The food and wine-based Evangeline Spa has opened at the gastronomy-focused Epicurean Hotel in South Tampa, Florida. Spa consultants, WTS, organised the layout and interior design of the 2,800sq ft (260sq m) spa, which provides food-based treatments to its guests. They will also manage the spa. The five-treatment room spa includes two couples’ rooms which feature chromatherapy lighting – one including a rain shower for two while the other has

The Brenners Park Hotel & Spa in Baden Baden, Germany – the flagship property of the Oetker Collection – is on track to open its Villa Stéphanie destination health spa this summer, with 5,000sq m (53,820sq ft) of treatment facilities. In an exclusive interview at SPATEC Europe 2014, Oetker Collection's director of spa development, Hans-Peter Veit, told Spa Opportunities about the five-year project to create “the finest spa in Europe.”

The CHF 485m (US$545m, €397m, £323m) Bürgenstock Resort at Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, is on track for an opening in Q2 of 2017. The 400-bedroom resort with 68-suites, is owned by Katara Hospitality, which is in turn owned by the state of Qatar. Katara Hospitality Switzerland AG – a subsidiary of Katara Hospitality – is the developer and operator of the Bürgenstock. Of 75 building permits, 71 have already been issued

The five-star Huma Island Resort and Spa, located on the last frontier of the Philippines, opened in April with 15 beach villas, 64 water villas – built on stilts over the beach water – and two presidential suites. The 81 tropical villas are situated on the Diciligan island in Busuanga, Palawan – developed by the owning company, Kuwait-based IHTC. Its subsidiary company in the Philippines, HUMA Corporation renamed the island

The So Spa at the Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa will open in Q3 this year as part of an estimated 12 to 18-month HK$20m (US$2.6m €1.8m, £1.5m) refurbishment of all accommodation, public areas, conference rooms and landscaping. The 215-key property – including suites and villas whose interiors were designed by Ed Tuttle – is a wellness enclave which was purchased by Royal Group Development for refurbishment for HK$210.85m

The Regal Princess, a luxury cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises, will debut on 16 May after completing successful sea trials. The new 141,000-tonne 3,600-passenger ship – sister to the Royal Princess cruise liner which was launched in 2013 – is preparing for its seven-day maiden voyage from Venice to Athens including stops in Corfu, Mykonos and an overnight call in Istanbul. Constructed in the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy,

The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) star, Ferne McCann, officially launched the St Nicholas Café, Bar and Spa in Shrewsbury last night – located within a converted church which dates back to 1865. Ferne McCann, of the BAFTA-winning ITV2 reality TV show, celebrated the launch of all three parts of the mixed-use facility - situated near Shrewsbury Castle. The top floor hosts the bar, the middle floor is home to

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

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 –

Plans for a £15m leisure complex in Seaton, Devon, are finally set to commence after being stalled by local bats. The hilltop scheme – which will include a boutique hotel, restaurant, spa and gym as well as 38 two- and three-bedroom luxury rental lodges – was initially rejected because of objections by Natural England, which was concerned about interference with bat movements in the area. The plans have now been

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

The Four Seasons Hotel Westcliff Johannesburg, the global operator's first in South Africa, is set to open in the second quarter of 2014. The original luxury Westcliff Hotel was built in 1997, but closed in June last year to undergo renovations and new constructions after the owners signed a long-term management agreement with Four Seasons. The brand new Spa at Four Seasons will feature nine treatment rooms – one of

The redevelopment of the Aspen Club and Spa in Colorado, including the addition of 20 timeshare condos, will break ground in Q3 this year. First proposed in 2005, the US$65m (€47m, £38.6m) project to drill geothermal wells in the area of the existing tennis courts – where the new condos will be – received approval in 2010. The Club’s owner and managing director, Michael Fox, told local media that the

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

Shiseido is the new spa treatment partner in the U Spa Barrière at the Parisian Hotel Fouquets Barrière – the only spa in Paris to offer exclusive treatments by Shiseido. Operated by U Spa Barrière, the 750sq m (8,072sq ft) spa, which originally opened in 2006 at the same time as the hotel, features a 15m swimming pool with an aqua trail of waterfalls and jets, separate steamrooms and saunas