Royal Caribbean has revealed its Hero of the Seas cruise ship, home to the most pools at sea (nine), and a record-breaking 28 dining venues, as well as attractions including a waterpark with two new family raft slides. Other attractions include the Crown's Edge skywalk/zip line experience, the FlowRider surf simulator, the Adrenaline Peak rock-climbing wall, and the Lost Dunes mini-golf course. Arriving in Miami in August 2027, Hero of

Lifestyle operator Ennismore has announced two new Delano-branded hotel deals following the company’s partnership with capital investment company Cain International. Cain acquired a minority stake in Delano in 2024, enabling strategic growth for the brand. The two new properties are Delano SoHo New York, US, and Delano London, UK. The New York property and the renovation of the Delano Miami Beach hotel in the US are both in partnership with

Contrast bathing and social wellness start-up Othership has raised US$11.3 million (€10.5 million, £8.94 million) to expand its presence across the US. The Toronto-based firm is known for its social sauna and ice bath experiences, with three existing sites – two in Toronto, Canada and a US flagship in the Flatiron district of New York City. Othership will use the funds to increase the number of its sites in New

Urban Gym Group opened its first new site since acquiring Gymbox last October. The 22,000 site in London’s Finsbury Park will become the blueprint for future clubs. This is the 10th Gymbox in London. This hotly contested site was acquired by Gymbox in 2019, now part of Netherlands-based Urban Gym Group. The company has invested more than £250k in creating a health club with a nightclub feel. Architect and founder

Kerzner International has opened its first purpose-built Siro and the launch of the fitness and recovery-focused concept in Europe. Siro is a fully-integrated hospitality concept targeting guests looking to improve and enhance their active lifestyles. It’s built on five core pillars of wellbeing – nutrition, fitness, sleep, recovery and mindfulness. The wellness-centric hospitality brand, has only one other destination hotel – Siro One Za’abeel in Dubai, which opened in Q1

1Rebel has announced it will be opening a flagship site in Chelsea this summer, along with four more studios over the course of the next year. The site at 107 Kings Road was formerly tenanted by United Fitness Brands’ (UFB) offering three of its concepts: Barrecore, Reformcore and its only remaining Kobox location. The UFB business has now formally closed and the landlord has taken back control of the building.

Urban wellness brand Othership has ambitions to expand its social bathhouse concept throughout North America, according to CEO and co-founder Robbie Bent. The company’s city destinations combine contrast bathing, breathwork and guided emotional regulation to create a space for people to connect with themselves and their community. Offering 28 different classes, Othership hosts large-scale sauna and ice-bath classes that blend elements of Aufguss sauna with group therapy modalities including visualisation,

International luxury wellness brand Como Shambhala will unveil its largest-ever urban flagship in Singapore on 20 December 2023. The new space occupies 9,000sq ft on the fourth floor of Como Orchard, the new multi-floor lifestyle destination – which includes wellness, fashion, food and drink, and hospitality – created by the Como Group* in the company’s home city of Singapore. “Wellness sits at the heart of my own lifestyle choices,” says

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

A fully demountable stadium, designed by Fenwick Iribarren Architects and built from shipping containers, is now open and ready to host games during the FIFA 2022 World Cup. Called Stadium 974, the innovative design has been inspired by Qatar’s worldwide trade and seafaring. The name comes from 974 being the international dialling code for Qatar, as well as the exact number of shipping containers used in construction. Located across the

Virgin Voyages has taken delivery of its first cruise ship, which has reached completion after three years of construction. Scarlet Lady will set sail in March 2020 with more than 2,770 guests and 1,150 crew on board. It weighs in at 60,000 tonnes (66,000 tons), boasts 17 decks and uses 4,800kW of power. The ship is one of four that Virgin Voyages has ordered, with the others due for delivery

RJDL have created a café that is not only constructed from recycled shipping containers for sustainability, but that is designed in such a way as to espouse their use in construction for that reason. The Infinity Café is laid out in the shape of the infinity symbol, with the theme used to "emphasise the infinite possibilities of using a shipping container as a structural unit". Covering an area of 2,880sq

Virgin Voyages has unveiled the second ship in its upcoming cruise line-up. Valiant Lady follows the firm's inaugural ship Scarlet Lady and will sail seven-night Mediterranean itineraries out of Barcelona Spain when she debuts in May 2021. Named after the Latin word 'valere' and from the French origin 'vaillant', meaning bold, strong and courageous, the ship is designed to embody the idea that women design, captain, lead and champion change

Design studio Lead8 has unveiled a masterplan for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that would see one of the city's earliest townships transformed into an eco-living destination. Created for UEM Sunrise and Melati Ehsan Group, the Kiara Bay development would cover 73ac (30ha) and is aimed at creating a balance between the city, leisure and nature. There are three planned areas – the Waters, the Walk and the Village – which are

Doone Silver Kerr (DSK) have used 25 shipping containers, each 30ft (9m) in length, to create a 20-room aparthotel with design elements that optimise the use of space. Designed for Stow Projects and Ciel Capital, the Stow-Away hotel comprises five levels each made up of five containers. A reception area and restaurant are housed on the ground floor, with the guest rooms making up the upper four floors. In order

Interior design firm Hyphen & Co. has worked with pre-hab fitness brand P.volve to create a new flagship studio in New York's Soho district that accommodates and integrates technology for workouts. The 6,700sq ft (622sq m) studio houses a main exercise space capable of hosting 30 people that is equipped with an ergonomic floor to reduce the pressure on joints when people are training. The studio is also equipped with

Sculptor David Černý and architect Tomáš Císař from the studio Black n' Arch have designed a 135m ( 450ft)-tall tower for Prague shaped like an upended shipwreck with an observation deck at the top. Top Tower comprises a conventional high-rise tower with a base section that partially acts as a pedestal for the accompanying sculpture, which takes the form of a sunken ship's skeleton covered in seaweed. The sculpture is

Cultural heritage has become the latest focus for Microsoft in its AI for Good portfolio – a five-year commitment to using artificial intelligence to tackle some of society's biggest challenges. The project will create opportunities for designers and architects to collaborate on projects impacting facilities. "As we have learned more about the dimensions that make up cultural heritage, we've concluded that preserving cultural heritage isn't something that is solely nice

Architecture firm SPARK have won an international competition to design a new waterfront destination in Guangzhou, China. The planned 56-hectare mixed-use development, which will be constructed on the site of a 19th-century shipyard, will feature a sports hall and pavilion park as well as multiple dining, residential, and commercial facilities. According to SPARK the aim of the "design scheme is founded on the pragmatic principles of good connectivity, density and

Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas will operate a 60-bedroom hotel at The Forestias, a THB90bn (US$2.8bn), 119-acre green development at Bangna in Bangkok being developed by Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited (MQDC). The project is a mixed-use, multi-generational lifestyle project that will also incorporate a large forest ecosystem. Set to open in 2022, The Forestias will include residential housing, retail buildings, office buildings, a health centre, innovation centre, forest pavilion,

McDonald’s and Ross Barney Architects have collaborated on a recent project in the United States, showcasing a one-of-a-kind modern and environmentally-friendly fast food restaurant. The 19,000sq ft (1765sq m) steel and timber restaurant was inspired by McDonald’s commitment to sustainability, according to the restaurant, and is unlike anything in their current collection of over 37,000 restaurants. The glass facade is covered by a canopy of solar panels, which stretch far

The current trend of incorporating wellness into design shows no signs of stopping as renderings and animations from the latest Sir Richard Branson project, Virgin Voyages (a rebrand of the former Virgin Cruises), show a heavy wellness focus in its public areas. Featuring a running track, boxing ring, yoga deck, wellness pool and hydrotherapy pool, the ambitious cruise ship project is looking to change the way people think about sea

Asian real estate corporation New World Development has officially launched its “most ambitious” project to date: a museum-retail complex in the heart of Hong Kong's US$2.6bn (€2.2bn, £1.9bn) Victoria Dockside. The K11 Musea will form a high-end experiential retail, art, cultural and dining destination, and anchor the Tsim Sha Tsui harbourfront’s 3 million sq ft (278,700sq m) art and design district. Ground has now broken on the project and it

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) will transform Novorossiysk – Russia’s largest shipping port – adding dramatic buildings, public spaces and amenities for the city’s residents and visitors to enjoy the Black Sea coastline. Inspired, in part, by a time-lapse photograph – the Admiral Serebryakov Embankment masterplan features nine principal commercial and leisure buildings, with a total floor area of approximately 300,000sq m (3.2 million sq ft). Each structure, designed using parametric

One of Scandinavia’s best-known design studios, Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, have joined global firm Perkins+Will in a strategic partnership. In a joint statement, the two practices said the move will allow Perkins+Will to diversify its global talent, expand its cultural and civic practice and reinforce the caliber of its design portfolio, while Schmidt Hammer Lassen will be able to expand into new geographic markets, grow its client base, “and apply

An eco-friendly resort set on the coast of the Greek island of Rhodes will open in May 2018. Designed by Dimitris Melenos & Partners, the 266-bedroom Gennadi Grand Resort will be part of Lindos Hotel Group, and will focus on experiential travel along with an emphasis on immersive surroundings. Melenos has used a design ethos focusing on simplicity and functionality, with buildings creating small 'neighbourhoods' and internal green courtyards and

At first glance it may appear as just another cruise ship moored in Southampton – but look closer and you will see it is, in fact, a new spa hotel. UK-based boutique hotel operator Harbour Hotels' latest property occupies a prominent spot at Southampton Port’s Ocean Village marina and mimics the design of a super-yacht, helping it blend into its surroundings. The 91-bedroom Southampton Harbour Hotel is owned by property