Crown Hotels is adding a Crown Towers property in Perth to its portfolio, featuring a spa designed by Australian interior designer Blainey North. North was inspired by the beauty of the refraction of light underwater in her Crown Spa design, which is reflected in the aqua-hued treatment rooms. The spa includes male and female wet areas with aroma steamroom, Roman hot tub, sauna and private relaxation areas. Crown Towers Perth

The Ritz Paris hotel has reopened for business after receiving extensive renovation works bankrolled by billionaire businessman Mohamed Al Fayed. Since 2012, a thousand workers and craftsmen have been working on the revamp of the historic building; the biggest to take place since its opening in 1898. Architect and designer Thierry W. Despont has overseen the redesign of 142 rooms and suites – named after famous guests such as Marcel

The boutique five-star Milaidhoo Island Maldives is set to open this November on a small 300m by 180m island set in the heart of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Baa Atoll region of the Maldives. Designed by local architect Mohamed Shafeeq, the resort will have a “barefoot informality” and include 30 over-water villas along with 20 beach villas, all with large private freshwater swimming pools. The resort’s spa will

A 360-room luxury hotel designed by Herzog & de Meuron for Hilton Worldwide in Washington is now under construction. The Conrad Washington D.C.will feature within 10-acre mixed-use development CityCenterDC, which is being created in the heart of the US capital. HKS Architects are collaborating on the hotel project, as are interior design firm Rottet Studio. Turner Construction Company is the project’s general contractor. Few design details have been released, but

Pop Artist Sean Danconia has collaborated with interior designer Henry Chebaane to create a new hospitality brand called SupaPop Space. The newly formed venture will provide a platform for the duo to create, produce, develop and license characters and art into experiential concepts, hospitality spaces and retail products. Danconia has worked as an artist and animator for Disney, Hello Kitty and Warner Brothers, among others, and his own work combines

Chinese corporation Anbang Insurance Group is reportedly preparing to extensively overhaul New York’s world-famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in order to convert two-thirds of its guest rooms into private condos. According to several US news sources, the hotel will close in Q1 2017 and could remain shut for as long as three years. The decision to create luxurious new private residences would be likely to boost short-term returns for Anbang, which

The W Amsterdam, which opened last October, is set to debut a new Away Spa in August, set inside an old bank vault. The spa was conceived by 4SeasonsSpa and designed by architects Baranowitz + Kronenberg, and includes a cold pool, whirlpool, sauna, steamroom and wet area, including a 25m (82 ft) outdoor whirlpool with views of the Royal Palace and historic city. The spa is set inside several historic

The Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia has unveiled a year-long, multi-million dollar renewal project to comprehensively update the hotel and add a restaurant, bar and public leisure spaces. Architects and interior designers Wimberly Interiors have co-designed the hotel upgrades – including new guest rooms and a refreshed lobby – with Coscia Moos Architecture and LW Designs. Meanwhile, restaurateur Richard Sandoval has advised on the design of the 206-seat Nuevo Latino Aqimero restaurant.

A new boutique hotel on the Italian island of Pantelleria is opening next month and will later house a natural, open-air spa facility. Sikelia is a luxury retreat created from an ancient dammuso – the original stone houses built on the volcanic island. The 20-suite hotel, is located 100km (62 miles) southwest of Sicily on the island known as the ‘black pearl’ of the Mediterranean. The hotel has been created

Pestanan Hotel Group has launched new signature spas for its Pousada Mosteiro do Crato and Pousada Convento de Arraiolos properties. Twenty years after its opening, Portuguese architect João Luís Carrilho da Graça has revisited the original Mosteiro do Crato and designed a spa feature a Turkish bath, whirlpool, sauna and treatment rooms. Built within a century-old convent, the Pousada Convento de Arraiolos now boasts an indoor pool with views overlooking

Wellness destination Canyon Ranch is set to open its first location outside the US on 1 July in Kaplankaya, Turkey, near Bodrum. The first international location for the brand marks a significant step in Canyon Ranch’s nearly 40-year history in the wellness space, and involves bringing some of the best programming from the iconic Tucson location to the Turkish Riviera, as the company aims to reach a whole new European

Minor Hotels will debut the Anantara Kalutara Resort on Sri Lanka’s southwest coast this October, featuring an extensive two-storey spa. Designed by the late Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, Anantara Kalutara is surrounded by tropical gardens and coconut palms, and features a simplistic elegance. The resort is set between the Indian Ocean and Kalu River, and boasts coastal, river and lagoon frontage. The 141 bedrooms, suites and pool villas will

Miami-based AIC Hotel Group – whose properties include Miami Beach’s iconic Eden Rock Hotel and Nobu Hotel, as well as several Hard Rock properties – has launched a new adults-only, all-inclusive brand, Unico Hotels, with the first location set to debut in Riviera Maya on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The brand is designed to reflect each property’s locale and native culture, and the nomenclature will play on the latitude and longitude

Miami-based AIC Hotel Group – whose properties include Miami Beach’s iconic Eden Rock Hotel and Nobu Hotel, as well as several Hard Rock properties – has launched a new adults-only, all-inclusive brand, Unico Hotels, with the first location set to debut in Riviera Maya on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The brand is designed to reflect each property’s locale and native culture, and the nomenclature will play on the latitude and longitude

Hard Rock International, in collaboration with glh Hotels, has unveiled plans for the Hard Rock Hotel London, to be located at Marble Arch on Hyde Park at the crossroads of Oxford Street and Park Lane. The 900-room hotel is a conversion of the existing Cumberland Hotel, and is scheduled for completion in 2018. It will include the brand’s Rock Spa, which features a concept based around signature music-infused spa treatments,

The Watergate Hotel – the scene of the burglary which brought down Richard Nixon’s administration – has been given an extensive refit and re-design by Ron Arad Associates. The Washington D.C. hotel – which is listed as a national monument – was originally built by the Italian architect Luigi Moretti in the early 1960s as part of a mixed-use complex featuring offices, apartments and commercial facilities. The hotel made headlines

Conrad Hotels has made its debut in the Philippines with the opening of Conrad Manila today, in the heart of the 42-acre Bay City development. Perched on top of a high-end shopping, dining and lifestyle mall, the Conrad Manila features 347 bedrooms as well as a spa with six treatment rooms with soaking tubs, a private sauna and steam facilities. It also includes a fitness centre and a third-level, coral-shaped

Luxury resort and casino Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas has unveiled a newly renovated spa and wellness facility. Managed by Trilogy Spa Holdings, a boutique spa operator, The Spa at Red Rock by Well & Being features customised wellness experiences, including an updated menu of cutting-edge fitness classes, nutrition, integrative medicine, mind-body therapies and advanced skincare. This is the third Well & Being spa for Trilogy – with spas

The first renderings of the next Margaritaville destination resort – which will open in Orlando, Florida by the end of 2017 – have been released, shining a light on US singer Jimmy Buffett's ambitious plans for the US$750m (€664m, £526m) leisure scheme. Construction recently began on the 320-acre property, called Margaritaville Resort Orlando, which features interior designs from The McBride Company and is being developed by Encore Capital Management in

Luxury hotel brand Bulgari will come to Moscow in 2019, with a hotel set in the former residence of a noble family that was also later home to musicians from the famed Conservatory P.I. Tchaikovsky. Designed by Italian architectural firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Partners – which is also working on the Bulgari Dubai – in collaboration with Russian architectural bureau Atrium, the Bulgari Hotel in Moscow is planned

Global spa management company Resense is working on eight new spa developments across Asia, with projects scheduled in China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea. Resense has also established a subsidiary company, Resense China, with offices in Beijing, which will oversee all projects and developments within Asia. Emlyn Brown is director and Alice Zhang is operations coordinator. “The team in Beijing will continue Resense’s dedication to creating and supporting spas

The Hyatt Hotels Corporation has officially opened its first European resort; Park Hyatt Mallorca. The Spanish property, which is located across five hectares in the Cap Vermell Estate, is designed in the style of an authentic Mallorquín hillside village. Buildings designed by DSA Architects International are spread across three main terraces and smaller terraces typical of traditional local agricultural settlements have also been scattered across the development, with prominent use

Hotel operator Four Seasons has opened its fifth Hawaiian resort; a new property on the island of O’ahu. The Four Seasons Resort O’ahu at Ko Olina is located on the ocean in the community of Ko Olina. At the heart of the property is a 17-storey terraced hotel – originally designed by architect Edward Killingsworth in 1998 and now renovated by Honolulu studio Philpotts Interiors – that was once the

Meliá Hotels International is opening a sustainable hotel in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. The Meliá Serengeti Lodge, scheduled to open in June 2017, will be located 700m below the peak of Nyamuma mountain, on the western border of the World Heritage Site at Lake Victoria. Guests to the hotel will have a panoramic view of a river valley that hosts some of the most remarkable scenes in nature: the annual

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has announced it will transform the landmark Metropolitan Building in Detroit into 110-bedroom Element Hotel. Element Detroit at the Metropolitan Building will open in July 2018. It will be owned and developed by Metropolitan Hotel Partners; a joint venture between Detroit developers Means Group and Roxbury Group. The 14-storey Metropolitan Building is a neo-gothic icon designed by local firm Weston and Ellington in 1925. Located

The iconic Swiss hotel Waldhaus Flims is undergoing a CHF40m (US$40m, €36m, £28m) renovation aimed to maintain the property’s storied heritage while enhancing the resort to a luxury alpine hotel and spa. The 150-bedroom hotel was acquired by Z Capital Partners – the same company that also recently acquired wellness hotel Carillon Miami Beach – in December, marking the group’s first international expansion. The renovation is being undertaken by Hong

Health and wellness hotel specialist Henri Chenot is opening a five-star retreat in Azerbaijan near Gabala lake, marking the brand’s first venture outside the Italian border. Based on the holistic detox and revitalisation Chenot methods, the Chenot Palace Health Wellness Hotel Gabala will be both a medical spa and a medical clinic dedicated to improving the health, wellbeing and natural appearance of guests. It is set to open in November