Property company MCR Development has revealed how it will transform the Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight Center at JFK International Airport into a 505-room hotel. The developer has installed a lounge on the 86th storey of the One World Trade Center to showcase some of the main features of the development and new renderings have been released to give an impression of what the hotel will look like. The modernist

A resort in one of Kenya’s most popular safari destinations is offering guests the chance to sleep under the stars in a human-scale ‘bird's nest’ above the treetops. Constructed alongside a river teeming with wildlife, the Nay Palad Bird Nest provides a 360-degree bird’s eye-view of the surrounding wilderness – home to giraffes, elephants and other wildlife. The structure, designed by architect Daniel Pouzet, is built from raw materials, including

A former prison in the city of Offenburg has been transformed into a hotel called Liberty following an extensive renovation. Set just outside the city walls of the old town, close to the Black Forest and the French border, Hotel Liberty features 38 rooms and suites spread across two 19th century buildings, which have been connected by a new contemporary glass volume. The prison was designed by German architect Heinrich

The Vietnamese government has granted approval for a mammoth resort to be built in Mui Dinh on the country’s southeastern coast. The Bangkok studio of global architects and masterplanners Chapman Taylor are creating a 1 million sq m masterplan for the Mui Dinh Eco-Resort, which will include six resort hotels – with a combined 7,000 rooms – a theme park, a casino, a spa, a beach club, a boutique hotel,

Dutch hotelier Eric Toren and designers Wim van de Oudeweetering and Cris van Amsterdam are collaborating on a boutique hotel in Amsterdam they claim will offer a level of luxury that is “unprecedented in the Netherlands.” Hotel TwentySeven has been created within the city’s early 20th century Royal Industrial Club building, located opposite the palace in Dam Square. It will open at the end of October. The designers have created

Developer Nakheel and Thai hotel group Centara Hotels and Resorts have unveiled plans to open a hotel, beach resort and waterpark on Dubai’s Deira Islands. The two companies have formed a joint venture agreement for the “family-centric lifestyle destination,” which will be part of the newly-formed Deira Islands – a 15sq km (5.8sq mi) group of four reclaimed artificial islands currently under development. Set to open in 2020, the 600-bedroom

Swedish architect Gert Wingårdh has completed a 77-room hotel within the early 20th century home of the former Royal Danish Conservatory of Music. The 5,500sq m (59,200sq ft) building, built in 1903, has become the first property outside Sweden for hospitality company Nobis Group. It is located in the heart of Copenhagen, close to the town hall square, National Museum and the Danish Design Center. Wingårdh and his eponymous design

One of Europe’s most iconic resorts has had a soft re-opening after nine years of construction, with its Qatari owners claiming to have overseen “the project of the century.” Sophia Loren lived there, Audrey Hepburn was married in the local chapel, Charlie Chaplin was a regular visitor and Sean Connery’s James Bond dropped by in Goldfinger. Now the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne has been transformed to appeal to a new

Hospitality designer Bill Bensley has teamed up with Cambodian luxury boutique hotel group Shinta Mani to launch his own brand of hotels in the country, with two projects already in the pipeline. ‘The Bensley Collection’ is billed as a portfolio of “super luxe hotels and resorts showcasing visionary concepts, extraordinary design and bespoke service”, with Bensley granted “complete freedom to let his famed creative spirit run free.” The debut property,

Ritz Carlton has opened its second property in Langkawi, Malaysia, with the launch of an oceanfront resort designed by Philippe Villeroux of Kuala Lumpur-based Tropical Area Architects. Ritz Carlton Langkawi has been created to “immerse travellers in the island's natural ecosystem and local culture”. Reflecting the architecture of the nearby traditional villages – which are known as Kampongs – the resort is set in a tranquil private bay and surrounded

One of China’s largest real estate developers has joined forces with hospitality company Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts to open a luxury property in the northeastern city of Dalian. Luneng Group has appointed architects NBBJ Shanghai and designers Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA) to create the Four Seasons Hotel Dalian on a site within the Donggang East Harbour. The hotel will be housed in a new mixed-use tower overlooking Dalian’s historic

Spa consultant Diana Mestre of Mestre & Mestre Spa and Wellness Consulting is creating a 12,000sq ft (1,115sq m) sunken spa for the upcoming 1 Hotel Los Cabos in Mexico, which is set to open in 2019. Designed with the purpose of revitalising the senses, the Seed Spa will use recycled and organic materials along with water, music, aromas, light and living plants with an aim to create an environment

Adria Lake of wellness and spa design company A.W. Lake Design has created a new Balinese spa for the Radisson Blu Uluwatu – the first Radisson Blu in Bali, which is set to open in December. The 633sq m (6,814sq ft) SpaEsc will include seven treatment rooms, including two doubles with private steam showers and two express massage rooms. A beauty area, “floating” courtyard relaxation room, fully equipped gym, yoga

Construction is underway for a mountaintop retreat in Utah focused on entrepreneurship and innovation. Summit Powder Mountain, near Eden, is a ski village planned by architects and environmental designers Studio Ma to include residences and leisure communities that will host a year-round community of creative professionals and social entrepreneurs. The project is taking shape on a 10,000-acre public site surrounded by ski slopes. The centrepiece of the village will be

Property developer Qatari Diar has announced the appointment of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts as the operator for a new hotel opening within London’s former US Embassy building in Grosvenor Square. The selection follows a lengthy process in which a series of international hotel companies submitted proposals for how they would run an “ambitious world-class hotel, retail and event space” with 137 bedrooms, five restaurants, six flagship retail units, a spa

Dubai developer Nakheel has unveiled a pipeline of new leisure developments across the emirate, collectively worth AED4bn (US$1.08bn, €908m, £806.8m). The company used last week’s Cityscape Global real estate convention as a platform to announce the new projects, which are all phased additions its previous leisure schemes. These include a luxury high-rise beachfront residential complex on Palm Jumeirah; a residential, mall, hotel and health resort at Discovery Gardens; a unique

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, together with Astir Palace Vouliagmeni SA, will spend €100m ($US119m, £88m) to transform the iconic Astir Palace into the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens. Due to open in early 2018, the resort will be the first Four Seasons in Greece. The 1960s hotel is undergoing extensive upgrades, with interiors by designer Meyer Davis, and, when complete, it will include 300 bedrooms and a wellness

A new leisure development next to London’s Tower Bridge is set for completion this month, featuring an Ivy restaurant and a brand new theatre established by acclaimed director Nicholas Hytner. Designed by architects Squire and Partners, One Tower Bridge has a prominent riverside location on Potters Fields Park, adjacent to the Grade I listed Tower Bridge. The masterplan – conceived as a “lasting new piece of the city”, which articulates

A major adventure resort offering a wide variety of physical, thrilling and wellness activities, a 100-bedroom hotel and 400 luxury lodges on a 480-acre (194-hectare) Welsh site will be project managed by AECOM. Afan Valley Adventure Resort will offer a mix of healthy and exhilarating pastimes, including water sports, mountain biking, survival training, trampolining, surfing and zorbing, in response to rising demand for British holidays with a stronger emphasis on

Hospitality giant Hilton has announced an agreement with real estate firm Ithaafushi Investment to manage its new-built resort in the Maldives. Spanning three islands on the South Male Atoll, the Waldorf Astoria Maldives will be the second hotel in the Maldives for Hilton and will join 10 other Waldorf Astoria properties which are already open, or currently under development in the Asia Pacific. While few design details have been released,

A group spa industry veterans have come together to create a new hospitality and real estate company, Civana, based around sustainable wellness through an affordable travel and lifestyle platform. Led by Kevin Kelly – who was former Canyon Ranch president and chief branding officer, and most recently was CEO and co-owner of California’s Two Bunch Palms – Civana will bring together wellness programming, sustainable design and hotel asset and property

Plans for a multi-million pound hotel complex complete with a rooftop swimming pool, nightclub, restaurants and retail outlets have been unveiled for Newcastle city centre. Local firm Space Architects are designing the scheme, which will encompass nine existing neoclassical buildings – seven of which are Grade II listed – along the city’s Grey Street The studio have been tasked with creating a new visitor attraction for the North East region,

Boutique hotel group The Hoxton has debuted its fourth property, with the new opening inside an 18th century Paris townhouse once home to Louis XV’s main courtiers. The Hoxton, Paris – located on Rue du Sentier in the French capital’s 2nd arrondissement – occupies three buildings and has 172 bedrooms, two courtyards, a modern French brasserie, an intimate bar, seven meeting rooms and a communal pantry kitchen. The building, originally

Hospitality giant Four Seasons has opened a new hotel in Kuwait City, created by architects Gensler and designers Yabu Pushelberg. The 284-room Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya is located in one of two soaring glass towers in Kuwait City. The second tower, set to open in 2018, will provide high-tech corporate headquarters for employees of hospitality company Alshaya’s retail franchise business. The hotel’s design concept has been crafted around a

Conran and Partners have redesigned the 267 guest rooms at the Andaz London Liverpool Street, two decades after the architecture practice first worked on the hotel – originally built in 1884 as one of the city's original railway hotels. The renovation – commissioned by Andaz owners Hyatt – has updated the rooms to reflect changes in the surrounding City of London and the district of Shoreditch, and includes contributions from

Hospitality giant Hilton has opened its first Curio Collection property in the UK, renovating a landmark hotel in London's Trafalgar Square as a “sanctuary of style” in the heart of the city. The Trafalgar St. James has 131 bedrooms and 15 suites. Each has been designed by British studio Shh Architects with Art Deco flourishes and references to the history of the building, which once housed the offices of the

Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA), one of the world’s largest hospitality interior design firms, has launched its seventh subdivision, HBA Resorts, which will specialise in the creation of bespoke luxury resort properties. Headquartered in Bali, Indonesia, HBA Resorts provide tailored interior design, architecture and landscape services, with staff collaborating with artisans in Southeast Asia to create “indigenous and authentic design projects for the world’s most treasured resorts.” Explaining the decision to