Image: JW Marriott's new hotel in Santo Domingo Marriott International has announced that its luxury hotel brand, JW Marriott, is planning to open a new 131-bedroom property in the Dominican Republic - its first in the Caribbean. JW Marriott Santo Domingo is to be operated by the group under a management agreement with Grupo Velutini, the Panama-based subsidiary of Fondo de Valores Immobiliarios. A spa will form part of the

Image: The Yhi Spa's planned Vascular Path Meliá Hotels and Resorts, the Spain-based hospitality group, has announced its debut in the United Arab Emirates with the soft launch of the new 164-bedroom Meliá Dubai hotel. Located in the centre of Bur Dubai, the Marco Mangili -designed property is to open in two phases and includes the Titanic by Marco Pierre White restaurant offering European cuisine. The second phase will add

Image: Hyatt Regency Riyadh is to open in Q3 2013 Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced the signing of a new management agreement that will see a new 257-bedroom Regency-branded property open in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Due to launch in Q3 2013, Hyatt Regency Riyadh will be group's seventh hotel in Saudi Arabia and will include a male spa housing six treatment rooms among its facilities. The hotel - the result

Image: The Shard under construction last month HRH Prince Andrew will be among the dignitaries in attendance at the launch of The Shard - one of Europe's tallest mixed-use skyscrapers - in central London, UK, on 5 July. Qatari Prime Minister His Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor Al Thani will be inaugurating the 310m (1,016 ft)-high development – designed by Renzo Piano – along with the Duke of

Image: Breare (left) conceived the concept in 2010 Snoozebox, the UK-based portable hotel and temporary accommodation concept, has begun trading on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The number of ordinary shares in issue on the group's entry to the market today (1 May) is nearly 52 million, with a total of 30 million shares placed with institutional investors. Snoozebox has said it will use the proceeds to

Hyatt Hotels Corporation is to open its first hotel in Cambodia after announcing the signing of a management agreement which will lead to the rebranding of a property in Siem Reap. The 107-bedroom Hotel De La Paix Siem Reap is to close on 30 June in order to receive an extensive renovation before reopening as the Park Hyatt Siem Reap during Q1 2013. Facilities at the hotel currently include the

The 790-bedroom Pan Pacific Singapore hotel is to benefit from a comprehensive SG$80m (US$64m, EUR49m, £40m) refurbishment of its guestrooms, restaurants and lobby area. It is the largest renovation programme to be undertaken at the property in its 25-year history and will include the creation of the new Pacific Club with panoramic views on the 38th floor. Australia-based interior design firm Chada are leading the scheme, which is scheduled to

De Vere Village Hotels chief executive officer Robert B Cook has announced the launch of the new UpperDeck room concept, which is to be rolled out across the group's UK estate. UpperDeck is designed to provide a new "superior room type" to guests, with its hotels in Swansea, Solihull and Chester St Davids among the first to offer the concept. It is expected 20 rooms per property will be rolled

Planning has been approved for a landmark £50m waterfront scheme at Ocean Village in Southampton. Southampton City Council planners approved MDL Marinas' 'super-yacht'-inspired project which includes a luxury spa hotel, a Michelin-starred restaurant and a rooftop champagne bar. MDL Marinas has teamed up with Harbour Hotels on the plans. The ground floor of the hotel will include a large open plan lounge, restaurant and bar which will extend out onto

The Seri Chenang Resort and Spa will open on the Malaysian island of Langkawi on 30 June. The privately-owned, RM5m (US$1.6m, 1.2m euro, £1m) boutique resort will offer accommodation in six luxury villas and also features a large spa villa. Created by the resort's owner, entrepreneur Dato Zainal Abidin, the design of each villa has been influenced by the architecture of traditional homes from six separate Malaysian states. The individual

Chapter Hotels, the UK-based hospitality operator unveiled in 2010, has announced plans to open its second property within a 19th century former Exeter hospital building on 25 June. The 59-bedroom Magdalen Chapter is to occupy the city's West England Eye Hospital after a sympathetic restoration led by Bath-based architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. Facilities will include The Spa, which will boast four treatment rooms offering massages and mini-treatments from locally-based

Singapore-based developer KOP Properties has received planning permission to convert the landmark 10 Trinity Square building in central London into a new luxury development. Work is expected to get underway on the transformation of the Grade II*-listed property during the third quarter of this year, with the Woods Bagot -designed project also involving Beijing, China-based Reignwood Group. A 120-bedroom hotel; a spa; a members' club; 41 serviced residences; a restaurant;

Pod Hotel will open its second location near Grand Central Terminal in New York City, US, in June, which will be modelled on the concept's successful Pod 51 property. The new hotel - Pod 39 - will contain 367 bedrooms ranging from 60-120sq ft (5.6-11.1m) in size and which have been custom-designed to offer comfort and functionality. Unlike the original Pod 51 hotel, Pod 39 will also offer en-suite bathrooms

Xiangshan Hot Spring and Wellness Center, a new US$25m (€19m, £16m) oceanfront spa and 'bathing attraction', is scheduled to open in China in August 2013. Located next to the Hilton Ningbo Xiangshan Resort, the centre is designed by US-based WATG and Thailand-based GOCO Hospitality and will incorporate a 6,000sq m (64,583sq ft) standalone building. The building will house 24 treatment rooms - including two suites and a spa pavilion. Meanwhile,

The Oetker Collection is to expand its portfolio of "masterpiece hotels" with the launch of the new Palais Namaskar Hotel and Spa in Marrakech, Morocco tomorrow (6 April). Built to follow the principles of Feng Shui, the hotel is nestled amid 50,000sq m (538,196sq ft) of scented Balinese-inspired gardens that are complemented by waterfalls and lakes. Facilities include the 650sq m (6,997sq ft) Le Spa Namaskar, which includes four individual

Austria-based Loisium Wine and Spa Resorts will open its second spa hotel in Ehrenhausen, Southern Styria, Austria in June. The 105-bedroom hotel will include a Wine Spa, two wine-themed restaurants and a wine bar. The 1,400sq m (15,000sq ft) spa will have eight treatment cabins - including two couples' suites - a relaxation area, a sauna area with five saunas, heated outdoor pool with experience showers and a fitness zone

Laura Ashley has announced plans to open a new boutique hotel as a showcase for the UK-based fashion and homeware brand's products and design services. In its results for the 52 weeks to 28 January, the company confirmed it had acquired a hotel in Hertfordshire last November for £5.8m as part of an expansion of its marketing strategy. Further details about the composition and facility mix of Laura Ashley's new

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced the launch of its first Park Hyatt-branded property located in an Indian city with the 185-bedroom and 24-suite Park Hyatt Hyderabad. The eight-storey hotel has been designed by John Portman and Associates and includes The Spa, which is inspired by the royal Nizams of Hyderabad and has five treatment rooms. Each of the treatment rooms are equipped with separate bath areas, while a Swedish sauna;

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has opened a new Vivanta by Taj-branded spa resort in northern Kerala, India. The 25-acre (10-hectare) The Vivanta by Taj, Bekal resort is home to the Jiva Grande Spa, which is spread over 165,000sq ft (15,000sq m). Spa facilities include single and double treatment rooms; beauty treatment rooms; meditation and yoga pavilions; relaxation pools; and a large health and fitness club. All treatment rooms have

International resort operator Club Med has announced the reopening of its resort in Phuket, Thailand, following the completion of an extensive renovation of the property. The resort is located amid 25 hectares (62 acres) of palm grove on Kata Bay beach and has received a comprehensive redesign led by France-based Marc Hertrich and Nicolas Adnet. Club Med Phuket has been transformed under the Magic of Lights theme, which is derived

A new 81-bedroom hotel is to open at the independently-owned Mere Golf Resort and Spa near Knutsford, Cheshire, this weekend to mark the completion of a £15m redevelopment. Mather and Co worked on three parts of the scheme, which has included the interior design of the new hotel - an extension to the resort's original golf club building. The Cheshire-based consultancy also carried out interior design work on a 1,253

Sofitel Luxury Hotels, a division of France-based hospitality group Accor, has announced the opening of its latest So-branded hotel with the new Sofitel So Bangkok, Thailand. Thai architect Smith Obayawat and five Thai interior designers teamed up with France-based fashion designer Christian Lacroix to devise a concept based around five elements. All 238 bedrooms and suites incorporate the elements of water, earth, wood and metal, while the dining and restaurant

Architects Foster + Partners have confirmed that the Hermitage Plaza, a mixed-use development planned for Paris, France has been granted 'permis de construire' - the final approval. The result of a close collaboration with EPAD, the City of Courbevoie, Atelier de Paysage Urbain and Département de Hauts-de-Seine, the project is intended to inject life into the area east of La Défense by creating a sustainable, high-density community. The project incorporates

The Ampersand Hotel, one of London's original Victorian boutique properties, is to reopen in South Kensington following an extensive redevelopment and renovation programme. Dexter Moren Associates have overseen the exterior and interior design of the 111-bedroom property, which spans 5,665sq ft (526sq m) and will boast a Technogym-equipped gym. Facilities at the seven-floor Ampersand Hotel will also include The Drawing Rooms patisserie; the Apero all-day dining concept; and event space.

Bianca Sharma, a US-based businesswoman, is to launch a new boutique hotel and spa within a former a 17th century monastery on Italy's Amalfi Coast in May. Sharma, who is also a director of the Sharma Foundation, acquired the building after visiting the region in 1999 and has taken more than 10 years to transform the historic property. Howard Consulting has worked on the conversion of the building into the

London's historic Café Royal will reopen in June as a member of The Set, a newly-unveiled hotel collection established by Alfred and Georgi Akirov, following an extensive renovation. David Chipperfield Architects and Donald Insall Associates have overseen a comprehensive facelift of the Regent Street property, which has been carried out over the last three years. Among the new additions to the 159-bedroom hotel is the 800sq m (8,611sq ft) Akasha

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced that one of its affiliates has signed a management agreement for Thailand's landmark Park Hyatt Bangkok, which is due to open in 2014. The deal has been signed for Central Embassy - a wholly-owned mixed-use scheme owned by the Central Group of Companies - and will see the hotel located in the heart of the city. Park Hyatt Bangkok will be housed in an iconic