Hotel operator Aman has opened a third resort in Japan that has been designed by the late architect Kerry Hill and his team to capitalise on its lush forest surroundings. The 26-room Aman Kyoto, announced in February, is situated in a hidden garden close to Kinkaky-ji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, near the centre of the prefecture. The 80ac (32ha) Aman Kyoto site comprises 72ac (29ha) of permanent forest

Winstanley Architects & Planners and LandDesign have created a masterplan for a 821ac (332ha) resort in Puerto Rico with a focus on health, wellness and sustainability. Ponce Paradise, located between the existing city of Ponce and the Caribbean Sea, will combine a new town with a wellness offering, a canal quarter, a beachfront and a preservation area. Infrastructure such as a micro-grid and a farm-to-table agricultural program will help to

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

Waldorf Astoria has taken on a hotel and spa built on the beach and into the foot of a hillside at the tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula that is only accessible by the privately owned Dos Mares Tunnel. Formerly known as The Resort at Pedregal, the 25-acre resort, situated at Pedregal in Los Cabos, has 119 guest rooms and suites, all of which have ocean views, private plunge pools

Swedish architect Martin Brudnizki has revealed plans for the new Six Senses Kitzbühel alpine resort and residences. The resort, owned and developed by Walther Staininger, is scheduled to open in December 2021 and will include a Six Senses hotel with extensive spa and wellness offerings, apartments and chalet residences. Playful elements will see residents able to dine in an igloo. Six Senses Kitzbühel is located in the Austrian Hohe Tauern

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

Four Seasons will open a resort in Los Cabos, Mexico this November, designed by Guerin Glass Architects. The Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas will have 141 bedrooms, including 23 suites, designed to integrate indoor-outdoor living. In the hotel, native landscaping and layers of texture – metal, wood, glass, plaster and stone – will contrast with vibrant local art to create an elemental luxury designed to feel warm

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

Cyprus-based hospitality group Stademos Hotels has unveiled its latest resort, Amara, a 207-bedroom hotel in the coastal town of Limassol. With the architecture and interior design of the new build carried out by SB Architects, David Rockwell Studio and WA Interiors, the hotel’s interiors were inspired by Cyprus’ intricate heritage, with cultural influences and architectural details expressive of the island’s Mediterranean landscape. The floor-to-ceiling windows welcome an abundance of natural

Hoshinoya Resorts has opened its seventh property, a luxury 50-room hot spring resort in Guguan, Taiwan. The abundant natural water that rushes down the Xueshan Mountain range, at 9,800ft, and into the Dajia River is heated by the earth’s core, turning into natural hot springs. Hoshinoya Guguan features architecture and landscapes crafted to blend with the natural surroundings. The natural spring waters of the valley flow through the property’s outdoor

Destination spa Lefay will open a luxury eco spa resort in the Italian Dolomites on 1 August. Located in the ski area of Madonna di Campiglio, Lefay Resort & Spa Dolomiti features 88 suites and 22 branded residences, as well as a 5,000sq m Lefay spa – one of the largest spas in the Alpine region. The resort was designed by architect Hugo Demetz, who used traditional materials such as

Hyatt Hotels will bring the Alila brand to Europe for the first time by putting its name to the Golf Resort La Gruyère to create the Alila La Gruyère resort, which is set to open in Switzerland in 2023. Overlooking a picturesque lake, Alila La Gruyère will offer an 85-bed hotel and wellness retreat as well as a golf course by Robert Trent Jones Jr and a range of residences.

A new project in Mexico will be focused on a transformational travel experience designed to increase guests’ level of consciousness and help them live a happier, healthier and more abundant life. With a slogan of ‘Sleep once and wake up forever,’ Awakening Sanctuary will include a hotel designed by ARQMOV that follows the flow of nature’s elements. The first phase of the opening in 2020 will offer guests a series

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,

International design practice WOW Architects have been selected to create a 338-key resort with biophilic elements in Singapore. The as-yet-unnamed getaway, which will be situated on a 4.6-hectare peninsula near Singapore's Central Catchment Reserve, will also boast 24 eco-lodge tree houses that blur the "boundaries between nature and living spaces". Speaking on the project, WOW's co-founder, Wong Chiu Man, said: "Our building and its systems adopt a biophilic attitude, by

Marriott International has concluded the final phase of expansion and renovations at its recently rebranded South Florida property, JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort and Spa in Aventura, Florida. Formerly Turnberry Isle Miami, the resort is part of Marriott's Autograph Collection. The extensive works have seen a doubling of capacity to 685 rooms, extensive renovation of amenities and the overhauling of two golf courses. Central to the property's pivot to resort

Australian architecture group Architectus and interior design practice Wilson Associates (WA) have completed the expansive Skye Niseko resort in Hokkaido, Japan. Situated opposite the Mt. Fuji-lookalike Mt. Yotei, the 105-key hotel boasts a variety of wellness amenities, including three onsen spas, a float tank (said to be the first in Hokkaido), and a gym. Highlights of the spa menu include a number of bodywork services, massage treatments, facials, and stress

International architecture studio MKV Design (MKV) have completed work on a new 44-key spa resort in Mykonos – Greece's "Island of the Winds". Nestled between white-painted Cycladic buildings and the wine-dark (to use Homer's words) Aegean, the Mykonos Riviera Hotel and Spa – echoing the surrounding seascape – features a swirl of aquamarine, stone, and marble accents. Leisure and wellness facilities include an infinity pool and a 500 sq m

Sofitel Villa Borghese Rome is on track to launch this summer, following an extensive renovation by French architect and designer Jean Philippe Nuel. Situated near the city centre, amidst the Trevi Fountain, Villa Medici, and the Spanish Steps, the refurbished 19th-century building features 78 rooms and suites with Hermès amenities, a rooftop restaurant, and a fitness centre. Renderings of the project show that some guest quarters will feature quadratura ceilings

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

Family-owned COMO Hotels and Resorts will open its first hotel in continental Europe next month, the COMO Castello del Nero in Italy. The Tuscan hotel will be the fifteenth property in the Group’s global portfolio. The 740-acre historic estate is situated in the Chianti wine region of Italy, a 30-minute drive from Florence and Siena. At the heart of the estate is a 12th century castello, featuring 50 rooms and

Neath Port Talbot council has greenlit plans for the Afan Valley Adventure Resort – a highly anticipated leisure destination set to rise on a 325-acre former forestry plantation in South Wales. The new attraction, which is being overseen by Peter Moore OBE – of Center Parcs fame – will comprise 600 trail lodges, a 100-room spa hotel, restaurants, and a plethora of sports and recreational facilities, including a survival academy

The Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) Angkor – once the official residence of the French governor of the Cambodian protectorate, and a pied-à-terre for journalists and émigrés – is set to reopen its doors this spring, following a US$60m (€52.7m, £45m) renovation. Designed to evoke the "tropical modernism" of present-day Siem Reap, the mansion-like hotel will be managed by international hospitality group Avani Hotels and Resorts and feature 60 new rooms

Luxury hotel operator Aman will open its third resort in Japan this November with the launch of Aman Kyoto, which will include a spa concept themed around the property’s natural spring water. Situated in a hidden garden close to Kinkaku-ji Temple (Golden Pavilion), the resort, with 24 bedrooms and two two-bedroom villas, draws on the country’s ryokan (traditional inn) and onsen (hot spring) concepts to provide an authentic yet contemporary

Hyatt has opened Miraval Austin in Texas, US, the brand’s second wellness resort to open outside of its flagship property in Tucson, Arizona, US. Set on 220 acres in Texas Hill Country overlooking Lake Travis, Miraval Austin was previously the Travaasa Austin Resort, which was acquired by Miraval in December 2016, just before Hyatt acquired Miraval in January 2017. Offering 117 guestrooms and suites, a Life in Balance Spa, a

Global real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson (NYSE: KW) has appointed ultra-luxury hotel group Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to manage Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort, which is set to open in 2022 after a complete renovation of the property. Located on the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawai'i, the iconic Hawaiian retreat has laid dormant since 2011. Conceptualised and developed by explorer Johnno Jackson in the early 1960s,

British real estate company SUSD has announced that it has gained planning consent to develop the Grotto Estate – a 3.5-hectare country retreat on the banks of the Thames river in Lower Basildon, UK. Designed by Paul Forster, the future property, which will expand on a Georgian-era mansion said to have been designed by the renowned landscape architect Capability Brown, will feature 53 rooms and six two-bedroom detached lodges, two