Architect Bill Bensley has announced plans for a luxury sustainable 'human zoo' hotel and spa project. Bensley’s concept will involve guests staying like caged animals within a luxury hotel and looking out onto an expansive wildlife sanctuary park full of rescued endangered animals. Bensley design studio’s vast 2084-key project named World Wild is comprised of seven hotels spread throughout Asia, Africa and Australia covering a total 654,867sq m. The concept's

Plans to build a new BDP -designed 4,850-seat stand at Old Trafford cricket ground have been approved, meaning the venue's capacity will rise to 26,700 and that it will become the UK's largest cricket ground outside of London. As well as the extra seating, the plans will see the creation of a cricket museum and a shop. The current Red Rose Suite will be replaced with a more modern suite

The Wuxi Taihu Show Theatre, designed by Steven Chilton Architects with a forest of bamboo-inspired columns around its perimeter, has opened in Jiangsu Province, China. Built to house a permanent water show by Franco Dragone, with its designs released last year, the 2,000-seat theatre was inspired by China's largest bamboo forest – the Sea of Bamboo Park in Yixing. The circular building is wrapped in a full-height glazed façade and

The newly opened Higgins Hotel New Orleans has been designed by Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates (NBWW) and Kay Lang + Associates (KLA) to tell the story of World War II. The hotel is operated by Hilton as part of its Curio Collection and is owned by the National WWII Museum. Located on the museum's campus in the Arts and Warehouse District of New Orleans, it has been conceived

International hospitality company Hilton Hotels and Resorts has opened the Tangier Al Houara Resort and Spa – a palatial getaway in Tangier, Morocco. The 304-key resort – the company's third property in Morocco – occupies 234 hectares of oceanfront land and boasts three swimming pools, as well as an 850 sq m spa comprising a jacuzzi, sauna, beauty salon, steam room, and fitness studio. Other facilities include an 18-hole golf

The Biltmore – formerly the Millennium Hotel London Mayfair – is gearing up to open this spring. Renovated by luxury interior design studio Goddard Littlefair, the hotel – which overlooks the picturesque Grosvenor Square – features 257 guest rooms and 51 suites, plus an alfresco terrace, restaurant, cocktail bar, and fitness centre. Construction on the upscale establishment, which was originally designed in the 1960s by Swiss-British architect Richard Seifert, began

Curio Collection by Hilton has launched its newest venue, Lincoln Plaza London, in the city's Canary Wharf district. Featuring interiors created by architecture practices RPW Design and Design LSM, the 129-guestroom hotel is situated in the Isle of Dogs docklands and comprises a fitness centre, as well as two bars and restaurants. A sauna, steam room, and 12-metre pool, will be added to the property's offerings in April 2019. The

Curio Collection by international hospitality group Hilton has opened a boutique hotel on the site of a former steel mill in Asheville, North Carolina. Designed by local design studio Lagom Interiors, the 87-room Foundry Hotel – which will be operated by Charlestowne Hotels – features an herb garden, fitness room, and a 3,400 sq ft courtyard. Other facilities include a mixology bar and lounge as well as the Benne Eagle

Steven Chilton Architects (SCA) have unveiled the first set of renderings for their mesmerising Puzzle Ball Theatre in Guangzhou, China. The 2,000-seat conceptual structure, which – if constructed – would serve as a venue for performances by Belgian drama company Dragone, is inspired by Chinese puzzle balls. These objects, which often appeared in Victorian-era cabinets of curiosities, are made from a single block of ivory and feature intricate tracery and

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

Steven Chilton Architects (SCA) have revealed their design for the Wuxi Show Theatre in Wuxi, China. The firm, which has been shortlisted for this year’s World Architecture Festival Future Project Award, were inspired by the largest bamboo forest in China: the Sea of Bamboo Park in Yixing. The 2,000-person capacity theatre uses tightly packed white columns and a canopy made from gold anodised aluminium louvers to simulate the appearance of

In a bid to boost tourism in the region, China's government has announced plans to invest CN¥134bn (US$19.5bn, €16.7bn, £14.8bn) across 17 major entertainment and culture projects on the South China coast. Based around the southern Chinese coastal city of Beihai, three of the projects are worth more than CN¥10bn (US$1.5bn, €1.3bn, £1.15bn), with a further seven costing between CN¥2bn (US$300m, €256.5m, £228.4m) and CN¥10bn. The final seven will be

Italy-based spa consultants Wellness & Spa Solutions have helped to transform the spa at the Aleph Rome Hotel, part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, from an opulent 1930s bank building into an Arabian-style spa. The Aleph Spa is located in the basement and includes a thermal whirlpool, Finnish sauna, emotional showers, a heated indoor pool, massage cabins and an elegantly gilded hammam with marble mosaics. A contemporary gym with

French designer Philippe Starck has joined forces with hospitality giant The Hilton Group to create a surreal, 14-storey hotel in Metz, France. The property will be operated by Hilton's Curio Collection under a new brand, called Maison Heler. Envisioned as a monolithic and monochromatic tower, topped by an 18th-century style Alsace traditional house, Starck has described his plan to create “a habitable, surreal and poetic work of art that will

Spread across a 100-acre site near the town of Cancun in the eastern state of Quintana Roo, the Hilton Cancun resort and the Waldorf Astoria Cancun are set to open in 2021. Design firms SB Architects, EDSA and HBA have been hand-selected to create “a fluid transition between indoor and outdoor spaces” throughout both buildings and will take inspiration from the surrounding area's natural elements. The design of both properties

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,

Hospitality giant Hilton has opened its first Curio Collection property in the UK, renovating a landmark hotel in London's Trafalgar Square as a “sanctuary of style” in the heart of the city. The Trafalgar St. James has 131 bedrooms and 15 suites. Each has been designed by British studio Shh Architects with Art Deco flourishes and references to the history of the building, which once housed the offices of the

European real estate investment platform Henderson Park has acquired two Hilton-operated hotels in London and Birmingham – signalling the group’s entry to the rapidly-growing UK hotel market. The deal, believed to be worth around £500m (US$646m, €545m), will see Henderson Park take control of two of the UK’s largest hotels. The Hilton London Metropole is the capital’s second largest hotel by room count and one of Hilton’s flagship hotels, housing

Hospitality giant Hilton has unveiled a new in-room concept, Five Feet to Fitness, which brings more than 11 different fitness equipment and accessory options into the hotel room and creates an upselling option for hotel operators. Ryan Crabbe, senior director of global wellness for Hilton says the room is a “personal wellbeing stage”. “We like to describe it as a guestroom dedicated to movement and mindfulness,” he told CLAD. “It

Hilton and Paraguayan conglomerate Grupo Cartes have signed a management agreement for a new-build Hilton hotel in Asuncion, Paraguay, marking Hilton’s first foray into the country. Hilton Ascunsion, scheduled for 2021, will occupy part of a 600,000sq ft mixed-use complex in the city and will house a 4,400sq ft (409sq m) spa featuring five treatment rooms, four manicure and pedicure rooms, a relaxation space and a sauna. It will also

Hilton is partnering with Miami hospital Baptist Health South Florida to open a 184-bedroom hotel with a wellness centre and farm-to-table restaurant on the hospital campus. Operated by Interstate Hotels and Resorts, the Hilton Miami/Dadeland will include 34 bedrooms tailored to guests staying for long periods. CallisonRTKL Inc., the architect for the hotel, has fused best practices from healthcare and hospitality design with an aim to create a welcoming, compassionate

A 75,000sq ft (7,000sq m) rainforest will be situated halfway up a tower in the Hilton Worldwide hotel in Dubai as part of a "never before seen" entertainment experience created by ZAS Architects. In an exclusive interview with CLAD, principal DJ Armin said the firm is using innovative digital technology, advanced architectural practices and biophilic design to create an indoor/outdoor leisure experience that “can work successfully through all four seasons

Reality television star and socialite Paris Hilton, will open her own eponymous luxury hotel chain, Forbes is reporting. The 35-year-old granddaughter of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton will open the first locations in Dubai, New York and Las Vegas. Hilton has been working with Century Properties in the Philippines for the past few years, designing its Paris Beach Club for the Azure Urban Resort Residence, and her second Paris Beach

A 360-room luxury hotel designed by Herzog & de Meuron for Hilton Worldwide in Washington is now under construction. The Conrad Washington D.C.will feature within 10-acre mixed-use development CityCenterDC, which is being created in the heart of the US capital. HKS Architects are collaborating on the hotel project, as are interior design firm Rottet Studio. Turner Construction Company is the project’s general contractor. Few design details have been released, but

Hilton Worldwide has launched a new lifestyle hotel brand and plans to open the first property in Reykjavik, Iceland next month. Canopy by Hilton – a joint venture between Hilton and real estate firms The Buccini/Pollin Group and Federal Realty – will lend its name to a series of hotels opening across Europe and the US in the next two years. Canopy hotels will provide “unique and local experiences” by

Some of the world’s best-known hospitality operators are vying to open hotels in a new multi-million mixed-use waterfront destination in Oman, which will regenerate one of the oldest ports and market districts in the Arab world. Brands including Hyatt, Hilton, Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Banyan Tree and Viceroy have declared their interest in opening hotels in the Mina Sultan Qaboos Waterfront Project, which will enter the first phase of construction

Hilton Worldwide has opened it latest addition – the Mecanoo-designed Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – which features a dramatic facade comprising a cubic, moulded structure with a distinctive pattern and a vast glass-roofed atrium. The hotel, designed by the Dutch architects, will certainly have a visual impact on passengers arriving and departing from the airport, with the 3,150sq m (33,900sq ft) complex having three main elements: a plinth, a rotated