Hospitality specialists WATG Architects are designing a 160-bedroom Bellagio Shanghai, set to open in early 2017. With a “hip and cool” urban setting, the hotel’s architecture aims to capture the essence of the old and new Shanghai with a modern, tempered interpretation of Art Deco. The hotel will include a five-treatment-room Zen spa with separate male and female wet rooms with sauna and steam, relaxation lounge, indoor pool with tepidarium,

Four Seasons has opened a hotel in Bogota, Colombia that takes its design inspiration from the surrounding mountains. The 64-bedroom Four Seasons Hotel Bogota includes a spa with five treatment rooms, including an oversized couple’s suite, as well as relaxation lounges, steamrooms and a spa shop. Houston, Texas-based Rottet Studio created the design aesthetic, drawing inspiration from the mountains surrounding the city. Pattern, texture and craftsmanship combine in the lobby,

Work has begun on a new £20m (US$29m, €26m) four-star hotel in Edinburgh’s Old Town, marking a milestone in hotel operator Carlton’s ambitions to provide more luxury accommodation in the city. The 98-room boutique hotel has been designed by local studio JMArchitects and interior designers FG Stijl. It will transform a key under-used site on Market Street, located next to Craig’s Close, which has remained vacant for more than 50

London studio RPW Design have unveiled details of their extensive refurbishment of the five-star Fairmont St Andrews, which will include a 60m (197ft) long ceiling sculpture in the atrium. Situated on a 520-acre estate on the east coast of Scotland, the luxury resort offers panoramic cliff-top views of the North Sea. It is famous for its two championship golf courses, The Torrance and The Kittocks, and for hosting important political

Global architectural practice HKS Hospitality Group have announced the appointment of Kevin Underwood as both a principal and head of masterplanning and design. Underwood has previously overseen urban regeneration schemes and hotel developments for Edaw and Aecom. At the latter, he was global leader of leisure and culture and worked on projects for Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton and Disneyland Paris. Luis Zapiain, director of HKS Hospitality, said: “We are delighted that

Draught beer on tap, mattresses made from malt, a jacuzzi filled with pale ale and a homebrew kit by the bed. That’s the vision for a new beer-themed hotel proposed by Scottish craft beer company BrewDog, who are set to use millions of pounds raised in a crowdsourcing campaign to turn their beer-soaked dream into reality. Located in Aberdeen, Scotland – close to the company’s brewery – the hotel will

Located on a scenic hillside location on the island of Bintan, the Alila Villas Bintan – a 14.4-hectare gated development with a combination of residences, boutique hotel, and a village with a museum, gallery, retail shops, restaurants and a spa – is set to open in mid-2017. The spa at the Alila Villas Bintan is designed to be one of Alila’s most comprehensive, according to Steve Jeisman, group director of

French designer Philippe Starck has created the interiors for a boutique hotel and cafe among the towering sand dunes of southern France. Located within a neo-Basque structure in the Bay of Arcachon, Hotel Haïtza and the Ha(a)ïtza café will offer a place for tourists and residents to socialise and relax along the waterfront in the district of Pyla, which is home to the tallest sand dune in Europe. The building

Sentierre, a new US-based hotel brand with a focus on wellbeing, will include a full-service spa created by Sylvia Sepielli in its first resort, Sentierre Padre Canyon in Utah, US. CEO and founder of Sentierre Stan Castleton said he created Sentierre as a new kind of five-star resort experience. “Sentierre transcends traditional terms such as hotel by offering guests an experience that can be introspective, interactive and invigorating,” said Castleton.

Set on 70 oceanfront acres atop Bald Head Cliff on the southern coast of Maine, US, Cliff House Resort is undergoing a landmark transformation, and adding in a new 9,000sq ft (836sq m) spa concept, set to open this July. Created by Blu Spas, the seven-treatment-room spa will have an emphasis on the “wild and free” elements of coastal Maine, channeling the transformative interplay of water, stone, sky and sand.

Conrad Hotels has made its debut in India with the opening of Conrad Pune, which features a 5,000sq ft (465sq m) Conrad Spa. Owned by Palm Grove Beach Hotels, a subsidiary of K. Raheja Construction Group, and managed by Hilton Worldwide, the 310-bedroom Conrad Pune features interior design by Hong Kong-based AB Concept. Expansive public spaces feature 40ft (12m) high ceilings, cascading water features, a collection of hand-picked artwork, bold

Destination Hotels is opening a 25,000sq ft (2,323sq m) indoor/outdoor spa sanctuary in June 2016 at its La Cantera Hill Country Resort, located on 550 acres just outside of San Antonio, Texas. Part of a multi-million-dollar transformation of the 498-guestroom resort, Loma de Vida Spa & Wellness will offer holistic, meditative and restorative treatments that blend indigenous Texas elements with European influences. Loma de Vida – or ‘Hill of Life’

British architecture studio FaulknerBrowns have unveiled the second phase of their major riverside regeneration project in Durham, northern England, which aims to create a new “regional and national destination” in the historic city. A planning application has today (18 April) been submitted for the redevelopment of Milburngate House, a passport office, into a 2 hectare mixed-use development with extensive public realm along the River Wear. The £150m (US$199m, €176m) project

British architecture studio FaulknerBrowns have unveiled the second phase of their major riverside regeneration project in Durham, northern England, which aims to create a new “regional and national destination” in the historic city. A planning application has today (18 April) been submitted for the redevelopment of Milburngate House, a passport office, into a 2 hectare mixed-use development with extensive public realm along the River Wear. The £150m (US$199m, €176m) project

Six Senses Zil Pasyon, located on the 652-acre Felicite Island in the Seychelles, is set to open in Q3 2016, and will incorporate into its design the small island’s dramatic granite boulders that fringe the shoreline. With 30 villas and 17 private residences, Six Senses Zil Pasyon will occupy just one-third of the picturesque island, with the rest of the island left in its natural state. The 7,000sq ft (650sq

Atmantan, a 65,000sq ft (6,039sq m), 106-room dedicated wellness resort near Pune, India, opened its doors this week, offering a results-oriented approach to wellness with eight signature retreats. The property is nestled in the Sahyradri mountains overlooking Mulshi Lake, and is managed by Thailand-based wellness specialist Destination Spa Management, whose directors cut their teeth as the former senior leadership of wellness destination Chiva-Som. Set amid 40 acres of garden and

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today (14 April) launched an international design competition promoting hotel design that is inclusive for disabled people. The “first of a kind” Bespoke Access Awards will celebrate designers who aim to improve access to hotels worldwide for disabled people, including those with learning difficulties, as well as all other guests. In a statement, RIBA said: “The Awards seek to challenge the perception

Minor Hotel Group is adding two properties to its pipeline in United Arab Emirates, the Anantara Jebel Dhanna and the Avani Jebel Dhanna in Abu Dhabi, both of which are scheduled to open in 2018. Owned by Dhabi Contracting, the neighbouring properties are being developed along the under-developed coastal area of the Al Gharbia region in Abu Dhabi, with a royal palace bordering the new hotels. AECOM have been appointed

Santiago Calatrava’s futuristic tower design for Dubai will ‘be a notch taller’ than the Burj Khalifa, according to its developer Emaar Properties. The real estate giant hosted an event in the city on Sunday (10 April) to officially unveil the project, now named as ‘The Tower’, two months after Calatrava was named as the winner of an international design project for the commission. According to reports in Dubai, the structure

The on-again off-again merger of Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International looks set to go ahead after shareholders of both companies voted en masse for the proposed deal. Marriott's cash-and-stock acquisition of Starwood, valued at US$12.41bn as of Thursday (7 April), will create the world’s largest hotel company. Holders of more than 97 per cent of Marriott shares and 95 per cent of Starwood shares voted in favour of

Bangkok-based interior designer Bill Bensley, UK hospitality designers G.A. Design and international architects Gensler are among the creators of the latest property opened by hotel brand St Regis: a luxury resort in Malaysia’s UNESCO-protected archipelago Langkawi. The St. Regis Langkawi Resort, which opens today (6 April), is the first new high-end resort in the 99-island chain in a decade. It is owned by Indonesia’s Rajawali Property Group. The concept of

A combination of Scandinavian design and “socially conscious hyperlocalism” has been used for an art-filled new hotel in New York, created by Anda Andrei Design and Danish studio Space Copenhagen. Located in New York’s artistic SoHo district, the hotel, called 11 Howard, is owned by art collector Aby Rosen and features works from prominent US artists including Jeff Koons and Dan Attoe. The design team gutted a “characterless” 1960s structure

The Park, a brand new entertainment district in Nevada, offers visitors a new way to soak up the famous Las Vegas Strip, according to developer MGM Resorts International. The Park, which opened on 4 April and cost US$100m (€88m, £71m), is a dining and entertainment zone located in landscaped gardens beside the 20,000-seat T-Mobile arena. The pedestrianised area offers a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the busy Strip.

Public consultation is imminent for a new David Chipperfield-designed luxury hotel and spa on the famous site of the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London. The embassy will soon relocate from the Mayfair location to a new site at Nine Elms, and real estate developer Qatari Diar has commissioned Chipperfield’s studio to breathe new life into the building it leaves behind: a mid-20th century listed structure designed by iconic Finnish

The Bavarian American Hotel – a landmark Cold War building which once housed judges and prosecutors at the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals – is set to reopen as a renaissance-inspired Park Plaza hotel. British architects Scott Brownrigg have drawn on the lives of local cultural icons, including painter Albrecht Dürer and explorer and globe-maker Martin Behaim, to “bring a fresh energy” to the Bavarian city. The hotel, which

The consortium lead by Anbang Insurance Group has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Starwood, paving the way for the Marriott/Starwood merger to move ahead. Anbang dropped its offer “as a result of market considerations” and does not intend to make another proposal, Starwood said in a statement. The statement also said that Starwood’s board of directors continues to unanimously support the existing merger with Marriott. A special meeting of Starwood

The 436-bedroom Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro has opened in Brazil, complete with a 1,150sq m (12,379sq ft) Atiaia Spa, named after the indigenous tupi-guarani word for luminosity. Created by interior designer Yabu Pushelberg with local assistance from Brazilian design firm Anastassiadis Arquitetos, the hotel aims to have a relaxed, care-free coastal living experience, with large balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows, along with stones and fabrics authentic to Brazil. The hotel