The Alpina Gstaad hotel and spa is set to launch in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland next month. Located on a 20,000sq m (215,278sq ft) hill top area in Oberbort, the resort will feature 56 guestrooms and suites and 11 private apartments within the hotel. It will also house three private apartments within a chalet, and two private chalets. Designed by Swiss architectual firm Jaggi & Partner AG, the hotel features

A new £7.8m leisure centre is set to open in Gosport in December. The centre will replace the Holbrook recreation Centre on Fareham Road and will be operated by DC Leisure. The development which is been carried out by Wilmott Dixon contractors will feature a swimming pool and learner pool as well as a sauna and steamroom. The centre will also house a sports hall, 70 station health and fitness

Plans are underway to build a £40m community campus in east Manchester. The 16-acre development project is led by Manchester City Council (MCC) and supported by Manchester City Football Club. The Beswick Community Hub Masterplan sets out a blueprint for four key initiatives; a new leisure centre with a swimming pool, Connell Sixth Form College (a 600-place sixth form college for 16- to 19-year-olds); the Manchester Institute of Sports Science

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

Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park has opened a Hello Kitty Town at its Malaysian resort. Located in Nusajaya Joho, the Hello Kitty Town is the first of its kind outside Japan and features walk-through experiences, interactive activities and Kitty-theme rides. The Town will house an interactive Black Wonder themed experience, a Hello Kitty House and the ‘Purfect' stage with live performances by Hello Kitty and friends My Melody and Little

Anantara has launched Anantara Sanya Resort & Spa - the group's second resort in China. Located on Hainan Island, the resort features 122 rooms including suites and private pool villas. A signature of the resort are the Spa Pool Villas facing the ocean. The villas feature 500sq m (5,382sq ft) of living space including a pool oasis with private trails to the shoreline. Guests will also have use of a

The US$185m (£116m, 114.5m euro) Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, US is set to open in December. Designed by Los Angeles-based architect Thom Mayne, the museum will feature five floors of public space with 11 permanent exhibit halls, including a children's museum and a hall to host travel exhibitions. The museum also houses an expansive glass-enclosed lobby and rooftop deck, a 3D digital cinema and an auditorium.

Rezidor Hotel Group has opened Radisson Blu Hotel in Nantes, France. Housed in the former Court of Justice that was constructed in 1851, the hotel features 142 rooms with 20 suites. Facilities include a 2,153sq ft (200sq m) day spa, featuring a sauna, hammam and health club. Located in the city centre, the hotel was designed by architect Jacques Cholet and interior designer Jean-Philippe Nuel. The aim was to maintain

The Jewish Museum Berlin in the German capital has unveiled its latest extension - the Academy – designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. The 25,000sq ft (2,323sq m) Academy stands on the site of Berlin's one-time flower market. Located adjacent to the museum, it houses a library, archives and education centre and offers additional office, storage and support space for the museum. Daniel Libeskind's latest design links the building to the

Construction work is set to begin on the £24m multi-use sports arena in Derby. Located near Derby's Pride Park Stadium, the 14,500sq m (156,077sq ft) will feature a 250m indoor cycling track and a 1.5km (0.9-mile) outdoor closed cycle trail. In the centre of the indoor cycling track will be a sports infield accommodating 12 badminton courts and hospitality facilities. The venue will be able to host 5,000 spectators. Designed

The restoration of the Eastern Wing at the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia is set to be complete by 2014. The Eastern Wing previously belonged to the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation will be used for exhibiting art of the 19th-21st century. Located in the General Staff Building, the restoration project is a result of joint initiatives of the State Hermitage and the government of the Russian

A new leisure centre is set to open in Hinckley, Leicestershire by March 2015. The centre will feature a main 25m pool with six lanes and a learner pool. It will also house a sports hall with six badminton courts, a health and fitness facility with 100 stations, two dance studios / multi-purpose rooms, a climbing wall and a health suite. The centre will be located in Argents Mead, which

A sand sculpture theme park is set to open on disused land near Brighton Marina after Brighton and Hove City Council approved the temporary use of the former Black Rock swimming pool site. A council initiative invited developers to come forward with ideas for temporary uses and the Brighton Sand Sculpture Festival (BSSF) was selected as offering the best chance of boosting the city's economy. Other proposals considered were a

The US$300m (£185m, 215m euro) Kittitian Hill Resort in St Kitts expects to open its first phase in December. Situated in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean Sea, the first phase will include 90 one-bedroom cottages, 24 villas and a golf course. The par-72 golf course has been designed by European Golf Design (EGD) in association with US Masters winner and 2006 Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam. The phase will

Musée du Louvre in Paris, France and Fine Arts Museums in San Francisco, US are set to collaborate on a series of exhibitions over the next five years. The international accord includes plans to share significant works of art from both museums' collections with audiences in San Francisco and Paris. The partnership will see collaborations on publications, art conservation projects and public education programs. The two institutions will work together

The Japan Sport Council (JSC) has selected Zaha Hadid Architects to redesign its Kasumigaoka National Stadium. The 80,000-seat stadium will need to be complete in time for the country's staging of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and as part of Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Olympic Games. The London-based architecture firm, which was most recently responsible for the design of the 17,500-capacity London Aquatics Centre, was selected ahead of 11

Ruthin Castle in North Wales, UK has opened The Moat Spa - its all-weather spa concept incorporating indoor and outdoor experiences - after a £2m revamp. The new spa is located in the woodlands of the privately-owned Ruthin Castle Hotel near Chester, with facilities including one of the UK's first outdoor log-fired sauna tents. Owners Anthony and Amanda Saint Claire worked with Blue Spa and Leisure in designing the spa,

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,

Just over £3m (3.7m euro, US$4.8m) has been invested in a new 11,000sq ft (1,022sq m) full-service spa at Wyboston Lakes, an independently-owned leisure and conference destination in Bedfordshire, UK. Located within an onsite hotel, Y Spa is one of the most significant UK spa openings in 2012 and has been put together by some of the country's top talents. Ray Payne, previously a long-standing general manager at the famous

Hotel operators Fairmont and Raffles are set to open two new properties at a mixed-use tower at Makati in Metro Manila in December. The complex will feature a 30-floor tower housing the Raffles Makati with 32 suites; Raffles Residences with 237 residences for private ownership; and Fairmount Makati, a hotel with 280 deluxe rooms. The developers of the complex are KHOALI Manila, a joint venture between Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI)

W Hotels has launched W Singapore - Sentosa Cove, its first Hotel in Singapore. Located on Sentosa Island near downtown Singapore, the hotel features 240 guest rooms and suites. The property is owned and developed by an affiliate of City Developments Limited and it was designed by London-based architects WATG and designer Rockwell Group. W Singapore's Away Spa, the W brand's signature spa concept, features a 112sq m (1,205sq ft)

Hemingway Design has been appointed to design the new Dreamland theme park in Margate, Kent. Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway, who made their name as fashion designers, have been tasked with creating the park’s overall scheme. Stage one of the project to transform the site into a £10m heritage park is expected to open next year. Nick Laister, chair of The Dreamland Trust, said: "Wayne and Gerardine have created some truly

A new hotel and spa has opened in a 1920s era Victorian mansion in Valparaiso, Chile. Palacio Astoreca is owned by Swiss-Chilean entrepreneurs Vincent Juillerat and Francisca Joannon. The boutique hotel, which opened following a US$5m (£3.1m 3.9m euro) renovation project, features 23 guest rooms furnished with antiques from the Santiago and Valparaiso regions. Designed by Alvano and Riquelme architects, the hotel features art by contemporary painters such as Ricardo

The Asian Civilisations Museum is set to invest S$5.5m (US$4.5m, £2.8m, 3.5m euro) in expanding its building in Empress Place, Singapore. A new wing, which is expected to open in 2015, has been funded by the Hong Leong Foundation (HLF) and is being designed by Singaporean architects GreenhilLi Consultants. Surrounded by a light-filled atrium, and connecting to galleries on three floors, the new wing is a departure from the 19th

£16.1m Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park has been officially launched on the former site of the St Thomas Becket School in Huyton, Merseyside. Part of the centre has been open for 12 months but now all facilities are open including the new outdoor velodrome and BMX track. The new facility includes two 25m lane pools, an eight-lane competition pool, six-court sports hall, fitness suite, squash court and dance studios. There

A new £7.8m swimming pool is set to launch in Montrose, Scotland this month. The new 25m, six-lane swimming pool will link to the existing Montrose Sports Centre and will also feature a viewing gallery and a studio pool which incorporates a moving floor to allow variation in pool depth. The pool will be used both for competitive and community swimming. The complex was designed by Angus Council architect Dave

A new £16m swimming pool and leisure complex is set to open in South Shields, Tyne and Wear in early 2013. The Pier Parade project is part of South Tyneside Council's regeneration plans. It was designed by LA architects and is being built by Graham construction. It will feature a 25m, eight-lane competition pool; an 18m teaching pool and leisure waters with flumes; sprays; bubble pools and water play. The