The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has revealed plans to expand its presence in Egypt with the renovation and operation of two historic hotel properties and the brand’s first-ever luxury river cruise.  In 2022, Mandarin Oriental announced it would open its  first Egyptian property, Mandarin Oriental Shepheard in Cairo. The hotel is undergoing a comprehensive renovation and is due to open in 2027. Ownership and development The river cruise, Old Cataract

Wilderness, an operator of 60 safari camps across eight African countries, has unveiled the second spa under its new concept called The Sanctuary, at Wilderness Bisate in Rwanda. The Sanctuary is a concept that pairs design and wellness with raw, restorative landscapes. The offering at the Rwandan property follows the opening of a different interpretation of The Sanctuary’s concept at Wilderness Mombo in Botswana. Read more about that property here.

Spelthorne Borough Council has opened the doors to a world-leading leisure centre built to Passivhaus standards. Spelthorne Borough Council is expecting the new Eclipse Leisure Centre to use between 60 and 70 per cent less energy than a typical modern leisure centre and will be a major step forward in helping the Council become carbon neutral. Located in Staines-upon-Thames, the facility includes a 25 metre main pool, learner pool, splash

Reservations are now open for Mandarin Oriental’s second London hotel, Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, set to open on 3 June. The luxury establishment will feature 50 guestrooms, 77 private residences and a luxury underground spa retreat. The new wellness facility – designed as a boutique counterpart to the flagship Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park spa – will cater to hotel guests, residents and the local community. The urban retreat will offer an indoor

The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has published the fourth edition of the Guide to Hydrothermal Spa & Wellness Development Standards The 230-page guide, developed in collaboration with the GWI Hydrothermal Initiative* members, continues to set the industry standard for designing and constructing thermal experiences and wet areas in commercial and residential properties. Originally published in 2014, the publication is designed to help stakeholders – including owners, operators and consultants –

Luxury hotel and spa operator Mandarin Oriental’s second London hotel will launch next January with a brand new spa designed as a boutique sister location to its flagship UK spa at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. Open to hotel guests, residents and the local community, the underground wellness retreat at Mandarin Oriental Mayfair will welcome its first guests in early 2024. Facilities will include an indoor heated swimming pool, a sauna,

Luxury hotel operator Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) has announced the opening of its first Greek property and spa, Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino. Described as a sustainably-driven destination, the new beachfront resort in Messenia has been developed in collaboration with Temes – the property owner and a developer known for its commitment to sustainability. The design team behind the 99-key resort was Tombazis & Associates Architects and K-Studio. Their brief

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) is set to open its third London hotel and spa in the British capital in 2028, with design by PLP Architecture. Situated on London's South Bank with dramatic views over St Paul’s Cathedral, Mandarin Oriental Bankside, London will be part of the larger Bankside Yards development, which is planned to be the UK's first operationally fossil fuel-free major mixed-use development. The overall property is being

Madrid city council (Ayuntamiento de Madrid) has set out plans to develop a number of sports facilities in the surrounding areas of the existing Wanda Metropolitano stadium. The "sports city" project, in the eastern San Blas-Canillejas district, is led by the council and is set to transform a site which was originally earmarked for an Olympic park during the city's failed bids for the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. Facilities

Architects Bertil Harström and Johan Krauppi have created a free-floating hotel on one of Sweden's longest rivers, with the micro-destination featuring a spa among its offerings. Owned and conceptualised by the architectural duo, the circular Arctic Bath Hotel and Spa will float on the Lule River during the summer months, with the structure frozen in place through the winter. It's set to open in Harads on 15 January 2020. The

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have released images of Copenhagen Zoo's giant pandas settling into its completed yin-yang-shaped enclosure. Construction of the Panda House began in 2017 and earlier this year it became home to Mao Sun and Xing Er, who are being loaned from China to Denmark. BIG designed the 2,450sq m (26,400sq ft) enclosure with the wellbeing of the pandas and with the potential for their mating in mind.

Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como opened this week, following the renovation of the historic lakefront property. The hotel is located in Blevio, and is surrounded by natural beauty, enjoying a private, serene setting on the sunlit shores of the lake, nestled within verdant botanical gardens. Mandarin Oriental acquired the resort, which was previously CastaDiva Resort & Spa, last year. The 19th Century Villa Roccabruna is at the heart of the

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will manage a second luxury hotel in Istanbul, Turkey. The project, which also features branded residences, is scheduled to open in 2022. UNStudio from Amsterdam has been appointed as the masterplanner and architect. The new development comprises three standalone towers and is located in the exclusive Etiler residential area, close to the city’s central business district. One of the towers will house Mandarin Oriental Etiler, Istanbul

The Andaz Hotel Munich Tor Schwabinger – Germany's first Andaz-branded hospitality venue – has opened its doors. Designed by Dutch architecture studio Concrete Architectural Associates to reflect what the group have called the "kaleidoscopic" cultural and artistic diversity of Bavaria, the hotel boasts 234 rooms and 43 suites, as well as a spa, two bars, a pool deck, a gym, and a restaurant. The Andaz Spa – said to be

Work on Bjarke Ingels Group’s (BIG) Panda House at the Copenhagen Zoo is in full swing and is expected to be completed in time for the bears' arrival next spring. The unique 2,500 sq m enclosure, which is shaped like the famous dualistic yin-yang symbol, will house two giant pandas in two distinct habitats. A hybrid environment, the €20m (US$22m, £17m) exhibit will feature a hilly terrain of Nordic plants,

The first European iteration of The Standard Hotels franchise is gearing up to debut in London inside a Brutalist structure that once housed offices for the local city council. Formerly known as the Camden Town Hall Annexe, the 1970s-era concrete complex – located opposite London’s St Pancras and King Cross stations – will soon be transformed into a 266-room, 184,000 sq ft (170,940 sq m) luxury destination. The architects responsible

Handel Architects have released images of their latest project on the New Jersey Shore: the Asbury Ocean Club. Developed by iStar, the new mixed-development property, which will be located in the popular Asbury Park beachfront district, will rise 16 storeys and include a 54-room hotel as well as 130 residences. The estimated US$300m (€262m, £233m) complex – which will feature the interior design expertise of studios Anda Andrei and Bonetti/Kozerski

Dalian Wanda is celebrating the official opening of its Qingdao Movie Metropolis mega-development. The US$7.9bn (£5.7bn) scheme covers more than 400 acres and includes a theme park, 30,000sq m waterpark, yacht club and hotels, as well as the vast movie studio and film production facilities. Retail, restaurants and a huge cinema complex complete the mix. At the official opening, today (Saturday 28 April), Wanda CEO Wang Jianlin said: "This is

A year after the opening of the world’s longest bicycle bridge in Xiamen, China, Danish architecture firm Dissing+Weitling have won another large-scale infrastructure project in the city. A 20km (12.4mi) network of footpaths featuring seven “spectacular” pedestrian bridges, city officials want to create a large-scale network of elevated walkways, up to 4.5m (14.7ft) wide, that will lead residents and visitors through the mountainous landscape of Xiamen, “creating outstanding experiences in

New York-based hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany has revealed details of the newly-renovated spa at The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. The Spa at Mandarin Oriental is due to open in May this year and was overseen by Tihany and his design studio. The new spa is designed to create a luxurious and peaceful atmosphere to aid relaxation, and provide guests with ‘a haven of tranquility’. It unites traditional Chinese elements

Gary Sweet, CEO of English League Two football side Luton Town FC (LTFC), has branded delays in a decision over the club’s proposed stadium “unfathomable”. The club submitted a planning application for the 23,000-seat stadium to Luton Borough Council in August 2016, but despite having “answered all the questions” over the scheme, Sweet said the club is still awaiting a decision. “There is very little now we can possibly answer,

The University of Portsmouth has unveiled ambitious plans for a sustainable sports facility designed by architecture practice FaulknerBrowns. The complex, located on the corner of Portsmouth’s Ravelin Park, is the first major phase of the university’s £400m (US$569m, €455m) estate development masterplan, which aims to reshape its city centre campus to enhance the student experience and establish a public-facing presence in the city centre. The proposals – developed to “promote

British architect Amanda Levete has won the 2018 AJ/AR Jane Drew Prize, which celebrates individuals who have raised the profile of women in architecture through their work. Levete – who won the 1999 RIBA Stirling Prize for the Lord’s Media Centre, alongside her then-husband and business partner Jan Kaplický – is the founder of AL_A, a studio who have received acclaim for public projects such as Lisbon’s Museum of Art,

An international cricket stadium built using local materials and sustainable building practices has opened in Rwanda, with a design inspired by a bouncing ball and the country’s rolling hills. Cricket is Rwanda’s fastest growing sport and has been used as a tool to bring people together in the country, which was torn apart by genocide in 1994. To accommodate the growing demand and the counter the lack of purpose-built facilities,

The studio of Richard Rogers have been commissioned to design a luxury hotel and residences for hospitality group Mandarin Oriental in the fashionable heart of London’s Mayfair district. Due to open in 2021 between Bond Street and Regent Street on Hanover Square, the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair is described by developer Clivedale London as “an intimate, boutique property”. Architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners – who last year redesigned the entrance

Dutch designer Marcel Wanders has blasted minimalist hospitality design trends in an interview with CLADglobal. Wanders – best known for his colourful and often surreal hotel collaborations with the likes of Morgans Hotel Group, Park Hyatt and sbe – argued that architects and designers working in the hotel sector “should add fun and value to people’s lives”. “If you love design enough to give your life to it – studying

Hospitality brand Andaz has opened its first hotel in Southeast Asia, the Andaz Singapore. Located within DUO – a large integrated development spread across two sculptural towers in the Ophir-Rochor district – the hotel features 342 contemporary guestrooms, including 26 suites, with floor-to-ceiling windows framing views of the city-state. German architect Ole Scheeren designed the concave skyscrapers, which are 186 and 170m high and clad in a latticework of hexagonal