Hotel giant Hilton has acquired New York’s historic Renwick Hotel and opened it as part of its Curio Collection. The property is a literary landmark once frequented by the likes of John Steinbeck, Thomas Mann and other American writers and intellectuals. The renovation and re-design by architecture and interior design firm Stonehill & Taylor evokes this cultural heritage and references the design flourishes of Manhattan in the 1920s, when the

Australian studio Techne Architecture + Interior Design have attempted to improve the reputation of pubs by transforming a Victorian era Melbourne textile factory into a welcoming “living room” for city dwellers with a multi-level garden at its heart. The four-storey Garden State Hotel, located in the Central Business District's cosmopolitan Flinders Lane, has been designed as a “warm, welcoming and intriguing” hospitality space with several restaurants and bars under one

Wellness resort operator Miraval Group today announced it has acquired the 220-acre Travaasa Austin Resort in the Hill Country of Texas, which it will redevelop and expand into a 120-bedroom destination wellness resort, its first in Texas and the American South. The purchase, from a wholly owned subsidiary of Amstar Group LLC, closed today following the approval of Miraval’s development plans. The project is expected to be completed by January

Luxury lifestyle hotel brand 1 Hotels has announced it will add a New York property to its portfolio in February 2017. 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, designed by local architecture studio Incorporated, is located at Pier 1 on Brooklyn Bridge Park, just south of the iconic river crossing. Designed following LEED guidelines to reflect the brand’s commitment to “environmentally responsible hospitality,” the 10-storey property features extensive use of reclaimed materials, including

China Oceanwide and Kerzner International Holdings have announced plans to develop a multi-million dollar mixed-use resort development in Hawaii, with the expansive 642-acre project the latest in Kerzner’s global expansion of its Atlantis brand. Located in Ko Olina, the mega-development will be the first Atlantis-branded resort in the US, following on from the landmark The Palm in Dubai and the upcoming Sanya Hainan in China, which opens in 2017. Overlooking

Hotel giant JW Marriott has opened its first hotel in Singapore across several buildings brought to life by designer Philippe Starck and architects Foster + Partners. The high-profile creative team have designed two new hotel blocks and restored three heritage buildings to create the 634-room Singapore South Beach hotel, which is located in close proximity to the city-state’s Marina Bay entertainment and business districts. Contemporary architecture, restored heritage and a

Design studios Motionspot and Ryder Architecture have been crowned winners of the Celia Thomas Prize, which promotes hotel design that is accessible for disabled people. The international accolade, which was presented at the RIBA Bespoke Access Awards in London, received submissions from as far afield as Germany, Russia, Hong Kong and Canada. The winning concept, called AllGo, is a universal approach to hotel room design that ensures all rooms are

The hotels of 2060 will self-assemble and morph from one design to another based on the votes of their guests, a leading futurist has predicted in a study on how the hospitality industry is likely to change over the next 43 years. Dr. James Canton of the Institute for Global Futures – a think tank that advises Global Fortune 500 companies on emerging trends in innovation and technology – predicts

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held tomorrow (15 December) for the transformation of the iconic Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight Center at New York’s JFK International Airport into a 505-room hotel. The modernist terminal building – a designated New York landmark – was designed by renowned Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen and opened in 1962, soon becoming a symbol of the Jet Age. However, it ceased operating in 2001 and has

Hotel visionary Ian Schrager – considered by many to be the founder of the boutique hotel category – has opened his first hotel in China, the Sanya Edition. Located on Hainan Island, just off the coast of Southern China, the hotel is the latest addition to Edition hotels – the brand Schrager conceived in a partnership with Marriott International. With buildings designed by SCDA Architects and set within 50 acres

Wellness resort operator Six Senses has revealed details about its upcoming five-location Bhutan project, scheduled to open in the second half of 2017. Each of the five individual satellite resorts are in separate locations, but packaged as a journey under one name: Six Senses Bhutan. With just 82 suites and villas distributed between five intimate lodges, the journey is designed to show guests the heritage and hospitality of the Kingdom

Details have emerged of Bjarke Ingels Group’s latest high-profile US project; a mixed-use complex in Los Angeles’ Arts District formed of a giant superstructure of plant-topped concrete frames. According to the LA Times, the sizeable new development includes two connected buildings, which rise to 30 storeys at their highest point. Each frame within the structure could be filled by glass-walled offices, apartments or shops, depending on the demand. Some tenants

Hong Kong-based global conglomerate Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited (CTFE) – parent company of Rosewood Hotel Group – has bought the troubled US$3.5bn Bahamian mega-resort Baha Mar, with plans to open it in phases, starting in April 2017. The Baha Mar project was originally slated to be finished in 2014, but a series of hitches and legal battles – including a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in July 2015 – led

Australian architecture studio FJMT have been selected to design the proposed hotel and residential tower at The Star Sydney, which will accommodate a new six star Ritz-Carlton. A design competition featured submissions from three major architectural firms, and FJMT were confirmed as the winner after community and stakeholder feedback. Their design proposes a slender 60-storey tower that gradually twists as it rises. An associated development – featuring bars, restaurants and

The mythology, tradition and beauty of Wales have inspired a series of portable self-contained glamping cabins from which guests can gaze at the stars. WG+P Architects and Webb Yates Structural Engineers will create three boutique ‘Sky Huts’ to be placed in scenic and historic locations across the country after winning a design competition for the project. The structures will be timber clad and will each have a retractable roof, creating

Colour standards company Pantone has announced a "fresh and zesty yellow-green shade” as the Colour of the Year for 2017. According to the firm, PANTONE 15-0343 Greenery “evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew.” It added that the shade is “being pulled to the forefront” of urban planning, architecture, lifestyle and design. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said: “Greenery bursts

A new global awards ceremony has been launched by design publication Sleeper to celebrate the best hotel and spa designs from around the world. The Awards for Hospitality Experience and Design (AHEAD) replaces the European Hotel Design Awards and the Asia Hotel Design Awards, which are being consolidated into one competition with a more global outlook. The new platform will also be expanded to cover hotel designs in the Americas

Thermal wellness resort operator Vamed Vitality World has added a €14m (US$15m, £12m) stand-alone silent spa to its Therme Laa location in the Weinviertel region of northern Austria. The 3,600sq m (38,750sq ft) spa – which has a 160-guest capacity – will be completely silent, and was inspired by the two things people are asking for in an increasingly hectic world: space and time for contemplation. “Our body is perfectly

On the heels of its announcement of a new Luxury Brands Group, hotel giant Marriott International has outlined some of the nearly 30 new luxury hotels set to debut in 2017 under the St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, Edition and JW Marriott brands. Tina Edmundson, global brand officer for Marriott, said that luxury travel has been up nearly 50 per

London’s The Lanesborough hotel, part of the luxury Oetker Collection, is set to open its new 18,000sq ft (1,672sq m) exclusive spa and wellness centre – billed as ‘a lifestyle club for the modern Londoner’ – on 13 March, and has partnered with experts across the fitness, beauty, spa and wellness communities to offer a holistic approach to wellbeing. Spa consultant Neil Howard has overseen the project, working with interior

A luxury floating hotel with 148 bedrooms has opened at the King George V lock on the River Thames in London. Built on a large floating platform, the Good Hotel first opened in Amsterdam in June 2015 as a pop-up social enterprise project and has now been transported across the North Sea with the help of tug boats and a submerged barge. The structure and interiors were designed by Dutch

Designer Philippe Starck, music icon Lenny Kravitz and architecture studio Gensler have come together to design a stylish new hotel in Las Vegas. The W Las Vegas is the first W Hotels Worldwide property in the city. The company, a subsidiary of Marriott International, has taken over the 289 guest rooms of the SLS Las Vegas tower, bringing in a star team of designers to refresh the interiors in a

Italian studio Network of Architecture (NOA*) have created a cantilevering swimming pool overlooking a forest valley in the Dolomites in Italy. The dramatic pool, situated at an altitude of 1,350m (4,400ft), rests between the old and new wings of the Hotel Hubertus in Puster Valley, which NOA* have recently renovated. Designed to resemble a floating rock come to rest, the 25m-long pool (82ft) is constructed from anthracite-coloured stone. Its edges

A new resort with a nature-inspired spa has opened adjacent to an environmentally protected 208-acre state park along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Located in Destin, Florida, The Henderson features 170 bedrooms and architecture “reminiscent of a grand seaside manor of yesteryear.” Atlanta-based architect Cooper Carry used traditional coastal architecture, including steep gabled rooflines, shingles and a design that references Florida’s nautical history. The Salamander Spa has 11 treatment rooms as well

Iconic Malaysian luxury resort The Datai Langkawi will embark on an extensive renovation from 4 September 2017, its most substantial enhancement since it opened 23 years ago. To ensure it retains its ‘Datai-DNA,’ the management has appointed interior designer Didier Lefort of DL2A. Australian architect Kerry Hill was responsible for the original designs in 1993, and had a vision to create a luxurious hideaway set amidst a 10-million-year-old rainforest backed

Architecture studio HKS have unveiled their concept designs for Fairmont Taghazout Bay – a 615 hectare seaside resort on the coast of Morocco, which has been conceived to challenge traditional assumptions about holidaying in the country. Slated to open in the first quarter of 2019, the resort, 18 km north of Agadir, will feature 155 guestrooms and suites in addition to 52 Fairmont-branded luxury waterfront villas. Development company Sud Partners

The JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Venice, designed by Matteo Thun & Partners, has won the European Hotel Design of the Year prize. The announcement was made at the European Hotel Design Awards, which took place in a star-packed ceremony last night at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel in London. Matteo Thun and his team created a contemporary resort on the man-made Isola delle Rose island – located