ Belli has also gained a unique understanding of stone based on design, materials and abilities, enabling us to start from an innovative concept and obtain objects that can be introduced in projects of varying dimensions. Our standard selection will meet most needs but there are projects that have characteristics that are so unique that they need specially designed luminaries. These “specials” often come from ideas of the client or architect, so together we define, design and utilise materials and light sources to create the object demand.

Our future is based on materials, innovation and design. This formula sums up Ca’ Belli’s work. Our team always involves craftsmen, designers and experts in a sort of creativity workshop that is our essence and the core of Made in Italy.

Please visit FW Lighting’s website to see many more unique designs and to order your copy of the 2011 Ca’ belli catalogue.

Dora Hospitality is pleased to announce the opening of the Souris Valley Suites of Minot ND, Minot’s newest extended stay hotel. “We are proud to welcome the Souris Valley Suites to the Dora Hospitality family of fine hotels,” said Robert Dora, president of Dora Hospitality. “The hotel adds to our inventory of great North Dakota hotels, and Minot is a market where we believe this hotel will thrive.”

Dora Hospitality is already the largest operator of extended stay rooms in North Dakota. The Hotel is designed using Dora’s experience serving North Dakota extended stay guests and will contain the features that guests want, evoking memories of National Park Lodges, while incorporating contemporary features that provide accessible comfort for business travelers and families alike.

“I am very proud of all the hard work that the Souris Valley Suites staff & contractors have put into getting the hotel open,” stated Terry Alexander, General Manager.

The Souris Valley Suites offers 89 spacious guest suites that are comprised of both studio and one-bedroom suites each with its own fully equipped kitchen, executive desk, DVD players, and recliners. The fitness center and guest laundry are open around the clock, and guests can take advantage of the 24-hour Valley Market, where they will find snacks, refreshments, entrees and necessities. The Souris Valley Suites offers a daily hot breakfast, featuring items such as omelets, biscuits and gravy as well as fruit, cold cereals and pastries. The Bakken Lounge is open daily and will offer a wide variety of bottled beer and wine by the glass or the bottle. Guests of Souris Valley Suites will enjoy the warm and cozy Lodge style atmosphere throughout the entire property. A public open house will be scheduled for later this summer.

Wyndham Hotel Group, part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies, has recently announced the opening of the first TRYP by Wyndham hotel in Colombia, the 140-room TRYP Medellín in Medellín, the country’s second-largest city. It becomes the brand’s fourteenth hotel in South America, joining properties in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. The 14-story, four-star, select-service TRYP Medellín is located on Calle Colombia in the heart of the Colombian state of Antioquia’s capital city. The hotel’s opening reflects Wyndham Hotel Group’s strategy of introducing the TRYP by Wyndham brand in key urban markets throughout the Americas.

The hotel’s 140 spacious guest rooms include junior suites and TRYP by Wyndham’s signature family rooms, which feature a large bed for parents and bunk beds for children. The hotel also offers the brand’s specialty fitness rooms, equipped with elliptical machines, treadmills or stationary bikes and a complimentary fitness kit complete with a workout outfit, exercise mat, mineral water and extra towels.

Guests staying at the TRYP Medellín can maintain their fitness routines and relax outside their rooms at the on-site fitness center, Turkish bath, solarium and sauna. The hotel also offers complimentary high-speed Internet access, private parking lot, business center and bar. The hotel’s restaurant offers TRYP by Wyndham’s signature buffet breakfast that includes a variety of items with special emphasis on healthy, fresh ingredients.

Four function rooms comprising more than 300 square meters (3,200 square feet) of space are equipped with state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment and can accommodate up to 400 people.

Continuing its expansion in the Americas, the TRYP by Wyndham brand will welcome its second Colombian property, TRYP Bogotá, in the fourth quarter of 2011 and will introduce its first location in North America with the summer 2011 opening of the 173-room TRYP New York City – Times Square South.

The Cubola shade by Dutch manufacturers AVZ is an innovative modular system. The square powder coated aluminium frame is freestanding or with wall mounted elements and can be combined in multiple units to cover larger areas.The retractable roof shade is manually or remote operated and the front valance can be lowered to maximise shading throughout the day. With a simple screen printing the valance has the added benefit of creating a marketing banner for company branding.

555 International, a design, management and fabrication firm has partnered up with Chicago’s most influential restaurateurs for the launch of two new distinct projects: Tokio Pub and Perennial Virant. Led by President & Founder James Geier and Vice President of Design Karen Herold, 555 worked with Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants and the BOKA Group to develop these inspiring design concepts which were unveiled this spring. In addition to the launch of two high-profile hospitality projects is the introduction to James Geier’s latest personal endeavor, Deuce’s & the Diamond Club, marking his return back into the Chicago club and restaurant business.TOKIO PUB
Open on May 19, 2011, Tokio Pub is the latest 60-seat Lettuce Entertain You Japanese Izakaya concept found within the walls of the former private dining room of Shaw’s Crab House in Schaumburg, IL. An intimate space of 930-square feet, Tokio Pub offers urban grittiness mixed with modernity, reminiscent of a bar that has been around for years in the Far East but transformed by Western influences. Complementing the hideaway feel found throughout the space are unique design elements including custom 555 wall coverings, vibrant orange fan lights, copper metal chairs and wood panels streaming light behind the bar.

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All luxury hotels of India’s leading hospitality chain, ITC Hotels, have been accorded the highest rating: LEED Platinum (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) making it the ‘greenest luxury hotel chain in the world’. This distinction is an endorsement of ITC Hotels’ credo of ‘Responsible Luxury’ – an ethos that integrates world class green best practices with contemporary design elements to deliver the best of luxury in the greenest possible manner.

In addition to the wide spectrum of environment friendly measures that ITC Hotels implement, the ITC group’s carbon positive, water positive and solid waste recycling positive status ensures that a guest’s stay at any of its luxury hotels contributes to a lower carbon footprint.

ITC Hotels’ commitment to Responsible Luxury has given it the unique distinction of being the greenest luxury hospitality chain in the world. Today, all ‘ITC Hotels’- ITC Maurya, New Delhi; ITC Maratha; Mumbai; ITC Grand Central, Mumbai; ITC Sonar, Kolkata; ITC Windsor, Bengaluru; *ITC Gardenia, Bengaluru; ITC Kakatiya, Hyderabad and ITC Mughal, Agra are rated LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), for their commitment to perform to the highest standards of energy, water and waste efficiency and continuing to provide inspiration to the Green Building movement in India. (*Rated LEED Platinum by Indian Green Building Council-IGBC)

Commenting on the distinction, Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC Ltd. said, “This coveted feat uniquely positions ITC as the first hotel chain in the world to have all its premium luxury hotels accorded the highest rating: LEED Platinum by USGBC. It exemplifies the credo of ‘Responsible Luxury’ adopted by ITC’s Hotels Division – delivering globally benchmarked quality, services and luxury in the greenest possible manner.”

“The LEED Platinum rating demonstrates tremendous green building leadership”, said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “The urgency of USGBC’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and the certified ITC Hotels serve as a prime example with just how much we can accomplish.”

At the heart of Responsible Luxury is product design in the form of green buildings that are energy efficient, use renewable energy, conserve and recycle water while taking concrete steps to preserve the eco-system around them. ITC Hotels have innovated in the use of materials that utilise renewable sources and are biodegradable or conserve scarce environmental resources. Some hotels have also innovated on their offerings in food and beverages to optimise customer satisfaction while achieving a lower carbon footprint.

ITC’s hotels business will continue to make a meaningful contribution to national economic development as an employment multiplier creating sustainable livelihoods, while enriching the tourism landscape of the country.

ITC’s journey in this business has redefined the face of India’s hospitality industry. Today, ITC Hotels is India’s most profitable chain with offerings under four brands in over 80 locations – ITC Hotels at the Luxury end, WelcomHotel in the 5 star segment, Fortune in the mid-market to the upscale segment and ‘WelcomHeritage in the heritage leisure segment. The iconic ITC Hotels, comprising the super-premium luxury hotels in the group, not only offer unmatched hospitality but have also set new standards of excellence in cuisine, accommodation, environment and guest safety.

On Monday 18th July, the Mayor of Wirral, Councillor Moira McLaughlin officially opened Travelodge’s first hotel in New Brighton – which is also the town’s biggest hotel. The new 66-room property, which is the company’s 477th hotel represents a £2.3million investment in the seaside town and has created 15 new jobs within the Wirral community. The hotel is located on Marine Point, overlooking New Brighton beach.New Brighton’s first Travelodge has been built on the Marine Point regeneration site and has been built three months ahead of the wider project which is due to be open this autumn. Marine Point is a major mixed use development project on the north Wirral coast which has key transport links.

Wallasey, New Brighton Travelodge has opened ahead of schedule in order to support the Staycation break. This year, Travelodge’s annual ‘Holiday Index’ has revealed Staycation break is going to be bigger than ever this year with over a third (35%) of Britons holidaying at home, boosting the UK tourism economy by £7.2billion. One in ten Britons stated they will be holidaying in the North West this summer.

This morning to celebrate the official opening of Travelodge’s latest hotel, The Mayor of Wirral, Moira McLaughlin officially declared the hotel open for business at an opening ceremony, where she also met the hotel team and took a tour of the hotel.

Wallasey, New Brighton’s team of 15 staff members have all been recruited via the Job Centre Plus Scheme – which helps the long term unemployed back into work. As part of their induction training staff members undertook a comprehensive four week training programme at a nearby Travelodge hotel. They also attended a sleep seminar to ensure they are fully equipped to ensure their customers get a good night’s sleep.

Inspired by the exciting modern lines of the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London, the brief for the Mandara Spa interiors was to mirror the feel of the hotel with a contemporary twist, whilst maintaining the luxurious touch of Asia. The 700sq metre Mandara Spa offers guests a unique sensory experience, inviting you to escape your world, and indulge in a Mandara moment. The interiors of the Mandara spa have drawn inspiration from around the world from Mondrian paintings to Japanese Shoji screens, focusing on the lines to showcase the Asian elements. A giant bamboo forest has been created with Petung bamboo cleverly integrated with coloured hand-blown glass, embedded with Mandara Spa ingredients such as Ylang Ylang, Coffee and Lavender.

Beautiful ancient Sanskrit writing scrolls along the curved ceilings, with names of Balinese flowers, whilst the spa is mood lit with ‘tear drops’ and ‘cubes’ designed with new environmentally friendly, plug-less LED technology, charged through magnetic induction. Finally, no spa is complete without an ever flowing black stone fountain of water, essential for the absorption of negative energy. The overall effect is an exciting modern twist in bringing some exquisite elements of Bali to Britain.

The spa facilities include one double and eight single treatment rooms, two pedicure and three manicure stations. The treatment menu offers Mandara Spa for indulgent body therapy and Elemis skincare for facials and detox therapies. As a finishing touch, select from a range of Bliss nail and waxing services and indulge yourself with a glass of champagne and seasonal berries. For those seeking the ultimate relaxation opt for a 20 minute power nap after your treatment to help you unwind.

The Spa Boutique offers a beautiful range of products and accessories from the new Mandara Spa range and luxury British spa and skincare brand, Elemis, as well as best-sellers from Bliss, allowing you to continue your spa experience when you return home.

Adjacent to Mandara Spa is the Fitness Centre which features a gymnasium, steam and sauna rooms, a 15 metre heated swimming pool and changing rooms.

The Gigia series of lights use natural stone slabs that are applied onto a supporting structure. Available with single and double light emissions, the minimalistic architectural design will fit well into any contemporary design. Working with stone is a gesture full of significance, the titanic struggle between great forces lives on through the antique rituals of stone workmanship. Many of our designs are finished by hand, by true artisans using traditions that have not changed for hundreds of years.

“First comes the block, bearing within it shapes that we have already mentally designed, and that in its own right is already a finished item”. Light is an addition, illuminating the facades of walkways where the slim-line modern designs can be used.

When not in use, our natural stone Gigia range becomes an integral part of the building design and can be used to bridge the countryside with the city.

The History and countryside of the Montefeltro Region has a deep influence on the designers at Ca’Belli who are always looking for new ways to work natural stone and maintain its durability and resistance to harsh conditions yet, obtaining a malleable material that lets light shine through.

If you would like to receive your own copy of the Cabelli Luce 2011 catalogue then please send your request to

in**@fw*********.com

The Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow announces the completion of refurbishment work to its 250 bedrooms and suites ensuring that the hotel maintains its position as one of the most stylish and contemporary choices in the city.All guest rooms have been transformed with new decor, furniture and furnishings. To cater for guest’s differing tastes and styles, the hotel’s rooms have been designed in two distinctive styles. City Club Rooms offer a light and airy, cool yet comfortable space; with wooden floors, splashes of red furniture and sub culture artwork, all adding to the modern, cosmopolitan feel.

Meanwhile, Gallery Rooms provide a darker, moodier ambience with cozy carpets, darker decor, Brian Sweeny’s striking monochrome images of iconic music artists together with vintage posters from Glasgow’s iconic Sub Club. This artwork reinforces the hotel’s location within a hub of music venues and clubs…not forgetting bang in the heart of the city centre within walking distance to the best shopping outside London.

The hotel continues to provide the high end amenities that guests have always enjoyed – including free high speed internet access and complimentary gym – but has now added additional in-room comforts such as I-pod docking stations to further enhance a guest’s stay.

Graeme Gibson, General Manager said “We are delighted to unveil our new look guest rooms – the refurbishment work is a true makeover; completely refreshing the rooms; from new wall colourings, to new flooring, beds, chairs and all soft furnishings, this is a real transformation”

Located just across the road from Glasgow’s Central Station, with direct links from the M8 motorway and 12km from Glasgow International Airport, the Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow is ideally located for any business or leisure traveller.

The historic Hotel Schweizerhof in Bern, Switzerland has officially re-opened following a two-year redesign and renovation programme by the UK-based interior design practice, MKV Design. Behind the heritage façade, all the guestroom floors and a large part of the ground floor public spaces are new and fit for the decades to come; however, their style and ambiance is very much within the spirit of the old hotel – noble, cosmopolitan and belonging to its location. The Lobby area was stripped out. This gave the designers an opportunity to re-imagine the spaces at the front of the hotel which overlook one of the busiest parts of Bern and create a welcoming, luxurious retreat from the moment of entering the building. The main entrance was relocated to leave the lounge intact and, within, zones of seating were defined – a pragmatic solution for quite a small lobby area where every inch had to be made to work, while also suiting to today’s more informal lifestyles. The seating along the front façade is now flanked by a double layer of sheers that by way of lighting allow guests inside to see out but which discretely filter views looking into the hotel. The low ceiling and cluster of columns behind the reception desk remained, so the designers absorbed this structure into a series of cosy alcoves with comfortable tub chairs and bookshelves giving the space a comfortable, residential scale.

All the new architectural elements in the Lobby are classical since they derive from the building envelope – the black and white marble floor, the classically coffered ceiling and the ornate metalwork – but these are confidently combined with a number of specially designed contemporary elements. There is the alabaster reception desk with its unconventional form and theatrical lighting above which a swirling digital art installation suggests a galactic explosion, an oblique homage to Albert Einstein who once lived in Bern. Throughout the hotel, traditional materials have been re-fashioned into something new. Echoing the sculptural shape of the reception desk, a striking modern bronze panel in the entrance lobby borrows on the traditional use of bronze in Jack’s brasserie.

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8Hotels has recently announced it has entered into a definitive long-term management agreement to operate a 96 room Pensione Hotel in Perth, WA. The property currently known as Aarons Hotel Perth will undergo a $3.5m refurbishment to all guest rooms and common areas and re – branded Pensione Hotel Perth.

Pensione Hotel Perth is superbly located in the heart of Perth’s CBD, a stones throw from Murray St Shopping centre, and a short walk to the Swan River.

8Hotels CEO Paul Fischmann commented “ We are thrilled to bring the Pensione brand and our boutique hotel management and marketing skills to Australia’s most exciting hotel market. We are also very proud to be awarded this opportunity over stiff competition from Australia’s largest and most established hotel operators. This is a testament to our people and their drive and passion to deliver results exceeding industry benchmarks”

Pensione Perth will fill a niche in the Perth market for a quality yet affordable boutique hotel experience, catering to both business and leisure travellers.

Having created a landmark of its JW Marriott brand at Juhu in Mumbai, the business capital of India, Marriott International Inc., a global lodging leader, today repeats this extraordinary achievement in the city of Chandigarh with the launch of its JW Marriott Chandigarh – the first JW Marriott hotel in North India and the second in the country. This luxury 5-star hotel is designed with an aesthetic reflective of the JW Marriott brand and the unique lifestyle of “The City Beautiful” and is conceptualized on the basis of the five elements of nature and is the epitome of magnificence. Designers Wilson Associates from Singapore and Karen Kim collaborated to create a masterpiece which is both contemporary and yet bears the signs of aesthetic North Indian architecture, giving it a wonderful cultural reference and significance and a true sense of place.

Speaking at the opening of the JW Marriott Chandigarh, Rajeev Menon, Marriott International’s Area Vice-President India, Australia, Malaysia and Maldives, said: “The opening of a JW Marriott Hotel in Chandigarh is a great milestone for us as Chandigarh is the best-planned city in India with architecture which is world renowned and a quality of life, which is unparalleled.

The JW Marriott Chandigarh offers an exciting array of fine dining options offering guests authentic cuisines from around the world. Saffron is a fine dining Indian restaurant, while The Café@JW will host a buffet featuring world cuisine, and Oregano will enchant guests with authentic Italian delicacies. Chandigarh Baking Co (Deli and Patisserie) is an adaptation of a classic pastry shop with an attractive array of food and beverages.

The lobby reinvented is an integration of the Lobby and Lobby Lounge known simply as The Lounge. It is divided into clearly defined zones where guests can work or relax. The hotel boasts a fine balance of wellness and indulgence with its offering of world-class fitness facilities – the renowned signature Quan Spa and JW Fitness Centre will be the destination for rejuvenation and relaxation.

Featuring the most spacious accommodation, the 165 guest rooms, 4 suites and 1 presidential are equipped with a host of luxurious features. The state-of-the-art banqueting facilities in the hotel offer a magnanimous 16,500 sq ft of indoor and outdoor space. The Grand Ballroom with a majestic ceiling height of more than 6 meters, stylish design and grandeur will be the venue for the royal and elegant weddings in Punjab.

Formule 1, the brand that revolutionized budget travel, has introduced its new “Cocoon” room concept into Australia, with F1 hotels in Canberra, Campbelltown and Wentworthville the first to showcase the new rooms. F1 Campbelltown was the very first Formule 1 in Australia, and its refurbishment is well timed as Accor celebrates its 20th anniversary this month.The Cocoon Room provides a more stylish, more restful room with soft colours, rounded edges and soothing lighting, as well as extra storage space. With wood-look floors, flat screen TVs with extra channels, internet connections and a strong focus on sustainability, the Cocoon Room won Best Interior Design at the European Hotels Design Awards and represents a real metamorphosis for the brand, which was first introduced in 1984.

The new rooms have strong environmental credentials, with water-efficient showers and toilets, recyclable materials used throughout and energy efficient lighting.
“The Formule 1 brand really revolutionised budget travel by offering ensuite rooms that could comfortably sleep one, two or three people at an affordable price,” said Simon McGrath, Vice President Accor Australia. “The introduction of the Cocoon Room concept is another revolution for the brand and highlights how much the brand has upgraded to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of today’s travellers.

“With these new rooms, we believe Formule 1 offers the best value for money sleep in the market.”

The Cocoon Rooms will be rolled out to all 20 Formule 1 hotels in Australia over the next few years.

Popular with families, sporting groups and couples on a budget, Formule 1 hotels cost less so you can spend more on the attractions, restaurants or events in your destination. They are typically located near airports or key transport hubs and increasingly in major cities, with more than 80 hotels across five continents including Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan and South Africa. In Europe, the Formule 1 brand concept comes under the ETAP brand which includes a network of 420 hotels.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has announced that its iconic Sheraton brand has opened a new flagship hotel in Stamford, Connecticut. Owned by a joint venture between RockBridge Partners, an affiliate of RockBridge Capital, LLC, and affiliates of Davidson Hotels & Resorts, Sheraton Stamford Hotel underwent an extensive, multi-million dollar renovation in recent months, resulting in a full makeover to the lobby, restaurant and an upgrade to all guestrooms in order to meet the new Sheraton brand standards.

Sheraton Stamford Hotel’s 379 guestrooms all feature an oversized work desk, custom-designed ergonomic chair, high-speed Internet, 37 inch flat screen television, MP3 home docking station and the all-white Sheraton Sweet Sleeper(R) bed, designed to meet AAA’s Five Diamond Award(R) criteria.

Ideal for meetings and social functions of all sizes, Sheraton Stamford Hotel offers 13,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting facilities equipped with the latest in meetings technology. Guests will enjoy casual American fare at 700 On Main, the hotel’s full service restaurant and lounge. Additional facilities include an indoor pool and fully equipped gym featuring the brand’s revolutionary new health and fitness program, Sheraton Fitness, Programmed by Core Performance, designed exclusively for Sheraton guests through its partner Core Performance.

Sheraton Stamford Hotel boasts a prime downtown location at 700 Main Street, just a few blocks from Stamford’s revitalized Harbor Point area where Starwood Hotels will open its new global headquarters in early 2012. The hotel is walking distance from the shops and restaurants in the recently opened Plaza at Stamford Town Center, the University of Connecticut Stamford campus and the headquarters of numerous major corporations and fortune 500 businesses.

SOURCE: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has recently announced the opening of the Holiday Inn Express Fort Lauderdale Airport-West after extensive remodelling to transition the hotel from a Comfort Suites. The hotel is conveniently located in Davie, an area known for its universities and nearby beaches. With 77 upgraded suites featuring flat screen televisions, a newly built pool and 500 square feet of meeting space, the Holiday Inn Express Fort Lauderdale Airport-West is a valuable addition to the area’s hospitality offerings. The hotel is bringing an expected 25 jobs to the area, ranging from front desk to maintenance.Guest rooms have been completely refreshed and offer new furniture including 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 travelers will find large desks with ergonomic chairs, free local and toll free phones with private voicemail and complimentary USA TODAY® newspapers. Recently upgraded Internet provides high-speed wireless access throughout the guest suites and lobby areas.

With easy access to all major highways, including I-595, I-95, I-75 and the Florida Turnpike, the Holiday Inn Express Fort Lauderdale Airport-West offers guests a comfortable, yet affordable, business or leisure stay with innovative preferred guest upgrades to ensure a pleasurable experience.

The Holiday Inn Express Fort Lauderdale Airport-West is owned and managed by Luckey’s Management, Inc. under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group and is located at 2540 Davie Road, Davie, FL 33317.

For almost six years, the re-opening of Hyatt Regency New Orleans has been eagerly anticipated by locals and visitors alike. The hotel proudly announces it is now accepting reservations to welcome its first guests on 19th October, 2011 following a $275 million redesign and revitalization. Upon completion, the hotel will boast 1,193 all-new, strikingly sophisticated guest rooms, 200,000 square feet of state-of-the-art, flexible event space, expansive food and beverage offerings, and unprecedented service.As one of the most significant hospitality developments in New Orleans in over a decade, the newly restored Hyatt Regency New Orleans will re-open as the city’s premier meeting and convention hotel. Having doubled its meeting and exhibition space, the 32-storey hotel will offer the most meeting space of any hotel in the city, as well as the unique ability to self-contain group events of all sizes. This includes two 25,000-square-foot ballrooms, 64 versatile meeting and banquet rooms, 21 executive level meeting rooms, seven permanent boardrooms, and more than 80,000 square feet of exhibition space, highlighted by a new 50,000-square-foot exhibit hall.

With dramatic design that complements the uniqueness of New Orleans, award-winning interior designers Looney & Associates in collaboration with the creative architectural design team at HC Architecture conceived the extraordinary redesign of the city’s iconic hotel. Looney & Associates revitalized all interiors, including the lobby, restaurants and meeting spaces, as well as 1,193 guest rooms, including 95 suites, five meeting planner suites and four presidential suites. HC Architecture conceptualized the transformation of the exterior structure paying special attention to the new entrance on Loyola Avenue and enhancing guests’ overall sense of arrival. The landmark hotel’s new, innovative design makes it the ideal urban destination for business and leisure travellers.

The impressive food and beverage offerings will include a 360-seat, full-service restaurant with private and semi-private dining rooms; 210-seat media/action bar with private and semi-private lounges; 70-seat atrium bar; 60-seat Starbucks; 24-hour fresh market; and 300-seat specialty restaurant by a nationally recognized chef, which will be announced soon.

Hyatt Regency New Orleans is owned by Poydras Properties Hotel Holdings, a hospitality venture that includes AREA Property Partners, Poydras Hotel Members LLC, and a subsidiary of Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

Cody from Ca’ Belli Luce, is a selection of wall lights that have been shaped and thinned by hand to create stunning stone wing effects. The stone closely follows the shape and form of the blown diffused glass hidden behind it creating a fluid yet strong image. Lecce stone from Salento, in the south east of Italy is a limestone, characterised by the presence of fossils (mostly plankton) from the Cretaceous-Tertiary era that began many millions of years ago.

The beauty of this malleable sun gold stone is that it can withstand the passing of centuries and is used extensively in sculptural art throughout the region.

Stone is the world of materials par excellence. Every architect or designer that appreciates the tactile and chromatic aspects of stone is passionate about Materials, and when using natural stone it makes us at Ca’belli think about territory, its evolution, its future, the fragility of its equilibrium, but for the population of that territory stone can becomes an identification, a reference for the area, such as is found with Bath and Bath stone.

The path traced by the many hands working stone, from its extraction to the final use, fulfils a gap in our society; an antique wisdom that is kept alive through the use of almost forgotten workmanship.

Stone Architecture enables us to recuperate a physical relationship with nature’s products, with their transformation and with the use that man makes of it. Mere utopia, maybe, but the aim underlying our Stone Architecture is to allow Mother Earth’s inhabitants to develop a renewed awareness of sustainable growth. Other learning experiences and opportunities arise naturally all along this stone route.

Our future is based on materials, innovation and design. This formula sums up Ca’ Belli’s work. Our team is made up of craftsmen, designers and experts in a creative workshop that is our essence and the core of Made in Italy.

If you would like to receive your own copy of the Ca’belli Luce 2011 catalogue then please send your request to

in**@fw*********.com

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), has recently announced the opening of the much anticipated InterContinental Nordelta Tigre – Buenos Aires Hotel, Residences & Spa, IHG’s ninth overall property in Argentina. The hotel is owned by Complejo Bahia, S.A. and will be managed under a long-term agreement by IHG’s Americas division. The InterContinental Nordelta Tigre – Buenos Aires is comprised of 149 guestrooms including 20 suites. The hotel is located on the Bahia Grande in Tigre and within Nordelta, in the northern part of Buenos Aires, approximately 20 miles (33 km) from the city center.

The InterContinental Nordelta Tigre – Buenos Aires includes a spa, fitness center, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, six meeting rooms with a capacity of up to 600 people, two restaurants and a bar.

Guests at the hotel will also enjoy a convenient location on the Lago Central which offers a marina, boat slips and a direct entranceway to the Rio Lujan, which provides access to a wide range of water sports and recreational activities.

The InterContinental Nordelta Tigre – Buenos Aires Hotel, Residences and Spa joins the InterContinental Buenos Aires, which is situated in the city’s financial district, and the 180-guest room InterContinental Mendoza, which opened at the end of last year.

The Rezidor Hotel Group announces two new key properties in the United Arab Emirates: The Radisson Royal Hotel, Dubai featuring 471 rooms and the Radisson Blu Resort, Fujairah Dibba with 257 rooms – both managed by JAL in the past – will be operated under the group’s successful core brand with immediate effect. The hotels are owned by ACICO Industries and its subsidiary, a Kuwait based publically listed company. “The Radisson Royal Hotel, Dubai will be one of our flagships in the Middle East. It enjoys a prime location with outstanding visibility, an award-winning design, and world class service standards. We are proud and thankful to be the operator of such a high-quality asset”, said Rezidor’s President & CEO Kurt Ritter during his personal visit to Dubai today. “The Radisson Blu Resort, Fujairah Dibba further strengthens our growing portfolio of young and stylish resorts across Europe, Middle East and Africa, and opens new leisure markets to us”, continued Ritter.

“We are delighted to have chosen Rezidor to manage our hotels. We believe that this relationship is an optimal one for both organizations given Radisson Blu’s experience and presence in the Middle East and Europe. This experience will undoubtedly contribute to the success of our properties”, said Nabil Al Khaled, COO at ACICO Industries.

The Radisson Royal Hotel, Dubai, is located on the prominent Sheikh Zayed Road which stretches from one end of the city to the other and is home to most of Dubai’s famous skyscrapers. Besides 375 rooms with a size of 41 square meters minimum, the property comprises 96 suites between 61 and 273 square meters. All rooms and suites offer breathtaking views over Sheikh Zayed Road or the Jumeirah beach side. The sleek, cosmopolitan and elegant interior has been designed by Draw Link Group (Dubai) and was awarded by the International Interior Design Association (Decade of Design Competition 2011, Honorable Mention in category “hotels”). The Radisson Royal Hotel, Dubai offers an all-day-dining restaurant and 3 specialty restaurants, a lobby lounge and pool bar, and a night club. A peaceful Zen Spa, fitness centre, and exclusive rooftop pool complement the excellent leisure services. For meetings and events, the hotel features 8 meeting rooms and a ballroom for up to 300 guests.

The Radisson Blu Resort, Fujairah Dibba is situated between the Hajjar Mountains and the Gulf of Oman – guests enjoy a 500 metre sandy beach, the longest in the Emirate. The 257 rooms range from standard rooms to suites and will all be equipped with Radisson signature services such as free high speed internet access. Services of the resort comprise 5 restaurants, 2 bars, a lobby lounge and a beach lounge. The beautiful spa area includes 4 terrace pools and a fitness centre, and the hotel has a dive centre and a dedicated pool and playground area for children. Business travellers find a multi-purpose hall and indoor conference space at the hotel as well as outdoor venues for up to 1,000 attendees.

IHG has announced the opening of the Candlewood Suites Avondale-New Orleans. The hotel is the first mid-scale extended stay in the Westbank area of New Orleans; the second Candlewood Suites in the New Orleans area, and the seventh in Louisiana. The new 83-room, three story Candlewood Suites Avondale-New Orleans features just-like-home amenities, including a business center, pet-walking trail and a gazebo with a barbecue grill. The new hotel is located near several area businesses including Northrup Grumman, Union Pacific, BNSF, Monsato Chemical Supply and the Waterford 3 Nuclear Plant. It is also a short ride from the Belle Chase Naval Base. Guests can take advantage of nearby attractions such as the TPC Golf Course – home to the Zurich Classic – local swamp tours, Bayou Segnette State Park and Boomtown Casino.

IHG currently has 10 hotels in the pipeline (6 new builds/4 conversions) and 16 existing hotels with more than 3,400 rooms in the New Orleans area. Industry-wide, New Orleans is a strong market with 3.8 percent RevPAR increase – YTD Feb. 2011. Out of the U.S.’s top 25 markets, New Orleans ranks 9th in terms of RevPAR performance. Occupancy in the market has increased by approximately 0.5 points, while rate has increased 2.9 percent.

The Float collection from Italian manufacturer Paola Lenti is a vibrant and fun solution for exterior seating that is ideal for lounging by the pool on a hot summer’s day. The woven Rope fabric in cool blues, spicy pinks or sophisticated greys is resistant to water, UV light and suntan lotion. The bead filling allows the seat to mould to your body for the ultimate in comfort whilst allowing water to freely drain away.

Mark Fuller, Andy Taylor and Concept Venues are proud to announce the launch of Embassy Dubai situated within the new Grosvenor House Hotel. The exciting new venture is scheduled to open in September 2011 with a grand launch event in November 2011.Embassy Dubai will be spread across the top floors of Tower Two, Grosvenor House’s second tower of imperial accommodation and ensures stunning 360° panoramic views over Dubai Marina and the Arabian Gulf.

The new venue reflects the glamour of Embassy London and features a restaurant serving a superb Modern European menu. Key features include a 100% under lit LED dance floor and private rooms on all floors.

Five-star deluxe hotel, Grosvenor House, is situated in the centre of the exclusive West Marina section of Dubai and exhumes all things luxury with 422 rooms, suites and apartments, 12 signature restaurants and bars and a floor dedicated to spa and beauty facilities.

This year is an exciting time for Concept Venues as Mark Fuller and his team also celebrate the launch of Embassy Beach in Portugal in June 2011. It has also been announced that Embassy London is to undergo a huge refurbishment and will be returning to its original stance as a lavish members and supper club later in the year.

Mark Fuller said: “We are thrilled to announce not one, but two, international Embassy Club launches this year. Both projects have been in discussion for some time, so it is great to see the vision now come to life. Both Dubai and Portugal offer some of the best night life experiences. The extraordinary levels of service, quality and attention to detail that the Embassy name epitomises will now be brought to these destinations and will undoubtedly give a truly outstanding gastronomic experience.”

This finishes off a hugely successful year which saw the launch of Sanctum on the Green with Michelin star chef John Burton Race, plus plans to expand the Sanctum Hotel group with premises sought in New York, Miami and Barbados.

In addition, this summer sees the arrival of Sanctum Outside providing catering and backstage hospitality at high profile music events such as Hard Rock Calling, Sonsiphere, Download and many more. The Concept group will also see the launch of their external events division, Styled by Sanctum, which will bring the elegance and splendour of the Sanctum brand to external private and corporate parties, dinners and events.

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has recently announced the opening of the Holiday Inn Express San Diego Airport – Old Town after a $2 million conversion. Conveniently located just minutes from San Diego International Airport, the three-floor hotel has 123 guest rooms featuring seven suites with Jacuzzi tubs and sitting areas. The hotel is hiring 35 employees, ranging from front desk to room service and maintenance. Located just off of Interstate 5, downtown San Diego and the Convention Center are just a short distance from the hotel, making it an ideal location for business travelers. Northrop Gruman and Lockheed Martin are also located nearby. The hotel is within walking distance of Old Town, where guests can eat at local restaurants, attend an improv show at the National Comedy Theatre, enjoy yoga at a local bikram studio, or relax at Mission Hills Park. The beach, San Diego Zoo and Sea World are also a short drive from the hotel.

Guest rooms have been completely refreshed and are furnished with 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 travelers will find large desks with ergonomic chairs, free high-speed internet access and free local phone and toll free (U.S. and Canada only), phones with private voicemail and complimentary USA TODAY® newspapers.

The Holiday Inn Express San Diego Airport – Old Town is owned and managed by Best Rest Management under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group and is located at 1955 San Diego Avenue, San Diego, CA 92110.

Glasgow based BDL Management has recently (May 20 2011) announced the signing of a management contract for 9 Ramada hotels – bringing its hotel portfolio of owned and managed hotels to 46 (up to nearly 5000 rooms) and a combined workforce of over 2500 across the UK.The hotels – all Ramada branded – will be managed by BDL Management who specialise in developing and operating hotels across the UK – in both the branded and independent sectors.

The 9 hotels are Ramada Farnham, Ramada Solihull, Ramada Hemel Hempstead, Ramada Guildford, Ramada London Hyde Park, Ramada London Ealing, Ramada London Gatwick, Ramada Hatfield and Ramada Sutton Coldfield.

BDL has been awarded the management contracts following the expiry of the landlords lease agreement with Ramada Jarvis.

The hotels will continue to trade under the Ramada brand name and all staff will be retained.

BDL works with some of the world’s largest hotel companies, including InterContinental Hotels Group, Wyndham Hotels Group and Best Western. Currently BDL operate hotels across all service tiers – from the Upscale Crowne Plaza, to midmarket Ramada Encore, Holiday Inn and the limited service Holiday Inn Express as well as independent hotels including The Point Edinburgh, Five Lakes Hotel, Golf Country Club & Spa and Princes Street Suites (serviced apartments) in Edinburgh.

Louis Woodcock, CEO of BDL Management said: “We are very pleased to announce the signing of the management contracts for these 9 hotels, bringing our portfolio to 46 and increasing our workforce to over 2500 personnel. The hotels are a strong addition to our portfolio and current brand mix and we look forward to bringing our extensive expertise and skills to the ongoing operation of these hotels”.

Marriott International recently announced the launch of a new global sales strategy to significantly improve the delivery of its sales and account management services in Russia. This new sales structure and focus on Russia reflects Marriott’s commitment to this growing customer base and the importance of the country as a key global source market.Marriott International is well on its way of meeting its goal of doubling its presence in Europe from 40,000 rooms to 80,000 rooms from 2010 to 2015. The company sees expansion in Russia as a key driver in continuing to facilitate that growth. With 12 properties in Russia including the recently opened Courtyard Kazan, Marriott has three additional hotels currently under development in Russia including the Courtyard Irkutsk City Center and the Courtyard Moscow Pavelestskya, both scheduled to open later this year. In addition, the Krasnodar Marriott Hotel is set to open in 2012.

As Marriott continues to expand its presence and focus on Russia as a key source market it is introducing a new sales structure and enlarging its Global Sales Organization (GSO). With a more robust GSO in Russia, the company is able to serve more accounts across the Marriott portfolio of brands and capture more business from key buyers who have significant local and international lodging requirements.

Neal Jones, vice president of Marriott’s Global Sales Europe said “Our new approach to global sales in Russia reaffirms our commitment to this important market and will serve to further strengthen our position as Russia’s preferred lodging supplier with true global reach. We see significant growth in both regional and outbound travel from Russia, and are now prepared to better serve our customers.”

The Rezidor Hotel Group announces two new Park Inn by Radisson hotels in Africa: The Park Inn Polokwane in the South African province Limpopo will feature 160 rooms and is scheduled to open in Q1 2013. The Park Inn Nairobi Westlands in Kenya will add 126 rooms to Rezidor’s pipeline and welcome the first guests in Q4 2013. The Park Inn Polokwane is Rezidor’s third Park Inn by Radisson hotel in South Africa; following Sandton and Cape Town. Polokwane (“place of peace”) is located in Limpopo, the country’s northernmost province, and is a major economic centre. Its proximity to the neighbouring countries of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland, as well as a convenient distance from Kruger National Park make it the ideal regional gateway to South Africa.

The brand new property will be located along the existing Polokwane Golf Course and across the road from the new Peter Mokaba Sports Stadium. The International Airport will be 7 km away. Besides 160 modern and comfortable guest rooms, the hotel will offer a signature RBG grill restaurant, 580 square meters of meeting facilities, a gym, an outdoor swimming pool, and ample parking.

The Park Inn Nairobi Westlands is Rezidor’s first Park Inn by Radisson on Kenya and also the first in East Africa. It will be located in Woodvale Grove in the popular commercial and economic Westlands area of Nairobi, 5 km northwest of the city centre. The local head quarters of the United Nations and several international businesses are nearby. Nairobi itself is Kenya’s capital – a thriving modern city with 3 million inhabitants and the commercial centre of East Africa. Nairobi is also nicknamed the “Safari Capital City of the World”.

The new hotel will offer 126 rooms, an RBG grill restaurant, a bar & lobby lounge, 2 meeting- and 2 board rooms, a business centre, a gym, and a rooftop swimming pool and terrace.