Starwood Hotels and Resorts is set to launch W Bangkok hotel in December - its second W property in Thailand. Located on the North Sathorn Road, the hotel will feature 407 guestrooms including 32 suites. The hotel will also house an Away Spa and a Sweat Fitness Centre as well as a wet outdoor heated pool. W Bangkok will form part of the Golden Land's Sathorn Square, a mixed-use project

A new city is to be built in Dubai which will feature the world's largest mall, a theme park complex and 100 hotels. Plans for the new Mohammed bin Rashid city were revealed by prime minister and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. As well as the gigantic Mall of the World, the city will also house 100 hotels, a 455-acre park and an international family attraction in

Grand Hyatt hotel and Hyatt branded residences are set to open in Manila, Philippines in 2015. The new property is a joint venture between a Hyatt affiliate, property developer Federal Land Inc. and Japanese financial services group ORIX Corporation. Grand Hyatt Manila will be located on the top 14 floors of a 66-story office and hotel tower and will feature 438 guestrooms. Designed by China-based architects Wong + Ouyang, the

A luxury integrated resort - Desaru Coast - is set to open on the eastern coast of Jahor, Malaysia in 2015. Destination Resorts and Hotels (DRH) - established by Khazanah Nasional Berhad, an investment-holding arm of the government of Malaysia - is developing the 3,900-acre resort. Desaru Coast will launch in phases and will feature an array of luxury hotels and golf residences as well as theme and water parks,

A new US$550m leisure district - The Linq - on the Las Vegas Strip is gearing up for its launch in 2013. Owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corporation, The Linq will span more than 200,000sq ft (18,580sq m) and is comprised of retail, dining, beverage and entertainment experiences. The project was designed by Washington D.C-based firm David M. Schwarz Architects and the architect of record is Las Vegas-based Klai

Chinese hospitlity giant Mission Hills Group has signed an agreement with Marriott International to open two hotels - The Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance Hotels - at its Mission Hills Haikou resort in Hainan, China. Located in the volcanic region of Hainan Island, the RMB$1.3bn (US$208m, £129m, 161m euro) investment will see the two hotels open in the second quarter of 2015. The Ritz-Carlton will have 180 rooms with 20 villas and

Image: Leisure uses will form part of the scheme Six restaurants and additional leisure space have been included among plans for the £110m first phase of Eastgate Quarters, a new retail-led development proposed in Leeds. Acme are behind the design of the Harewood phase of the scheme, with detailed plans set to be submitted by developer Hammerson in early 2013. Work is due to start in summer 2014. Once complete,

Image: Plans include a 'European' piazza Calderdale Council has secured a £7m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the £19m transformation of Piece Hall in Halifax, West Yorkshire into a modern heritage attraction. Plans for the Grade I-listed Georgian building include a visitor centre charting the history of the building as well as learning facilities, retail space and a conference and venue area. There will also be European-style piazza,

Image: The new spa features a vintage chic theme The world's first spa themed and designed on Japan's Hello Kitty character has opened at the Town Center Jumeirah shopping mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Sharaf Retail director Fatima Sharaf heads the new 1,850sq ft (172sq m) Hello Kitty Beauty Spa, which hopes to appeal to both high-end and leisure clientèle and is the first character-branded spa in the Middle

Swiss co-operative the Migros Group has unveiled its new high-end health and spa club brand, Elements. Designed speci_ cally for the German market, Elements clubs will measure up to 5,000sq m, including spa and hammam or swimming pool. Eight sites are already in the pipeline, with the first set to open in Munich at the beginning of 2013. The remaining seven clubs will open later in 2013: three further sites

A new £18.5m visitor centre has opened today (3 July) at the Giant's Causeway - Northern Ireland's sole UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the County Antrim coast. The building - designed by Dublin, Ireland-based heneghan.peng - is inspired by the site's 40,000 hexagonal basalt stones and the legends of giants Finn McCool and Benandonner. Event Communications has worked on the interpretative design of the centre, which includes interactive experiences

Image: The venue's opening date has been delayed Winnipeg Blue Bombers will play its first five games of the regular 2012 season at Canad Inns Stadium after the opening of the new Investors Group Field was pushed back. The Canada-based American Football team competes in the Canadian Football League and is now scheduled to play its inaugural match at the new 33,500-seat venue in September. Raymond SC Wan is behind

Image: CFC could build a new stadium at the site Chelsea Football Club (CFC) and property development partner Almacantar have submitted a bid to buy London's Battersea Power Station site with a view to building a new stadium. The Premier League club confirmed its joint bid had been lodged in accordance with a sales process established by the site's joint administrators from Ernst and Young. In November, it was first

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

A new 150sq m (1,615sq ft) retail and visitor centre has been unveiled at Conwy Castle in a move towards a new design concept to be implemented at Cadw-operated heritage attractions. M Worldwide and Datum Contracts International were chosen by the historic environment agency last autumn to work on a flexible approach for Cadw's sites across Wales. The concept aims to create retail units and visitor centres reflecting the "uniqueness"

Plans have been submitted for a £6.4m redevelopment of a Grade II-listed former lead shot mill in Chester, which will contain leisure and retail facilities along with 53 residential units. Neptune Developments is working with Chester and District Housing Trust on the scheme, with proposals drawn up by international architectural and design firm, Broadway Malyan. The project, which is due for completion in mid-2013, will include ground floor leisure and

Brazilian premier league football team Grêmio Foot-Ball has appointed UK-based design consultancy Mather & Co to design and create a visitor attraction at its new Grêmio Arena. The 60,000 capacity arena, currently under construction in Porto Alegre, is set to be one of the venues of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. As part of the plans, Mather will produce a new visitor attraction, stadium tour, commercial hub and retail offer.

Plans for the development of the "first new West End theatre in more than a decade" have been approved by Westminster City Council as part of London's Crossrail scheme. The new venue will occupy the capital's former Astoria site as part of the transformation of the Tottenham Court Road area, with retail, residential and office space also proposed. Crossrail submitted its plans in conjunction with Derwent London, which cover two

Construction work has begun on the Ring of Harmony wheel attraction at Shenfu New Town near Fushun, China. The 505ft (153m)-tall attraction will form the centrepiece of Shenfu, an entirely new town being built in the Liaoning province between the cities of Shenyang and Fushun. The wheel has been designed by California, US-based Goddard Group which has also produced part of the master plan for the 10sq km (3.86sq mile)

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

The Crown Estate has announced plans for a £400m redevelopment of three sites in central London, which will create nearly 28,000sq m (300,000sq ft) of mixed-use accommodation. A lead scheme - called St James's Market and designed by Make Architects - is to feature 4,200sq m (45,000sq ft) of retail, restaurant and leisure floorspace, along with new offices. St James's Market will be located between Haymarket and Regent Street and

Construction work on a multi-million pound mixed-use redevelopment in Bromley, London, could begin this autumn after the proposals were given the green light by local councillors. Bromley Council approved The Cathedral Group's Bromley South Central scheme, the masterplan for which was designed by Guy Hollaway Architects and Studio Egret West (SEW). The vision for the scheme features a nine-screen cinema; restaurants and cafés at plaza level; a 130-bedroom hotel; and

Architect Lord Rogers' practice Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners has been chosen to breathe new life into the famous Place du Casino by redesigning the Sporting d'Hiver building. The redevelopment project, being co-ordinated by Monegasque architect Alexandre Giraldi on behalf of owner Société des Bains de Mer, is to transform the site currently occupied by Sporting d'Hiver into one which can "reassert its historical role in the economic, social and

The Benmore Group, the Belfast-based developer, is expected to discover whether its plans for a new £30m leisure-led mixed-use scheme in Liverpool have been approved in January. Liverpool City Council will decide the fate of the development, which is to be built on a 15-acre (6.1-hectare) site adjacent to New Mersey Retail Park and include hotels and a gym. Restaurants and a multi-screen cinema are also earmarked as part of

UK-based multi-disciplinary consulting firm Capita Symonds has confirmed work has now started on the infrastructure for a £50m (EUR59.7m) mixed-use project in Nicosia, Cyprus. The Riviera development is located in the suburbs of the city and is designed by ESA, which was acquired by Capita Symonds for an undisclosed sum in October this year. Two distinct but connected parts form part of the scheme: a residential area and an 18,000sq

A major £20.6m renovation of the National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham is set to deliver improved facilities and a greater emphasis on the pre- and post-show experience. Designs for the scheme have been drawn up by Broadway Malyan, with work due to commence in late 2012 and help transform the venue into the "next generation of arena" for the city. The modernisation plans have been designed to make the

Property investment and development group Town Centre Securities (TCS) has been given the green light to proceed with the New Front leisure scheme at Leeds' Merrion Centre. The multi-million pound development will seethe transformation of 80,000sq ft (7,432sq m) of retail space into a leisure destination adjacent to the new 13,500-capacity Leeds Arena. Seven units ranging in size from 420sq ft (39sq m) to 30,000sq ft (2,787sq m) will house