The multi-million revamp of McFit continues, with the completion of its first new-look studio in Munich Laim, which will soon be followed by three more in the city. “The modernisation offensive in Munich is an important step for the McFit brand and a strong signal for the future,” says Stephan Pallmann, director brand and customer management RSG Group. “We are certain that the fresh look and new ideas will offer

Luxury boutique hospitality brand Aman has unveiled plans to open its first resort and wellness sanctuary in the Maldives, expanding its global portfolio of 35 resorts and residences. Set on a private island in the Vaavu Atoll, Aman Maldives will feature 52 luxury pool villas and 16 branded residences. True to the brand's dedication to wellness, the resort’s 2,638sq m spa will be located on its own private island. “Aman

Plans have been revealed for a five-star Maldivian spa island designed by Yuji Yamazaki – the architect behind the world’s first underwater villa. The development is scheduled to open in September 2020. Located in the Maldives’ North Male Atoll, Kagi Maldives Spa Island will feature Baani Spa Wellness Centre, a 1,500sq m purpose-built spa designed to provide personalised outcome-focused wellness experiences which help guests ‘release, restore and regain’. The spa

Hotel group General Hotel Management (GHM) has revealed details of The Chedi Kudavillingili, its first resort in the Maldives, which will open later this year. The mixed-use resort development, which is part of a global expansion plan by GHM, will be located on a coral island and will have a Maldivian aesthetic to its architecture by Group X and interiors by URBNarc. It will feature 63 island-based villas and 36

COMO Hotels and Resorts is gearing up to reopen their Cocoa Island private island resort in the Maldives on 9 January following a seven-month refurbishment. “The Maldives has become a highly competitive market,” said Olivier Jolivet, COMO Group’s CEO. “Luxury hotel companies keep raising the ante, from building ‘reclaimed islands’, to tunnelling out underwater wine cellars. Sometimes we forget that nature is powerful, and simplicity has a very important role

Pullman ’s Maldives Maamutaa Resort will open two villas with underwater bedrooms this November, allowing guests to see the island’s vibrant marine life up close during their stay. The resort, designed by Blink Design Group with interiors by Miaja Design Group, opened at the end of September and is spread across 18 hectares of landscaped garden in the Gaafu Alifu Atoll. It has 122 villas that are either beachside or

The Emerald Collection is expanding its portfolio with the development of three new resorts – the newly-opened five-star Emerald Maldives Resort and Spa and two further properties in Zanzibar. The company, which is based in Italy and owned by the Scarapicchia Group, designs, develops and operates its own resorts. The 20-hectare, 120-villa Emerald Maldives Resort was designed by Edward David Poole, an American architect currently living in Singapore, using natural

The JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa is set to open this autumn on the island of Vagaru, Shaviyani Atoll, in the Maldives. With architectural design concept, interior design and art consultancy from Miaja Design Group, the resort takes design inspiration from nature and fauna, with a distinct emphasis on organic elements and modern lines. The interiors focus on comfort and lightness combined with unique experiences in a genuine Maldivian

Architects Wilkinson Eyre are to create a new visitor attraction in the form of a massive biome complex, near Reykjavik. The Aldin Biomes have just received planning permission and when complete, will showcase a tropical environment and local food production methods, as well as a range of wellness offerings, including barfus walks and yoga. The 48,000sq ft structures, designed for client Spor í sandinn, have been conceived as a major

Lux Resorts & Hotels has unveiled its latest Maldivian opening, Lux North Male Atoll, which includes 67 contemporary whitewashed double-storey penthouses and a vibrant South Beach aesthetic. Set back from the resort, the translucent overwater Lux Me Spa features a menu where the healing power of touch, water therapy, and breath-work come into play. The Lux Me Spa includes five overwater spa treatment villas, one overwater beauty salon with a

MURAKA – the world’s first underwater residence – has opened at Hilton Hotels’ Conrad Rangali in the Maldives. The new US$15m (€13.3m, £11.6m) space, which is set five metres beneath the Indian Ocean, spreads over two levels and features three bedrooms, a gym, bar, and infinity pool. Guests at the Crown Company-designed villa also have round-the-clock access to a butler who resides on the premises. Other amenities at Conrad Maldives

Hospitality architects working in ecologically sensitive parts of the world have a responsibility to ensure their projects are sustainable, even after building work has completed, Wong Chiu Man has told CLADglobal. “Guests increasingly seek out the special and the meaningful, and they are drawn to remote places with the potential to host unique leisure spaces,” said the WOW Architects founder. “The question and responsibility facing hoteliers and designers is how

The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island hotel has announced the submersion of what it claims is the world's first undersea residence, which will be completed in Q4 2018. Crown Company, which owns the hotel, has invested US$15m in The Miraka (meaning ‘coral’ in Dhivehi, the local language of the Maldives). The company’s director, Ahmed Saleem, is the named architect, and the project is being constructed by New Zealand aquarium technology firm

Hospitality giant Hilton has announced an agreement with real estate firm Ithaafushi Investment to manage its new-built resort in the Maldives. Spanning three islands on the South Male Atoll, the Waldorf Astoria Maldives will be the second hotel in the Maldives for Hilton and will join 10 other Waldorf Astoria properties which are already open, or currently under development in the Asia Pacific. While few design details have been released,

Inge Moore and her team at Muza Lab has completed the redesign of the Kanuhura in the Maldives, a private island retreat, taking her inspiration from the ‘gypset’ – people who enjoy the unconventionality of a nomadic lifestyle "with the sophistication and speed of the jet set." Muza Lab has redesigned the entire resort, including the 1,035sq m (11,141sq ft) Kokaa Spa, named after a local butterfly and designed to

Spa consultancy and management company Duniye Spas will operate the spa the the upcoming Hurawalhi Resort in the Maldives, an eco-conscious resort set to open 1 November. The 600sq m (6,458sq ft) spa will feature five overwater treatment rooms with outdoor baths and glass floors – designed for clients to watch fish and ocean creatures as they have a treatment, said Renate Hermes, group spa director for Duniye Spas. Treatment

Guests at a new resort in the Maldives will be able to sleep under the stars, with a retractable roof built into every master bedroom. The roofs at the Soneva Javi resort, which will have its soft opening in October, can be opened at the touch of a button. Described by Sovena as “an evolution of the water villa experience”, the retractable feature is one of several unorthodox additions the

The developers of a luxury island resort opening this year the Maldives have claimed it will be one of the most eco-conscious ever created in South Asia – with thousands of solar panels used as a design feature. Developer Crown & Champa Resorts claims that the Hurawalhi Island Resort will “put as much back into its surroundings as it takes out.” New York architect Yuji Yamazaki has created a futuristic,

The 77-villa St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort is set to open in September, complete with a 2,000sq m (21,528sq ft) Iridium Spa that includes one of the biggest salt water hydrotherapy pools in the Maldives. Designed by Singapore-based WOW Architects, the St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort was short-listed for the World Architecture Festival Awards last year. The hydrotherapy pool, named The Blue Hole pool, will accommodate up to 12 guests,

The boutique five-star Milaidhoo Island Maldives is set to open this November on a small 300m by 180m island set in the heart of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Baa Atoll region of the Maldives. Designed by local architect Mohamed Shafeeq, the resort will have a “barefoot informality” and include 30 over-water villas along with 20 beach villas, all with large private freshwater swimming pools. The resort’s spa will

The developers of a forthcoming luxury resort in the Maldives claim that they have finished constructing the world’s largest underwater restaurant. The 400-ton megastructure was created over 10 months in New Zealand and Japan and has now been transported to the resort in Lhaviyani Atoll, where it is being fixed to steel piles by divers 5.8 metres below a lagoon. Guests at the Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa will enter

Singaporean investor GJS Group has opened new facilities at the 105-key Loama Resort Maldives at Maamigili. Spa consultant Barry Warrington of IS Wellness and designer Mikael Tay of Singapore-based The Monocot Studio created four beach spa villas and four over-water villas that face southwest, so guests can enjoy the sunset. There is also a new 496sq m (5,339sq ft) spa with treatment rooms extending on a jetty over the sea.

Italian designer Michele Puzzolante of MPD Designs has designed a new concept resort called the Solar Floating Island (SFI) – a totally self sufficient energy generator, which will use solar energy as its sole source of power. The entire resort, constructed of floating pontoons, includes a five-star, 54-bedroom luxury hotel consisting of a 410sq m (4,413sq ft) spa and wellness centre offering a range of massages, manicures, pedicures, facials, body

Velaa Private Island has opened in the Maldives, with a Spa My Blend By Clarins. Located north from Malé, in the Noonu Atoll, the island is the vision of owner Jiri Smejc. The Czech billionaire wanted a Maldivian resort that met his standards for what a luxurious private resort should be and intends to “bring new meaning to private moments” in the Maldives. The resort, designed by architect Petr Kolar,

Velaa Private Island, a new luxury resort in the Maldives, will open in Q4 of 2013, with a Spa My Blend by Clarins. Privately owned and managed by Czech entrepreneurs Radka and Jiri Smejc, the Petr Kolar-designed resort is made up of 43 private villas and five four-bedroom residences, which focus on local materials and contemporary flourishes. Each private retreat offers a generous outdoor space and private pool. The spa

A luxury, multi-million dollar underwater resort will be built off the tropical island of Kuredhivaru in the Maldives, instead of Dubai as originally planned. Backed by Swiss investors, the US$50m (€38m, £32m) project is the brainchild of Polish company Deep Ocean Technology. The Water Discus Hotel, which has the go-ahead from the National Ministry of Tourism, will feature 21 rooms in the heart of coral reefs. It will comprise two