Wellness design firm A.W. Lake has launched Uberwell – a wellness design, technology and trend blog – intended to keep hotel and commercial property owners, developers and operators at the forefront of the wellness trend. “Recently valued at US$3.4tn (€3tn, £2.2tn) dollars, wellness has gone mainstream,” said Adria Lake, owner and managing director of A.W. Lake. “Spanning across generations and market demographics, the wellness consumer is anyone and everyone who

Luxury Scottish resort Portavadie has opened its 1,991sq m (21,431sq ft) spa and leisure centre, part of a further £10m (€14 m, US$15.5m) development to the property. The spa and leisure centre includes four treatment rooms and six swimming pools, including a children’s splash pool, a 16m (52ft) indoor pool, outdoor spa pools, and a 9x9m (30x30ft) heated outdoor infinity pool. It also includes two Scandinavian saunas, a steamroom, Precor-equipped

Starwood’s Le Meridien hotel brand will open in Batumi, the brand’s first property in the Republic of Georgia, in 2018. The 110-room newly constructed hotel will be located in the Batumi Tower, a mixed-use development designed by the Hausart Project that features a unique integrated Ferris wheel on the 27th floor. The eight air-conditioned cabins of the Ferris wheel each can hold 40 people. The tower – reported to be

Hoskins Architects will design a new Rosewood hotel at Edinburgh's former Royal High School, a historic landmark building on Calton Hill in the centre of the Scottish capital that has stood vacant for almost 50 years. The neoclassical, listed building was originally designed by architect Thomas Hamilton and completed in 1829. The plan to invest more than £75m ($115m, €102m) to restore and convert the property is led by Duddingston

Once ranked as the third dirtiest hotel in the US by Forbes, the Desert Inn Resort on Daytona Beach in Florida is set to experience a complete US$20m (€17.4m, £13m) renovation before reopening in Q4 2016. The previously independent resort will then be rebranded as the Westin Daytona Beach Resort & Spa. Owned by Humphrey Realty, a privately held real estate development and ownership firm specialising in hospitality and commercial

Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ first Dutch property, W Amsterdam, is due to unveil a series of gastronomic experiences and some accommodation before the full hotel’s debut in December, designed by Office WINHOV and BK Architects. The historic former KAS Bank building and neighbouring Exchange building – a former telephone exchange – are both part of the W Amsterdam. Parts of the KAS Bank building are already open to guests, including

Steiner Leisure has signed a definitive merger agreement under which an affiliate of private equity firm Catterton will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Steiner for US$65 (€56, £41) per share in cash. The total transaction value, including assumed net debt, is approximately US$925m (€799m, £599m). Steiner Leisure’s board of directors unanimously approved the merger on the recommendation of a special committee, comprised entirely of independent directors. The committee

International design firm PKMN Architectures was selected to lead this year’s edition of a workshop known as Taller del Desierto – which aimed to build a small urban spa at Parque Urueta in the Mexican city of Chihuahua – with the help of local architecture firm Memela and designers Juan Castillo, Miguel Heredia and Miguel García. Based on the consensus of local residents and the council, the project involved the

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will open a new 116-villa resort on Hainan Island, China in 2018. Rosewood Clearwater Bay Hainan will feature the brand’s signature Sense spa with six treatment rooms and balconies overlooking private gardens. Designed by Bangkok-based architectural firm Blink Design Group, Rosewood Clearwater Bay will also have exclusive access to a 1.6km (5,250ft) beach, and the design will incorporate water features, indigenous timber and stone, and unobstructed

Thompson Hotels has opened its first property in Mexico's Cabo San Lucas, blending an urban aesthetic with a retro, 1960s Southern California-meets-Baja vibe. Located on the southernmost tip of the Baja California Sur Peninsula, The Cape offers unobstructed views of The Arch, the area’s famous landmark, from virtually any vantage point on the property. Perched on Monuments Beach, both the 161-bedroom property and the spa were designed by Javier Sanchez

Hong Kong-based design firm Remedios Studio is working in collaboration with wellness hospitality and spa design firm A.W. Lake on a new spa to be located in the Guardian Art Centre Beijing, China – the project that has been masterplanned by Büro Ole Scheeren. Expected to open in Q1 2017, the 120-bedroom hotel called Puxuan Beijing Hotel & Spa is being constructed within the new home of auction house China

Aman is opening a new resort in Q4 2015 in the Dominican Republic, set on a clifftop overlooking the crescent-shaped Playa Grande beach and framed by the dramatic Cordillera Septentrional mountain range. The resort is set to become the hotel group's first golf-integrated property. The Amanera resort is named after the Sanskrit word for peace – Aman – and the word era, which means water in Taino – the language

Spa consultancy Raison d’Etre is set to launch the first LivNordic-branded spa in the UAE on the sixth floor of Cayan Tower, offering panoramic views of the Dubai marina. Ian Bell, project manager for Raison d’Etre, is working with Italian firm M+N architecture to complete the Dubai site, with the assistance of interior design specialist Blue Camel Design, for the big reveal, which is set for December. The building, a

The Jadranka Group is set to open another five-star spa resort on the Croatian island of Lošinj, in Cikat Bay – following the launch of the nearby €50m (US$67m, £40m) Hotel Bellevue and its spa clinic. The new Boutique Hotel Alhambra will make its debut later this month and was designed by architect Amira Cauševic of design firm ARTA-projektiranje to look like a traditional Austro-Hungarian villa. Located in the surroundings

The 10,000sq ft (929sq m) vinotherapy-focused spa has opened at the five-star Spanish retreat Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine – an exclusive abbey hotel and winery dating from 1146. Designed by Marco Serra, the modern spa – called El Santuario – was built underground to maintain the property’s historic ambiance. Below the abbey’s original stables and within close proximity to the Duero River, Serra had to overcome the high moisture level of

Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ Westin brand is set to feature for the first time in Mississippi, US, at The Westin Jackson – a public-private development costing US$60m (€54m, £39m), that aims to boost travel and tourism in downtown Jackson. ESG architects is working on the hotel’s design, focusing on Jackson’s reputation as the birthplace of several American musical styles including rhythm and blues and jazz. The design firm said: “The

Singaporean design and architecture enterprise Manor Group, which owns the upcoming Chiang Mai hotel in Thailand, has selected Thai wellness hospitality operator Akaryn Hotel Group to run the property. The resort is being launched to meet growing demand for five-star service and cash in on the region’s growth in tourism. The Akaryn Group owns and operates the Aleenta resorts in Phuket, Phang-nga and Hua Hin-Pranburi, as well as the Akyra

Aman will open its second Japanese property in Q1 2016 in Ise Shima National Park of Honshu’s Mie Prefecture, central Japan. It will be the brand’s first hot spring resort. The resort, to be called Amanemu, will be perched on the shores of Ago Bay – known as the Bay of Pearls. It will feature 24 suites and four two-bedroomed villas, all with their own onsen, or mineral hot spring.

WTS International, the spa consultancy and management firm has won a bid to create a new spa concept for the Cachet Hotel Group in Asia. The concept will be called cSPA and will be developed at Cachet’s properties in China, Southeast Asia and the Americas. The first cSPAs will open in Bangkok, Thailand and Hangzhou, China. The WTS team which worked on the bid was led by Andrea Dubois. The

The 307-bedroom Dollywood DreamMore Resort has opened next to Dollywood theme park and Dollywood’s Splash Country in Tennessee, US, and it includes an 1,861sq ft (173sq m) family-friendly spa. Both the spa and resort were designed by Fugleberg Koch of Winter Park, Florida, with interiors by Atlanta, Georgia-based Foda Design. Set in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, the front of the resort features an impressive fountain inspired by

Dusit Fudu Hotels and Resorts will open a hot springs resort in Dabieshan, Anhui Province in central China at the end of 2018. Designed by AECOM, the dusitD2 Hot Springs Resort Dabieshan, Anhui, will feature 300 rooms and villas with private hot springs pools, as well as a Deverana Spa. Dabieshan is a major mountain range in central China, and the resort will be set in an area known for

A complex of early 20th century landmark buildings in South America are being transformed into a stylish development featuring a hotel and spa, private residences, high-end retail and entertainment venues. As part of the project, historic buildings at the centre of São Paulo, Brazil, are being converted into art galleries, theatre and cinemas by the owner of the three hectare site – Allard Group. At the heart of the development,

The five-star Naman Retreat in Danang, Vietnam, has opened a 15-room Pure Spa featuring lush, open-air gardens, lotus ponds and a “wall-less” ground floor. Designed by Ho Chi Minh-based MIA Design Studio, the 2,250sq m (24,219sq ft) spa includes a deep soak tub, cushioned daybed for two, male and female whirlpools, sauna and steamrooms, a gym and yoga pavilion. The hotel claims to “blur the lines between resort and spa,”

Austrian spa design and equipment manufacturer Thermarium have designed a three-level, 10,500sq m (113,000sq ft) spa complex called The Well about 11 miles (17km) south of Oslo in Kolbotn, Norway in conjunction Norwegian architects Halvorsen & Riene. The privately-owned spa, billed as the largest in Norway, will include five areas designed to transport guests to different spa cultures, as well as unique, cutting-edge lighting technology to enhance relaxation. It is

Resorts World Birmingham, a £150m (US$234m, €213m) mixed-use leisure and entertainment complex is in the final stages of fit-out and is counting down to opening. Once complete, the seven-storey, 538,000sq ft (49,982sq m) resort will feature the 178-bedroom, five-suite, boutique Genting Hotel; an outlet shopping centre; an 11-screen Cineworld cinema, which will include IMAX and 3D screens; a casino; a wide range of internationally-themed restaurants and bars; and a multi-use

After a soft opening in March, the Matteo Thun & Partners-designed JW Marriott, Venice held its grand opening this month, along with the debut of its on-site 1,715sq m (18,460sq ft) GOCO Spa. The 250-bedroom hotel is located on its own private island, Isola delle Rose. The historic buildings have been sensitively refurbished by Matteo Thun & Partners to incorporate sustainable, modern and elegant design, the company said. “The main

Howard Backen and a team from Saulsalito, California-based Backen, Gillam and Kroeger Architects have designed a new 14,000sq ft (1,300sq m), all-suite spa spa for Meadowood Napa Valley, due to open in Q4 2015, with interior design by Leslie Hemmings from the same firm. Settled on a private estate in Napa Valley surrounded by a 250-acre valley, Meadowood includes 85 guestrooms, suites and cottages, along with two championship croquet lawns,