Hilton’s first luxury resort in Greece, Conrad Corfu, will open in the serene beachtown of Molos on the Greek island of Corfu in Q2 this year, with a design that celebrates the waterfront location with a series of lagoons and pools. The 136-key hotel, which will have its own 200m of beachfront, will be operated as part of a franchise agreement between the Greek hotel-owning Troulis family and Hilton’s Conrad

Work is underway on a £19.7 million waterfront leisure centre in Newport, which will be one of the UK's first net zero leisure centres. Replacing an ageing facility, Newport Leisure Centre is being built to BREEAM standards and will be powered solely by renewable energy. Expected to be completed in the spring, the facilities will include a modern leisure pool, with a lazy river and slides, a teaching pool for

The Swiss health and wellbeing destination, Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, has launched a new facility staffed by medical professionals called the Tamina Health Centre. The four-floor facility is named after the Tamina Gorge, the source of the resort’s healing waters. Staffed by a team of more than 100 healthcare professionals daily during the week, the centre will be led by chief medical officer Dr Alexandra Dopplinger. Dopplinger told Spa Business,

Perth and Kinross Council has officially opened the £36 million Blairgowrie Recreation Centre – Scotland’s first Passivhaus leisure development. Designed by architects Holmes Miller, which specialises in carbon neutral development, the leisure centre sets a new benchmark for sustainable sports and leisure buildings in Scotland. The UK currently has only one other leisure centre built to Passivhaus standards: St Sidwell’s Point in Exeter, Devon. Blairgowrie replaces an outdated 1980s facility,

Work is underway in the London Borough of Ealing on a landmark leisure centre to replace the old Gurnell Leisure Centre, which remained closed after COVID. The modern complex will include London’s third Olympic-sized swimming pool, a waterpark with slides, fitness studios, a climbing wall, a soft play area and a café. Outside will be a new skatepark, BMX track and children’s playground. Green space around the new leisure centre

A luxury Canadian day spa nestled in a 600-acre protected forest reserve in Quebec has recently been elevated with a new two-floor wellness facility, designed to inspire relaxation and reconnection with nature. Since launching in Bromont in 2005, Balnea Spa + Thermal Reserve has positioned itself as a wellness retreat in nature committed to immersing guests in the beauty of its surroundings. The centrepiece of the new facility is a

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

Lifestyle hospitality company Sbe has revealed more details about its ambitious new health and wellness lifestyle concept, The Estate, following its initial teaser in June. The Estate will comprise a global network of luxury wellness resorts and residential properties driven by a commitment to functional and preventive medicine through diagnostics and therapeutics powered by longevity clinic operator Fountain Life. In addition to cutting-edge medical care, each location will feature medi-wellness

A multi-million-euro geothermal spa and leisure centre, called Terme Bjelovar, is scheduled to open in the Croatian city of Bjelovar in Q3 of 2025. Already six years in the making, the project in Veliko Korenovo is projected to cost €38 million (US$41.2 million, £32.6 million) to complete – according to Dario Hrebak, mayor of Bjelovar, who says the facility will “revitalise the city”. Terme Bjelovar will be home to a

The Walton family, owner of US supermarket chain, Walmart, has opened the doors to a new corporate health, fitness and wellness centre at the company's Bentonville campus. The Walton Family Whole Health and Fitness and Children’s Enrichment Center by Duda Paine Architects, represents a significant investment in the health of Walmart employees. The fitness centre runs to 360,000sq ft, while the children's centre covers 73,000sq ft. According to Alice Walton

Huafa Snow World, a 131-hectare sport and entertainment destination in Shenzhen, China, designed by architecture firm, 10 Design is slated to open in 2025. The development is anchored by a 80,000sq m indoor ski resort, currently expected to be the largest of its kind in the world when it opens. Huafa Snow World will have a balance of retail, entertainment, commercial, hospitality, civic and cultural elements with the aim of

Rural Scottish retreat Murrayshall Country Estate has received the green light for its £30 million (US$38 million, €34.8 million) masterplan. The proposal includes plans for an extension to the 40-key four-star hotel in Scone, Perthshire, as well as the addition of a new spa and leisure facility with treatment rooms, a spa pool, spa cafe, gym and studio, a leisure pool and outdoor spa terrace. Proposed updates also include a

Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, UK, has opened a life-sized replica of a healthcare centre for infants, offering visitors an opportunity to discover how new and expectant mothers in the early 1960s were cared for and supported. The new Lea Road Infant Welfare Centre is housed in its own building, allowing visitors to explore a waiting room, doctor’s surgery, a dispensary and other exhibits – as well as meet

Banyan Tree Group has refreshed its luxury hotel in Mérida, Mexico, with a new Angsana Spa inspired by Asian and Mexican therapies. Located in four acres of lush green tropical gardens, the newly built wellness pavilion is part of Hacienda Xcanatun, Angsana Heritage Collection’s property-wide expansion project. The spa stands above a tranquil pond and blends discreetly into the surrounding natural foliage thanks to a design blending the boundaries between

London has a new double Olympic skating centre following a £30m investment by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. The aim is to encourage physical activity and community within the local population. In addition to the rinks, it has a large gym and a dance studio, as well as community spaces and a café. Designed by architects FaulkerBrowns, The Lee Valley Ice Centre will open on Saturday 17 June, with

London’s Victoria and Albert Museum has launched the final phase of its huge new photography centre, making it the largest space in the UK housing a permanent photography collection. The V&A Photography Centre features seven galleries, showcasing 600 pieces from the V&A’s vast, 200-year-old photography collection. The first phase of the project launched in 2018, with three galleries designed by architects David Kohn. The final phase sees the addition of

A £186m cultural centre, set to transform the arts and music scene globally, will open its doors in June this year. Factory International, based in Manchester UK, but with a global outreach, is the largest investment in a national cultural project in the UK since the opening of London's Tate Modern in 2000. The centre will house 13,350sq m of flexible floor area, utilising supersized moveable walls that can be

Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN) has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to bring purpose-built indoor adventures centres to the Kingdom. The new Discovery Adventures centres will integrate Discovery’s media content and will be designed to enable young people to "be entertained and gain informed insights with educational value". SEVEN, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), has a goal of transforming the entertainment

The first Blue Zones Center is set to launch in Miami, Florida, showcasing the next generation of longevity medicine. The facility is underpinned by Blue Zones ’ research which has identified evidence-based ways to help people live longer and stay well. The company's work is rooted in explorations and research done by National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner, who identified the ‘blue zones regions’ around the world where people live extraordinarily

The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), the developer behind the AMAALA tourism project on the shores of the Red Sea, has revealed detailed plans for a marine life institute. Designed by Foster and Partners, the institute will function as both a scientific research centre and a tourist destination, with 10 zones providing a range of experiences, from augmented reality to submarine dives. The 10,340sqm institute will be built three levels

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have been selected as the architect for the Vltava Philharmonic Hall in Prague, Czech Republic. The first national concert hall to be built in the country in 100 years, the venue will be the home of the famous Prague Symphony Orchestra and will have an audience capacity of more than 1,800. BIG – which won an international competition between 19 other architectural practices to secure the

Global design practice Perkins & Will has unveiled plans for a net-zero operational carbon community sports centre, health club and cultural hub in Toronto, Canada. A first-of-its-kind for Ontario, the multi-purpose centre is set to achieve net-zero status through energy-efficient design and renewable energy systems, while adding much-needed facilities for the local community. Called North East Scarborough Community and Child Care Centre, the building has three levels. The lower level

Culturespaces has announced that its new digital art centre, Fabrique des Lumières, will open in Amsterdam on 22 April 2022. Located in the historic former gas plant of Westergasfabriek – built in 1885 by the Imperial Continental Gas Association – the cultural attraction will use "cutting-edge technology" to create immersive exhibitions devoted to some of the most celebrated figures in art history. The venue has a total surface area of

The team behind downtown Miami’s upcoming mixed-use development, Legacy Hotel & Residences, has signed a joint venture deal called Blue Legacy Ventures (JV) with faith-based nonprofit integrated health system Adventist Health. Together the JV will lease and operate a first-of-its-kind 120,000sq ft health and wellbeing facility called Blue Zone Centre. The location is Adventist Health's first flagship centre for wellbeing. Blue Zones employs evidence-based ways to help people live longer,

Planning approval has been granted to what is set to become one of the first Passivhaus-certified leisure buildings in the world. The new Spelthorne Leisure Centre in Staines, Surrey – which will be owned by Spelthorne Borough Council – has been designed by GT3 Architects and Passivhaus specialists Gale and Snowden. With sustainability and wellbeing at its core, the building will be optimised to reduce energy in use by up

Los Angeles is to get a new leisure and mixed-use district called Fourth & Central, with masterplanning by LA-based Studio One Eleven. Denver-based developer, Continuum Partners and site owner, LA Cold Storage, have lodged a planning application with the City of Los Angeles for the redevelopment of the land which has been owned by LA Cold Storage for over 50 years.   The downtown gateway site will be reimagined with the

BrewDog has signed a lease for a visitor centre, restaurant and rooftop brewery on the iconic Las Vegas strip. To be located above the Showcase Mall, plans announced by the Scottish brewer for the space include a brewery, an "urban forest", an event and entertainment space and a retro game zone. BrewDog co-founder James Watt had hinted at a Las Vegas launch earlier this year, when he teased that plans