Salient has converted a 1990s development called Swabhumi Plaza into a boutique hotel in Kolkata, West Bengal. The plaza was built to celebrate the heritage of Bengal through performance, food and culture. The new Swabhumi Raajkutir hotel has been designed in the style of a pre-independence, 19th century Bengali home to transport guests back to the Bengali Renaissance. The design theme for the property is based on a fictitious story

OMA will design the new KaDeWe department store in Vienna, having won a competition with a design that combines shops, restaurants, a hotel and a rooftop park. Described by the developer Signa as "a modern version of a traditional department store with a mix of shops, restaurants and hotel," the project will involve the conversion of an existing building, La Rinascente, which is split into two volumes, with retail at

Spa designers Sparcstudio have completed a £14m ($17.2m, €15.8m) refurbishment of the Cottonmill Spa at Sopwell House Hotel, which has seen a three-storey glass-fronted extension and a private spa garden added to the Georgian property. The spa boasts bright, spacious rooms, Tom Dixon lighting, bespoke furniture, and a warm palette of natural tones complemented by the turquoise accents of the Onice Smeraldo marble which is used. At the heart of

Continuing the overhaul of its high-end hotel portfolio, Raffles has reopened Cambodia's Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor, following a six-month refurbishment. The property is the second flagship to receive investment, following Aedas and Alexandra Champalimaud's extensive overhaul of Raffles Singapore, which reopened in August this year. Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor, which opened in 1932, was originally designed by French architect Ernest Hébrard, who incorporated elements of Khmer architecture, art and furniture,

Naval architect Jean-Michel Ducancelle has designed a solar-powered floating hotel suite aimed at offering an eco-friendly and nomadic place for travellers to stay. The Anthénea pod was conceived as a luxury suite for hoteliers to offer their guests, but can be adapted for use as a spa, bar or restaurant – or anything else. The 50sq m (540sq ft) pod has three spaces: a day space, a night space and

Architects Vague Edge have revealed the third and final phase of the Pingjiang Homey Wild Luxury Hotel in China. The hotel has been built on three sites, ranging over mountainous terrain. The newly-completed building – the Dinghui – covers an area of 1,190sq m (12,800sq ft), and was designed to fit the unusual site on which it sits. The structure is a 45m- (148ft) long, narrow block that curves with the

Designs have been released for the latest edition of the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, northern Sweden, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The competition saw 126 applications received from artist teams across 34 different countries and 15 were chosen to create designs for the hotel, which will open on 13 December. In addition, three teams received a special invitation to create the new main and ceremony hall, as well

US waterpark and resort operator Great Wolf Resorts has announced plans to open its first venture overseas, with the Great Wolf Lodge opening in Oxfordshire, UK, in 2022. Great Wolf, which currently has 18 locations across North America, will submit a planning application later this month, with construction on the £200m (US$242.8m, €217.8m) venture scheduled to start in 2020. The London office of EPR Architects is leading the design work

High-end fitness giant Equinox has ventured into the hotel market with the opening of its first property in New York City, US. Located at the 72-storey skyscraper 35 Hudson Yards, the 212-bedroom hotel will focus on wellness. Facilities include a 60,000sq ft (5,574 sq m) Equinox-branded health club, a 27,000sq ft (2,500sq m) luxury spa and indoor and outdoor pools. There will also be a healthy-eating restaurant called Electric Lemon,

Marine works crucial to the development of a major resort in Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea have moved a step closer with the awarding of a construction contract to Archirodon. The marine infrastructure specialists have been appointed by The Red Sea Development Company to build a 3.3km (2.05 miles) crossing between the island of Shurayrah and the mainland, to enable the development of The Red Sea Project: a proposed

Porto-based architectural firm Miguel Cardoso Architecto, together with Madeirian designer Nini Andrade Silva, have created a boutique hotel in a 19th century manor house in the Portuguese city of Porto. The 68-bedroom Vila Foz Hotel & Spa is set in Porto’s Foz neighbourhood, and includes a spa dedicated to serenity and wellbeing. Within the manor house hotel, Miguel Cardoso Architecto was responsible for the painstaking restoration, as well as building

Virgin Galactic believes it has the necessary financial muscle to achieve commercialisation of its space tourism flights, after merging with investment partnership Social Capital Hedosophia (SCH). The transaction, which is due to complete during the second half of 2019, will deliver US$1.3bn (€1.16bn, £1.04bn) of equity to Virgin Galactic, made up of US$1bn (€890m, £800m) in common stock of the combined company (at US$10 per share) and up to US$300m

After five months of construction and an investment of CHF 45m (€40m), the completely renovated Grand Hotel Quellenhof in Switzerland has opened its doors. For 150 years, the Quellenhof has served as the flagship of Europe’s wellbeing & medical health resort in Bad Ragaz. Swiss interior designer Claudio Carbone has been responsible for the redesign and the development of a new concept which is centered around the hotel’s history and

Speaking in the new edition of CLADmag, designer André Fu reveals how he found inspiration for his designs for the new St. Regis hotel. “I was born in Hong Kong and so designing the hotel made me question exactly what my home town means to me,” he explained. “I wanted to go deeper than the stereotypical concept of lanterns, junks and temples and tap into my own memories of the

The Grade II listed, 17th century Grantley Hall hotel and wellness retreat will reopen today (6 July) near Ripon, UK. The property has undergone extensive renovation work over a three-and-a-half year period, with design by owner Valeria Sykes and now has a high-end gym, spa and a range of restaurants. The overarching vision is for the hotel to become one of Europe's top gym, spa, and wellness facilities. The property

International hospitality brand Cipriani is spearheading a US$450m (€395.3m, £353.9m) effort to convert the 1950s-era Hotel San Rafael in Punta del Este, Uruguay, into an expansive resort complex. Set to be designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly, the new Cipriani Ocean Resort and Club Residences will tower over Brava Beach and will feature 164 rooms suites, plus 800,000 sq ft (74,322 sq m) of residential space. The resort will also

Watercraft designer Max Zhivov has unveiled concept images of the ‘Tiny Eco-Hotel’ – an electric-powered houseboat geared for short-term travel on lakes and bays. The miniature retreat, able to accommodate four people, will have two parts: a mooring building, which will be permanently anchored to the lakebed, and the boat itself. The boat will comprise sleeping quarters, a bathroom, a kitchenette, and a sunbathing deck coated with sand, grass, and

Baca Architects has secured planning permission on behalf of Rothgen Group for a £25m hotel and spa in South Yorkshire, England, to be operated by Campbell Gray Hotels. The Tyram Lakes Hotel and Spa is anticipated to open in the second half of 2021, and will be part of a wider eco development around a series of lakes located in a 165-acre woodland site. Fifty eco lodges, currently under construction,

Marriott International’s current portfolio of 130 luxury hotels across ten countries and territories in Asia Pacific is poised to grow in 2019 with 13 new openings from JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and The Luxury Collection. "Asia Pacific's luxury travel industry is one of the fastest-growing in the world, driven by markets like China and India," said Marriott International's Peggy Fang Roe. "Global luxury travellers today are seeking more

The Langley, A Luxury Collection Hotel in Buckinghamshire, England has opened its doors, following an extensive six-year renovation project. The hotel has been restored and designed in partnership with Dennis Irvine Studio. Built between 1756 and 1760, the main Langley Park House is a grand Palladian mansion situated within iconic Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown-designed gardens. The building has been refurbished to allow historic original features to shine, reflecting the natural setting

Design practice, Yabu Pushelberg and architect Gensler have created a new property for hotel operator Four Seasons in Bengaluru, India. The development was undertaken in collaboration with hospitality development group, Provenance Land. Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru at Embassy One includes a 230-bedroom hotel and 105 Four Seasons Private Residences, some of the first of their kind on the subcontinent. The hotel is part of the Embassy One development at the

Details have emerged of Foster + Partners' designs for a London hotel project for French luxury conglomerate, LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE (LVMH), owner of brands such as Dom Pérignon, Krug, Moët & Chandon, Dior, Givenchy and Hublot. LMVH is planning an 83-key Cheval Blanc hotel on Grafton Street in the heart of Mayfair. The estimated £500m (US$636.3m, €570m) property, which is being developed by O&H Grafton, will

Hotel Hendricks, a 27-storey urban retreat taking shape a stone's throw from Fifth Avenue in New York, is on track to open its doors in June. Designed by Los Angeles-based interior specialist Marcello Pozzi, the destination will feature 176 guestrooms, a rooftop lounge and bar, a cafe, and a fitness suite. Fittings at Hendricks – all of which will give the property's common and private areas a 'boutique' and industrial

International spa and wellness consultants The E77 Company are working on a spa hotel in Lithuania designed specifically for millennial customers, which is due to open in late summer 2019. The Spa Hotel Esé – pronounced ‘essay’ – will be located in the spa town of Birštonas, surrounded by pine forests and the winding loops of the Nemunas River. The town is well-known for its clean air, therapeutic mud and

Chinese design practice AFSO have created a panoply of interior spaces at the St Regis Hong Kong, a recently opened resort that has been likened to a "curated mansion". Located in the city's Wan Chai district, the 27-storey flagship – the first venue from the St. Regis Hotels and Resorts hospiality group to debut in Hong Kong – features 129 guest rooms and suites as well as a pool, bar,

The Hôtel-Dieu de Lyon, a hospital founded in the 12th century by the semi-monastic Pontifices Fratres brotherhood, is set to reopen as a five-star resort in June following a four-year restoration. Situated on the banks of the Rhone in Lyons, France, the UNESCO World Heritage-designated hospital – in operation until 2010 – was restored by French architecture bureau AIA Architectes, who also reconverted the site's disused spaces into 8,000 sq

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