One of the most anticipated additions to London's hotel market is on schedule to open its doors in spring 2019. Designed by architectural and interior design practice, Scott Brownrigg, the property is a conversion of the former Cumberland Hotel and will cater to the needs of both business and leisure travellers. With 1,000 rooms and suites, Hard Rock Hotel will become one of the capital's largest hotels and is expected

The Port of San Diego is moving forward with its US$1bn bayfront regeneration project, which – when completed – will make the coastal city of Chula Vista the new home of a luxury hotel, convention centre, and two public parks. The resort will be built and partially financed by the RIDA Development Corporation and will include 1,600 rooms and 275,000sq ft of space for restaurants, bars, a swimming pool and

L&L Holding Company, Maefield Development, and Fortress Investment have released renderings of TSX Broadway, a multi-billion dollar complex that will be built 30 feet above Times Square. The new 46-story building, which will rise on the site of the Beaux Arts-style Palace Theatre on 1564 Broadway Avenue, will accommodate 555,000sq ft of space for retail and entertainment venues. The structure will also include a 669-room hotel, a 10,000sq ft terrace

IKEA’s innovation lab, Space10, and visual trend consultancy f°am Studio have released concept images of “Spaces on Wheels”, a futuristic project that provides insight into how driverless vehicles could be repurposed to better one’s quality of life. The illustrations – which eschew what Space10’s creative strategist Bas Van De Poel has called the science-fiction stereotype of self-driving cars as “sleek, sterile, chrome painted machines” – feature seven, pop-up-style designs: Office

Plans have been announced to build the world's largest indoor ski park, with the record-breaking development coming to Shanghai's Pudong neighbourhood. Conceptualised by Mercurio Design Lab, the Wintastar resort will be run by Dubai's Majid Al Futtaim, which unveiled the Middle East’s first indoor ski slope in 2005. Singapore-based KOP Limited (KOPL) will build the sport's attraction, which will span 227,000sq m (2.4 million sq ft). The park will feature

Architectural firm Lead 8 has been appointed lead design architect for Hong Kong International Airport’s (HKIA) SkyCity RDE Complex. The 20-year-old airport is currently undergoing an HK$140bn (£13.7bn) expansion, and Lead 8 has been selected to spearhead the development of an area spanning 25 hectares, with 350,000sq m of space specifically allocated for leisure and retail facilities. The new space is set to become Hong Kong's largest retail, dining, and

Architectural studio Graham Baba and landscape design firm Greenworks have released images of their plans to regenerate Terminal 1 on the Vancouver waterfront in Washington state. The building project coincides with a $1.5bn initiative by Waterfront Vancouver LLC and Gramor Development to reconnect 35 acres of the Columbia riverfront to downtown Vancouver. Both areas have been separated for over a century. Port of Vancouver project manager Jonathan Eder said: “Terminal

Turkish architects Project Design Group have designed the KentPlus Yalova Wellness Spa Resort in Armutlu, Yalova in Turkey, which is due to open at the end of this year. The project includes three five-star thermal hotels with more than 1,300 bedrooms and more than 1,000 apartments for timeshare and full-time living. A Physiotherapy Medical Centre will provide thermal water healing, together with detox, physiotherapy and rehabilitation services. The complex will

The latest addition to the Edition brand of luxury hotels, a partnership between Marriott International and hotelier-designer Ian Schrager, is scheduled to open in Shanghai next month. The new resort, built in a space that was erstwhile a part of the Art Deco-style headquarters of the Shanghai Power Company, has 145 guest rooms as well as multiple bars and restaurants, two of which are helmed by Michelin-starred chef, Jason Atherton.

Work could soon begin on what has been described as one of the first developments of its kind in the world. The £200m Llanelli Wellness and Life Science Village, planned for the Carmarthenshire coast, is set to include a wellness hotel, sports and wellbeing centre, wellness spa and primary care centre. An outline planning application for the project will be assessed by mid-November, with preparatory works on site at Delta

A new hotel with a striking minimalist design aesthetic and a light-filled, tranquil spa will open this November on the Caribbean island of Grenada. A member of The Leading Hotels of the World, Silversands Grenada will be located on the Grand Anse Beach and include 43 suites and nine residential villas. With architecture and interiors by AW² – Reda Amalou and Stéphanie Ledoux – Silversands Grenada features linear architecture and

The eagerly awaited Bill Bensley glamping resort, Bensley Collection – Shinta Mani Wild, which is set deep within the wilderness of Cambodia’s South Cardamom National Park, will open on 1 November 2018. The resort will offer 14 one-bedroom luxury tents – all sized at 100sq m (1,076sq ft) – and one two-bedroom luxury tent – sized at 140sqm (1,507sq ft). The tents have been designed to evoke Bensley’s vision of

A 200-hectare, 150-bedroom hotel by luxury brand Anantara is to open in the Chinese city of Chengdu. The hotel will be a fairly low, wide structure with plenty of natural light throughout, owing to the large number of windows all around it. The whole project incorporates a 47-hectare eco-wetland park and, beyond its 150 bedrooms and suites, will have an all-day dining restaurant, speciality restaurant and lobby lounge. Other features

Global spa consultancy Raison d’Etre (RdE) has been contracted by the Hard Rock Hotel Davos, Switzerland to design and implement the hotel’s ‘Rock Spa’ which opens on 1 August. Combining spa, fitness and yoga, the new Rock Spa will offer a 360-degree approach to wellness, in keeping with Raison d’Etre’s philosophy to encourage everyone to maximise their potential. The 945sq m spa will boast a series of thermal experiences, including

The current trend of incorporating wellness into design shows no signs of stopping as renderings and animations from the latest Sir Richard Branson project, Virgin Voyages (a rebrand of the former Virgin Cruises), show a heavy wellness focus in its public areas. Featuring a running track, boxing ring, yoga deck, wellness pool and hydrotherapy pool, the ambitious cruise ship project is looking to change the way people think about sea

Asian hotel interiors specialists AB Concept, co-founded by Ed Ng, have designed restaurant, bar and lounge areas for the new the new Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur. Yun House, the main restaurant, has a decadent courtyard-style reception with an elaborate pewter back panel. Its high ceilings and natural light reference Malaysia’s longstanding tradition of socialising in gardens. The design of Yun House was inspired by legends of Canton voyagers, according to

Three concepts have been shortlisted as finalists for the 2018 Radical Innovation Award, a hospitality design award that calls for the “best and brightest” concept ideas. Italian practice Network of Architecture (noa*) have been shortlisted for their striking concept – a hotel designed especially for single or separated parents and their children. With a proposed location in Sirmione, on the south coast of Lake Garda, Le Colline Incantate (the Enchanted

Atelier Chang have designed brightly coloured pods for a 'minimalist luxury' glamping resort near Suncheon in South Korea. The SJCC Glamping Resort consists of 16 living units, with an onsite restaurant and reception. The units are manufactured off-site and connected to the mains electricity and water supply; they feature a living area, two bedrooms and a kitchen and bathroom. They are made from a lightweight steel frame, covered with an

The Florida Keys will get a new luxury hotel in early 2019 with the opening of Isla Bella Beach Resort. Located on Knights Key in Marathon, Florida, US, at the threshold of the iconic Seven Mile Bridge, Isla Bella will include a 4,000sq ft spa. Set on 24 acres of tropical landscaping, the 199-bedroom resort is being developed by Pritam Singh & The Singh Company and will be the first

The iconic Hotel Okura Tokyo, which was demolished in 2015, is set to be rebuilt and will reopen in September 2019 as the Okura Tokyo. The hotel, which featured in Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel and subsequent movie – starring Sean Connery – You Only Live Twice, has been redesigned by Yoshio Taniguchi – the son of the original Okura architect of the same name – to be more earthquake-proof.

The iconic Hotel Okura Tokyo, which was demolished in 2015, is set to be rebuilt and will reopen in September 2019 as the Okura Tokyo. The hotel, which featured in Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel and subsequent movie – starring Sean Connery – You Only Live Twice, has been redesigned by Yoshio Taniguchi – the son of the original Okura architect of the same name – to be more earthquake-proof.

Global luxury travel brand Belmond has chosen two young designers to bring on board for its Belmond Hotel Cadogan in Chelsea, to supply design products for the London hotel’s scheduled reopening later this year. Product and furniture designer Mac Collins and sustainable design advocate Antonia (Toni) Packham were named by Belmond as their choices from a pool of 3,000 young hopeful designers who displayed their work at the New Designers

Muza Lab has finished its ground floor public rooms refurbishment at Cape Town’s iconic Belmond Mount Nelson, with a focus on keeping traditional elements, while embellishing them with natural greens and subtle upgrades. The new design has aimed to embrace “Belmond values” with a layout that is “connected to the heritage and location of the hotel” with an update that allows those who enter the lobby to have a framed

The Biltmore Hotel, located at Coral Gables, near Miami, has announced that it has commissioned two architects to redesign all of its accommodations and corridors, as well as one more architect to oversee the restoration of its 18-hole golf course. D’Shakil Designs and Studio 5 Design + Architecture will undertake the work to redesign the hotel, with a brief to create a “fresh take on the hotel’s history of old-world

A new hotel designed by Margot Krasojevic will look to improve both China’s and the hotel industry’s outlooks on energy usage by harnessing tidal energy and reimagining what a hotel’s ethos on power is for both user and operator. “I have designed an alternative sustainable holiday experience. Studies have been published showing people are willing to forego excessive energy consumption experiences in order to support sustainable leisure breaks,” Krasojevic told

W Hotels Worldwide has announced the 2020 opening of W Nashville in Tennessee, US, which will incorporate the city’s rich musical heritage into its design and ethos. Architecture and design firm Rockwell Group has been commissioned to carry out the project, with a brief to incorporate the “rich culture and musical legacy of Nashville into every aspect of the property.” As well as a live venue, the hotel lobby will

The iconic Sunset Tower hotel – considered the one of the best examples of Art Deco design in Los Angeles – will emerge from a multi-million-dollar renovation this August that will include a new 7,000sq ft fitness centre and spa. Led by owner Jeff Klein, who has owned the property since 2004, the hotel is located on Sunset Boulevard and first opened its doors in 1931. Designed in 1929 by