Scottish destination property Portavadie is opening a 1,991sq m (21,431sq ft) spa and leisure centre in the coming months that takes full advantage of its views over Loch Fyne on Scotland’s west coast. Designed by Largs, Ayrshire-based Stewart Associates, the spa uses glass, local stone, white oak and walnut to create a natural setting that is “sympathetic to the view at all times,” and creates a feeling of “understated luxury,”

The estimated US$72m (€65m; £47m) Playa Largo resort in Key Largo, part of the Marriott Autograph collection, is set to open late this year and will be the first new-build property on the island in 21 years. The Florida Keys property, owned by Shaner Hotel Group, will include a 6,000sq ft (557sq m) OceanSpa. Prime Hospitality are the architects for the project, while The Gettys Group are responsible for the

The Proper Hotel in Austin, Texas, is slated to open in 2017 and will include a 243-bedroom hotel, 100 residences, and a spa. The location is part of a new line of hotels unveiled this year by Proper Hotels CEO Brad Korzen, the creator and former CEO of the Viceroy Hotel Group. Proper Hotels aims to design, brand and operate “bespoke hospitality experiences that bring a modern approach to a

Starwood Hotels is opening the Westin Hamburg next year in the highly anticipated Elbe Philharmonic complex. The 10-storey, 205-bedroom Westin Hamburg Hotel, designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, is due to open in October 2016. The Elbe Philharmonic complex, built around a historical warehouse on the banks of the river Elbe and also designed by Herzog & De Meuron, will include three concert halls, 45 private apartments, and

Swissotel has opened a new resort on a private beach in Turgutreis, just outside Bodrum, Turkey. Designed by Gokhan Avcioglu of Turkish design studio GAD International, The Swissotel Bodrum Beach includes 66 bedrooms and suites along with 72 private serviced residences. Avcioglu has used sweeping lines in his design to fuse the Aegean coast’s rolling landscape with the local tangerine gardens, blending the structure with the natural landscape by using

Six Senses will open its first resort in Europe next week, located in the Portuguese UNESCO World Heritage area of the Douro Valley. Set on 22 acres and designed by New York-based Clodagh Design, the 57-bedroom, 19th century Six Senses Douro Valley is surrounded by sloping vineyards and pays homage to its surroundings through several nods to the grape, including wine-themed spa treatments. Designed with an interior palette of light

A new US$5 million, 10,000-square-foot spa designed by AHA Universo has opened at Grupo Vidanta’s Riviera Maya in Mexico with a 100sq ft (9sq m) salt cave for halotherapy. “Spatium is an ultra-luxurious spa, which offers an unrivalled experience in an environment infused with relaxing natural elements,” said Norma Suárez, director of the Grupo Vidanta Riviera Maya. Suarez said the philosophy behind the 10-treatment room spa is “to create a

The Wanda Group, China's largest commercial property company, is to build a 134-room luxury boutique hotel and spa alongside 193 residences and new public gardens on prime Beverly Hills real estate. "Beverly Hills is known worldwide as a city of sophistication and style. We believe building this project will complete the western gateway to the city," said David Shu, General Manager of Wanda Beverly Hills Properties. Designed by Richard Meier

The Mi Xun Spa opens this month in a restored monastery at Swire Hotels' The Temple House – an urban hotel in Chengdu, China. The spa includes 11 treatment areas, a gentleman’s barbershop, and a teahouse, as well as a retail spa shop. This is the third in Swire’s House Collective portfolio, following The Opposite House in Beijing and The Upper House in Hong Kong. The hotel is located in

The Hyatt Place hotel brand has made its long-awaited entrance into the African market with the launch of the 152-bedroom Hyatt Place Taghazout Bay in Morocco. Designed by Moroccan firm Karim Chakor Architecte, the 152-bed hotel is located 10 miles (17 kilometers) north of the Moroccan coastal town of Agadir. Hyatt Place Taghazout Bay is part of Morocco’s Taghazout Bay Resort, a sustainable development in the foothills of the Atlas

Designed by Philippe Pastre of Atelier d’Architecture and Patrice Gardera of Gardera-D, the 250sq m (2,691sq ft) Alaena Spa in Biarritz, France, has opened its doors with a contemporary Japanese architectural influence and a focus on both relaxation and aesthetic medicine. The spa development includes four treatment rooms, one skin exfoliation room, Japanese baths by Nendo Designs, an Experience shower and a Hammam by Effegibi. “We want to offer a

Investor, developer and operator, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, is on site with Shangri-la at the Fort, a mixed-use development in Manila, the Philippines which will open in Q4 this year. The building will be one of the tallest in the country at 250m (820ft) and one of the first luxury lifestyle developments in the Philippines. Shangri-la at the Fort will include a Shangri-La hotel and residences, as well as Horizon

Robert De Niro has signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a US$250m (€223m, £158.8m) hotel and spa resort in Barbuda, the lesser known twin island to Antigua. The resort will be a refurbishment and expansion of K-Club, a resort which became famous in the 90s as a hideaway for Princess Diana and princes William and Harry, but which closed eight years ago. Islanders vote on Monday to determine the

Virgin Hotels has announced plans to open a new 200-bedroom hotel in the Design District of Dallas, Texas, in 2018. The development will be a new-build located within 33 acres (133,500sq m) that developer Dunhill Partners and its founder, Bill Hutchinson, acquired in 2014. Included will be multiple dining options, a rooftop terrace with a pool, gym and spa, plus numerous meeting spaces. The neighbourhood includes furniture showrooms, art galleries,

Six Senses has opened its first Chinese resort, Qing Cheng Mountain, in the historic and cultural setting of Chengdu. The hotel is the largest Six Senses to date, with 102 suites and 11 villas, and is the seventh Six Senses Resort, with an eighth resort due to open in Douro Valley next month and several others in the pipeline. Designed by Bangkok-based Habita architects, the resort is set at the

Designer Thomas Heatherwick's transformation of the historic Grain Silo Complex in Cape Town, South Africa, will include a 5-star hotel called The Silo. The hotel will be operator The Royal Portfolio's fifth property, adding to its range of exclusive hotels, lodges and villas in South Africa. The Silo, so named because it is being built in the grain elevator portion of the historic Grain Silo Complex, will be situated directly

Publicly-traded Ashford Hospitality Prime has bought eco-conscious Napa Valley, California, property Bardessono Hotel and Spa for US$85m (€75.7m, £54.8m). Remington Lodging will take over property management at the WATG-designed property once the sale is completed, which is expected in approximately 30 days. "The acquisition of the award-winning Bardessono Hotel and Spa fits perfectly with Prime's strategy of finding quality, high RevPAR assets in gateway and resort markets," said Monty J.

The 314-bedroom Grand Hyatt Playa del Carmen opens on the Riviera Maya in Mexico today (15 June), along with the property’s Cenote Spa, which is inspired by the local freshwater swimming holes of the same name. The natural cenotes in the surrounding areas are formed by geological rock formations and are considered by many to be energy centres, as their waters contain high concentrations of minerals and nutrients. The 6,000sq

The five-star Keemala resort, which will open in Phuket in October 2015, has been designed using storytelling to create its own folklore. The designers have created a fictitious tale of ancient Phuket settlers from four different clans to underpin the design. The development will include 38 cottages, tent villas, “bird's nest” villas, and seemingly suspended treehouse villas – all with private pools. Owned and operated by the Somnam family and

Thierry W. Despont's soon-to-be completed renovation of the Ritz Paris will see the first ever Chanel-branded spa unveiled at the historic hotel, officials from Ritz Paris have confirmed. While many details of the spa remain well under wraps, in a statement, the Ritz Paris said the spa – Chanel au Ritz Paris – will be “a new beauty concept dedicated to Chanel’s skincare” and will “provide guests with a unique

Raison d’Etre’s spa and wellness brand LivNordic has launched the first of three spas planned on cruise ships as part of a partnership with Viking Ocean Cruises. Inspired by Nordic bathing traditions, including alternating hot and cold experiences, this ship’s spa offers the first snow grotto at sea. Inspired by nature, the LivNordic design, by Raison d'Etre, uses white pigmented ash, reminiscent of the Tree of Life in Norse Mythology

London-based Aros Architects have produced early plans to turn World War II sea forts seven miles off the British coast into a luxury hotel and spa. The unused Red Sand Forts in the Thames Estuary near Kent, built in 1943 to defend Britain against a Nazi attack, could become a hotel with executive apartments, where guest can fly in by helicopter. A similar development took place at Spitbank Fort –

British skincare brand Elemis has teamed up with designers Virgile and Partners to transform its central London day spa into The House of Elemis – a new flagship beauty house combining wellness with retail. Launched last week (28 May) the opulent Mayfair townhouse was conceptualised by Elemis co-founder Oriele Frank in partnership with Virgile and Partners. The design brief for The House of Elemis was to reflect the brand pillars

Singapore-based architects ar + d are leading the design on a landmark luxury waterfront hotel in New Zealand, the flagship for a harbour-wide regeneration scheme. Architects ar + d have previously worked on Hyatt hotels in Kilimanjaro and Koh Samui. Specialists in the hospitality sector, Conran and Partners, will be creating the interior design and visitor experience, using the hotel’s harbour settings as inspiration. The hotel will look out on

Australian company White Horse Australia – which has strong ties to one of China’s best known advertising and media companies White Horse Group – is set to redevelop a 584-hectare leasehold on Lindeman Island with the help of DBI Design and project managers Eastview Australia. The redevelopment of what was the former Whitsundays site of the Club Med resort chain will cost AU$600m (US$472m, €426m, £304m) and has been granted

The five-star Le Couvent des Minimes Hotel & Spa, situated in the French village of Mane and housed within the walls of an ancient convent dating back to 1613, has been fully refurbished by designers L’Atelier Pascal Borde to meet the requirements of majority shareholder L’Occitane, the global skincare brand which has its origins in Provence, France. The 46-room property in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence has reopened following the transformation of its

Championed by Nobu Hospitality founding partners chef Nobu Matsuhisa, actor Robert De Niro and Hollywood producer Meir Teper, a 321-key Nobu Hotel – designed by Rockwell Group – has opened in the leisure-focused City of Dreams Manila, in the Philippines. The Nobu Hotel was developed by Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts Corporation – a subsidiary of the leisure city’s operator Melco Crown Entertainment. International design firm Rockwell Group is responsible for