The secrets to success for destination spas have been outlined by hospitality consulting firm Horwath HTL in a report which provides an overview of the growing market. Horwath HTL Health and Wellness consulted experts specialising in the design, operations and management of health and wellness-based projects. Unlike traditional resorts, destination spas possess greater internal appeal – including services, specialists, F&B and activities – which makes them more flexible than resorts

Foster + Partners' unfinished Harmon Hotel on the Las Vegas strip in the US is set to be demolished without even opening its doors. On 22 April, MGM Resorts International received approval to tear down Foster + Partners’ failing structure owing to reinforcing steel not being correctly installed on 15 floors of the 47 story building. The building was intended to provide 207 luxury residences and 400 hotel bedrooms, as

Guests at the newly-opened Shangri-La Hotel in London’s The Shard are being warned to close the blinds at night as the glass structure’s panels make it sometimes possible to see into other rooms. Some of the glass surrounding the 1,016ft (310m) building acts as an inadvertent mirror when lights are on, so the advice is being issued to maintain guests’ privacy. Darren Gearing, the executive vice president and hotel general

Mumbai-based company Oberoi Realty announced The Ritz-Carlton Hotel company as its hospitality partner for the 2.1 millionsq ft (0.2 millionsq m) mixed-use Worli Development in Worli District on 8 May. The two high-rise towers are being developed by Oasis Realty – a joint venture between Oberoi and Sahana Group. The project will include a 140-apartment tower and a mixed-use tower comprising commercial office space and the 280-key Ritz-Carlton hotel –

A boutique hotel is at the heart of a £30m redevelopment of Manchester’s Grade II listed Corn Exchange building, with hotel operators being invited to express interest in the project. The building’s owners – Aviva Investors – are behind the redevelopment programme which will include 13 new independent restaurants and the 86-bedroom Edwardian hotel, featuring a breakfast room and lounge overlooking Exchange Square. Simon Green, asset manager at Aviva Investors,

British actor and former Loose Women star Lynda Bellingham opened the Imagine Spa at Hazlewood Castle Hotel near Leeds on 30 April. Hotel owners, Ashdale Hotels, have partnered with the new owners of the Imagine Spa – Mosaic Spa & Health Clubs to create this £200,000 3,500sq ft (325sq m) facility – set within 77 acres of parkland. “We are delighted to have had a national treasure like Lynda launch

Bangkok's Mandarin Oriental has launched a results-orientated beauty treatment programme called “Beauty by Mandarin Oriental” to take place in its new THB6m (US$0.2m, €0.1m, £0.1m) in-house boutique spa facility. Four freshly-developed beauty suites – 50sq m (538sq ft) each in size – have been unveiled in the hotel’s exclusive Garden and Authors Wing. These sit separately from the property's Mandarin Oriental Spa, which is accessed by exiting the main hotel

Gurney’s Resort & Spa in New York, US has received its first set of upgrades for US$5m (€3.6m £3m) as part of a multi-phase redevelopment of the property by real estate moguls George Filopoulos and Lloyd Goldman. Filopoulos from Metrovest Equities and Goldman of BLDG Management bought the resort – situated in the Hamptons on Long Island – in June 2013 with a plan to make the resort a year-round

The Joseph, a US$68m (€49m, £40m) mixed-use development, which includes Le Meridien Columbus hotel is set to open in January 2015 in the Short North neighbourhood of Columbus, Ohio, US. Owned and developed by the Columbus-based Pizzuti Companies, the 11-storey high-rise broke ground in August 2013. Le Meridien Columbus will feature 135 bedrooms, an in-house restaurant and a spa. The hotel's spa will include 11 treatment rooms, steam showers and

UK-based international construction services company, ISG, has secured a US$37m (€25m, £21m) contract to refurbish all 393 rooms at Majid Al Futtaim Properties’ Kempinski Mall of the Emirates Hotel in Dubai. The work will involve upgrades to all rooms and suites, ski chalets – next to Ski Dubai – meeting rooms and gym facilities. The property’s external façade will also undergo refurbishment. The existing Softouch Spa is not scheduled to

The Cascade Spa, set within the Mill Falls at the Lake Resort in Meredith, New Hampshire has reopened following renovations. Situated on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee, the Cascade Spa originally opened its doors in July 2004, but within a couple of years the space was not large enough to meet demand. “The idea for an expanded spa has been on the radar for about four years,” said Michelle Brown,

The newest addition to Marriott’s Autograph Collection and first new hotel build in Key Largo, Florida for 20 years – Playa Largo Resort & Spa – is set to open in Q3 2015. Development and construction experts Prime Hospitality, plus Shaner Hotels – owner-operators with experience in franchising – will co-manage this resort. The duo currently manage a total of seven hotels across the state of Florida but this will

Four Seasons Moscow – the hotel operator’s second Russian site after its Four Seasons Hotel Lions Palace St Petersburg – will open in August in a prime location adjacent to Red Square and the Kremlin. On the fifth floor of the 15-storey building, there is a 3,000sq m (33,000sq ft) spa featuring 14 treatment rooms, including three couples' suites, plus a hair salon and nail bar. The hotel also has

Business magnate Donald Trump has announced the closure of The Old Post Office building in Washington DC as the property undergoes a US$200m (€144.4m, £119m) redevelopment – from office space into a luxury hotel and spa. The estimated date for completion of the 270ft tall (85m) post office’s transformation is late 2015. The Trump International Hotel, The Old Post Office will be a 270-bedroom hotel. The hotel will feature a

The Sheraton New Caledonia Deva Resort & Spa is expected to open in July 2014 in the south west Pacific Ocean, facing the UNESCO World Heritage Great Barrier Reef. Built on stilts, the resort’s eco-friendly 700sq m (7,534sq ft) spa features five open-air treatment rooms which look out onto the beach. There are three single rooms and a double room – each surrounded by trees – plus an affusion room

The Octave Living Destination Retreat – one of China's first wellness communities – is now under construction just outside Shanghai on the shores of Yangcheng Lake in Suzhou. A project by IMC Octave – the hospitality arm of Singapore-based IMC Group – the retreat has been designed by New York City-based Tsao and McKown Architects. GOCO Hospitality is the master consultant for the project, doing the feasibility and business planning.

The Shangri-La Hotel, Lhasa has opened in the administrative centre of Tibet, located on a plateau which is 3,650m (11,975ft) above sea level in the Himalayas. Encircled by mountains, glaciers and desert-like landscape, the 262-bedroom and 17-suite hotel features a 1,213sq m (13,056sq ft) CHI spa with 10 treatment rooms – three of which are double. The spa’s skincare products come from German company Biodroga, Pranarom of France and locally-sourced

Beneath the renowned Gemstock peak of the Useren valley, the Chedi Andermatt resort – owned by Andermatt Swiss Alps AG – is now open for business. The Swiss resort's 25,833sq ft (2,399sq m) spa is being operated by GHM and its 10 treatment rooms are used for a range of offerings using products by Alpienne, ila, Ren and SpaRitual. The spa can accommodate 35-40 guests daily. Thermal facilities include a

Dubai developer Damac has begun work on a 33-storey tower in Jumeirah Village, complete with 388 serviced living units, expected to open mid 2017. Conceptualised and designed by its in-house team of architects, the tower’s Chrysalis Spa at Vantage offers separate male and female steamrooms and saunas – as is the local custom – a whirlpool, floatation room, beauty salon and fitness centre. The Chrysalis Spa will feature a fusion

The Deep Nature spa in Belgium’s highest residential tower – the UP-site – is set to launch on 1 July this year in Brussels. Set within the 140m high 42-storey tower, the 600sq m (6,458sq m) spa features five treatment rooms including a double suite for couples’ treatments, a scrub room, swimming pool, hot and cold baths, sensory showers, a hammam and a sauna. Skin care products will be provided

Work has begun on a new £6m hotel and gym facility in Harrogate town centre. Pure Gym and Travelodge will occupy the mixed-use development, occupying a 70-bedroom hotel and a 16,900sq ft gym facility respectively. Leeds-based Gregory Property Group bought the former bowling alley in 2011 and secured planning approval to redevelop the site in February 2013. It had already secured a 25-year lease with Travelodge to operate the hotel

New look plans have been revealed for Aberdeen’s city centre on the site of the former City Council headquarters Muse Developments has been selected as Aberdeen City Council’s development partner for the £107m joint project, which will see the former St Nicholas House site and Broad Street in Aberdeen transformed to include 175,000 sq ft (16,258sq m) of sustainable offices, and mixed-use leisure facilities. Valued at £5.6m, the leisure amenities

Blackberry Farm – the 62-bedroom chateau property in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee – will unveil its new wellness spa centre on 1 June later this year. The 12,663sq ft (1,176sq m) stand alone Wellhouse has been designed by Blackberry Farm founder and director of design Kreis Beall along with Johnson Architecture. The newly appointed Wellhouse director, Amanda Anderson, has previous experience working with Red Door Spas, The

Kempinski will unveil its largest ever property in China this May – a 14sq km (5.4sq m) hotel, villa and spa complex which is being lined up as a possible host for major political events such as APEC 2014 and future G20 summits. Set at the foot of the Yanshan Mountains, 60km (37.3m) north of Beijing city centre and 25km (15.5m) from the Great Wall of China’s Mutianyu section, the

Zaha Hadid Architects has revealed plans for a 780-bedroom hotel to be built by property developer Melco Crown Entertainment in Cotai, Macau. The hotel will be located at Melco Crown’s flagship City of Dreams resort in an area that takes its visual inspiration from the Las Vegas Strip. The 40-floor hotel, which covers 150,000sq ft (13,935sq m) of space, will boast a number of amenities including a spa offering a

Northern Sweden’s isolated Icehotel is inviting its guests to design and build their own ice suites, with successful suggestions being maintained for the designer's exclusive use throughout the season. Now in its 24th season, the Jukkasjärvi-based hotel, which attracts 50,000 guests before evaporating each summer, will debut its new "Haute Couture Suite" service. Each year, hundreds of artists worldwide apply to design the hotel’s individual suites, with just a handful

Planning permission has been granted to transform a listed building in Belfast city centre into a boutique hotel. Ireland’s environment minister Mark Durkan recommended planning approval for a £12m redevelopment of the Grade B1 listed Scottish Mutual Building, which sits opposite Belfast City Hall. The development retains all of the building's original features and there will be two bars and two restaurants, along with 10 serviced apartments in addition to