Health and wellness expert Henri Chenot will open the second ‘Espace Cure’ hotel – a destination retreat – to have its entire structure dedicated to his health and wellness programmes. This second hotel, which is set to open in Q2 2016, will be designed by international architect and interior designer Michel Jouannet and located in Gabala, Azerbaijan. The first of these ‘Espace Cure’-structured hotels, which opened in 1980, is Chenot’s

EPR Architects are working to design the hotel and spa at the upcoming Poultry Hotel in London. The five-star offering will occupy the Grade I-listed former Midland Bank headquarters – the vault of which was portrayed as Fort Knox for the climax of the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Scheduled to open in 2016, the hotel is set to feature 252 bedrooms, a restaurant, health and leisure facilities, rooftop terraces

Andrea DuBois and Mary Lynn Mellinger of global spa consultancy and management firm WTS International (WTS) are among the first interior designers in the world to begin an accredited training programme with the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). The IWBI is a public benefit corporation whose mission is to improve human health and wellbeing through the built environment. Its WELL Building Standard is a set of 102 performance metrics, design

WOW Design Studio, Belt Collins International landscape architects and Hirsch Bedner Associates interior designers have been engaged to create a lavish hillside resort on the southern coast of Bali. The consultants will be designing the public spaces, exteriors and accommodations for the New World Grand Bali Resort, scheduled to open in 2017. Indonesian company PT. Mugie Bali Indah – which owns the resort – has appointed New World Hotels &

Hawaiian design firm G70 International (G70) has secured investment deals with a number of companies in the US, Tahiti, China, France and Mexico to work on the 130-acre (53-hectare) Tahiti Mahana Beach Resort and Spa. Commitments from these sources add up to more than US$3bn (€2.8bn, £2bn). In July 2014, G70 was awarded the contract for the resort, which is also backed by the French Polynesian government. The design practice

Musician will.i.am and The Coca-Cola Company have partnered with Starwood’s W Hotels brand to bring recycled plastic products to properties across the world – promoting sustainability as a stylish lifestyle choice. A new brand – called Ekocycle – has been launched to create a range of products for hotels which recycle plastic. The first is the ‘Mobile Charger and Accessory Valet’ (MCAV) – a USB charging device that also acts

Alila Seminyak will open on Bali’s southwest coast this September, it will be the second new Indonesian property from the luxury boutique resorts group, following the development of the new Alila Villas Bintan. Alila Seminyak will be a prime beach frontage resort, comprising 72 suites, 69 residences. Green space will dominate both the interiors and exteriors, which will also have extensive events space, a Spa Alila and restaurants. The Alila

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has unveiled plans to open an eco-resort on his private island in Belize in partnership with New York-based real estate firm Delos, designed by lead architect Jason McLennan of McLennan Design. Dubbed ‘Blackadore Caye, a Restorative Island’, the environmentally friendly project will offer 68 villas spread across its 104 acres (42 hectares) when it launches in 2018. Speaking to The New York Times, DiCaprio said it had

Foster + Partners have designed a 50-storey tower set to grace London’s skyline. Principal Tower will be part of Principal Place, a mixed-use development to feature a half acre public piazza and events space, bars, cafes, restaurants, shops and offices. Sited near Shoreditch, Liverpool Street Station, major financial institutions and Silicon Roundabout, Principal Place will be developed by Brookfield, Concord Pacific and W1 Developments in a joint venture. Foster +

Work is now underway on Snøhetta’s new kitchen extension and garden redesign for the world-renowned restaurant The French Laundry, in Yountville, California. Due to complete in June of this year, the new buildings will transform both the visitor and cooking experience of the three Michelin star restaurant in Napa Valley. The restaurant, which was founded in 1994 by American chef Thomas Keller and named after one of the building’s former

Online private rental portal Airbnb has struck a deal with Rio 2016 organisers which will see residents of the city provide up to 20,000 additional accommodation options for foreign Olympic guests. Rio 2016 organisers have admitted that while a construction programme of new hotels in the city has increased capacity enough to host the 40,000-strong “Olympic family” – ie, representatives of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Paralympic Committee and

Donald Trump is progressing with long-delayed proposals to expand his hotel and leisure development at Menie Estate, Aberdeenshire, UK, with new construction planned alongside the five-star Trump International Golf Links. Trump has submitted new planning applications, which cite Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS) at the project's designers. The new plans include the construction of hundreds of houses and nearly 2,000 holiday homes and lodges, in a major step towards completing

The multi-million restoration of the Italian Excelsior Hotel Gallia, a Luxury Collection Hotel, will be complete in Q2 of 2015 with its launch to coincide with the Expo Milano 2015. Owned by Katara Hospitality and operated by Starwood Hotels and Resorts, the historic hotel first opened in 1932 as Palace Gallia in the Porta Nuova area of Milan. It is being revamped by Milan-based Studio Marco Piva, which has blended

Australian property developer, Lang Walker, is planning to develop his first resort, on the island of Fiji. The Kokomo Yaukuve Island Resort on Yaukuve Island, which is part of the Kadavu Island Group - surrounded by the world famous Great Astrolabe Reef - will open in 2016. The resort will have five villas and 21 bures on the beachfront, in addition to a luxury day spa, kids club, tennis court,

Alila Hotels and Resorts will launch its second luxury resort development in Oman in Mirbat, east of Salalah – a coastal town in the Dhofar governorate. The interior design by BLINK Design Group will include contemporary Dhofari architecture. The project, owned by Alil Salalah – a subsidiary of the Oman Investment Fund – will open in the second half of 2017 comprising 100 bedrooms, 25 villas, fine dining restaurants and

Wyndham Hotel Group is building a Planet Hollywood luxury resort called ph Premiere Hotel & Spa Orlando, minutes away from Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. New York-based developer Azzurra Development has released early details of the project, which has been designed by Arquitectonica and Meyer Davis Studio. The resort will house 436 bedrooms, a 35,000sq ft (3,252sq m) sandy beach pool deck with cabanas, a lakeside pavilion for water

Construction of Yamani Healing, a new eco-design hotel, destination spa and healing centre in Mexico’s Riviera Maya will start later this year, following the announcement of a real estate partnership with US$32m (€29m, £21m) development Los Árboles Cobá. Mexico City-based architecture practice Estudio Tacubaya has been selected to lead the design of the hotel and healing centre, and UK-based Greg Kewish has been hired as sustainable architect and design consultant.

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts has soft-opened the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa on the private island Isola delle Rose, with the grand opening celebration planned for 24 June 2015. The hotel is situated 15 minutes by speedboat from Piazza San Marco. Architecture practice Matteo Thun & Partners has been in charge of converting historic buildings into a sustainability-focused 266-key luxury hotel, holiday villas, convention centre and a spa

Plans have been unveiled by US-based Morphosis Architects for a luxury hotel next to Pritzker Prize-winner Peter Zumthor’s famous Therme Vals Spa, Switzerland. The directors of 7132 Ltd, Remo Stoffel and Pius Truffer are behind the scheme. Stoffel trumped a rival bid from Zumthor to buy the Therme Vals spa hotel from the municipality back in 2012, and he and Truffer are now keen to expand their presence in the

Four Seasons Bahrain Bay has opened on a private man-made island off the Kingdom’s capital city, Manama. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the 273-key property has interiors by Pierre-Yves Rochon, EDG and Los Angeles-based Waldo Fernandez. The urban resort has five different swimming experiences, including a children’s pool, a pool that sets the scene for a cocktail lounge during the evenings, a free-form infinity pool, indoor spa pool and

The Baccarat Hotel in Manhattan – which Beijing-based Sunshine Insurance bought from hotel manager Starwood for US$230m (€210m, £154m) earlier this year – reopened on 18 March. The 114-key property features 15,000 pieces from Baccarat SA in addition to a number of dining facilities, a gym and a spa. The hotel’s interiors were designed by French duo Gilles & Boissier to combine the features of a classic Parisian hotel with

Mövenpick Hotel Istanbul Golden Horn, Turkey, will open on 31 March. The hotel is sited 10 minutes from the Old City’s historic sights and 10 minutes from the Haliç Congress Centre, enabling it to target both business and leisure guests. The 136-key property, owned by Istanbul-based Akgel Real Estate Investment, has been designed by Loft Architects - with interiors by Sinan Kafadar from the Metex Design Group - to evoke

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has announced that it will expand its luxury portfolio in Latin America and the Caribbean through a series of new hotel launches. Starwood will open high-end properties under its St Regis, W Hotels and The Luxury Collection brands – taking the total of luxury properties under its operation in Latin America and the Caribbean from 19 to 22 by 2017. Solaz, a Luxury Collection Hotel in

An evianSpa will open in 2016 as part of a 38,000sq m (409,029sq ft) plaza development in Doha’s Cultural Village Foundation Katara. The first phase of the development opened to the public in October 2010. Leyk & Wollenberg Architecture and Atelier GH will lead the design of the evianSpa project. Gael Hiétin of Atelier GH developed the evianSpa global design concept and is known for his multi-sensory projects. Qatari operator

Maison Souquet, a five-star boutique hotel with spa, has opened in the heart of Paris, near the famous Moulin Rouge. Designed by Jacques Garcia and part of the Maisons Particulières Group, the boutique hotel contains 20 bespoke rooms, each as opulent as the next. Garcia’s interiors ooze hedonism and bring the hotel’s legacy into glamorised focus. Previously used as a 'pleasure house' during La Belle Époque, Maison Souquet’s atmosphere remains

Kuwait’s leading mixed use property developer, Tamdeen Group, has announced US$700m (€661m, £472m) plans for the Al Khiran project, located in Sabah Al Ahmed Sea City, Kuwait. Al Khiran will be an an eco-friendly, recreational, residential and retail waterfront development. The resort-like project will spread along 350,000sq m (3,800,000sq ft) and it’s hoped it will become a key tourism driver for Kuwait. Although situated on the waterfront, the heart of

Following an epic week at MIPIM, the 25th MIPIM Award winners were announced last night- 12 March. Leisure architecture once again proved to be a frontrunner, with five leisure buildings being recognised. •Center Parcs Woburn Forest, designed by Holder Mathias Architects, in Bedfordshire UK, won the Best Hotel & Tourism Resort Award. Since it’s opening back summer of 2014, Centre Parcs has been causing a stir in the spa world,