London studio RPW Design have revealed more details about their multi-million pound renovations of two Marriott properties in London, including the transformation of a health and wellbeing space on the capital’s famous Park Lane. Refurbishment of The Club – the 342sq m (3,600sq ft) health facility at the five-star London Marriott Hotel Park Lane – will be completed in April 2016. RPW are designing a brand new treatment room, a

Four Seasons is planning a new luxury resort in Napa Valley, California, that will include a spa using the natural geothermal waters unique to the Calistoga region. Owned by Boston-based real estate private equity firm Alcion Ventures and developed in partnership with Colorado-based boutique firm Bald Mountain Development, the Napa Valley resort will include 85 guest rooms and 20 private residence villas. Designed by O’Bryan Partnership Architects, with interior design

A recently-approved US$168m (€150m, £116m) expansion of the Deep Water Cay Resort in the Bahamas will include Six Senses as the operator of a five-star, mixed-use resort, according to a news release from the Bahamian government. Representatives from Six Senses were not able to comment on the news. Dr Michael Darville, minister for Grand Bahama, said the build-out will be phased over a seven-year period and will include 68 hotel

Speaking during her RIBA Royal Gold Medal lecture in London, British architect Zaha Hadid claimed that unlike artists, architects have a duty to the community's wellbeing and should not dwell on “contemplation, expression or provocation” in their work. “For me there was never any doubt that architecture must contribute to society’s progress and ultimately to our individual and collective wellbeing,” she said. “It performs and facilitates everyday life.” Hadid added

Health and fitness operator Life Time will open its first New York fitness club in Q1 2016 within Manhattan’s largest residential tower. The club will take up a 70,000sq ft (6,500sq m) area inside the 71-storey Sky building, which is set to be completed in the next few months. The structure was designed by Goldstein Hill & West with interiors created by David Rockwell's studio, the Rockwell Group. The Life

The winners of the 2014 Stirling Prize, Haworth Tompkins, have replaced Frank Gehry on a multi-million pound project to create a moderns sports and leisure complex in Brighton & Hove, UK. Plans to renovate the city’s King Alfred site – a leisure centre “which no longer meets modern expectations and is expensive to operate and maintain” – were first mooted in 2005 when development company Karis proposed a £300m (US$436.1m,

Architecture studio YOD have renovated and modernised a Soviet-era building in a Ukrainian pine forest to create a nature-inspired spa and leisure complex. The facility is an extension to the newly-built Relax Park Verholy Hotel, located in the Poltava region, which the Kiev-based studio designed last year. The new complex features a spa and sauna, an indoor swimming pool, a cafe, a fitness centre and 17 additional hotel rooms –

The new managing director of hospitality interior design practice RPW Design has encouraged designers and hospitality operators to infuse their projects with more distinct personalities. Ariane Steinbeck, who joined the London firm in December, told CLAD that despite the abundance of new hotel and spa offerings being developed, true diversity is hard to find. “Consumers face a difficult choice between all the different brands that aim to serve a specific

Richard Meier & Partners have completed their first major hotel project – the new Seamarq Hotel in South Korea. Located in the city of Gangneun, where it faces the country’s East Sea, the hotel has been rebuilt as part of a regional regeneration scheme in preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics in nearby PyeongChang. The 52,830sq m (568,700sq ft) area contains two main structures – a hotel tower and a

A former sand extraction station in the Bahamas is to be transformed into a luxury private island featuring bars, restaurants, sports facilities and an exclusive spa and wellness sanctuary. The Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve – located 65 miles (104.5 km) east of Miami, Florida – has been launched by MSC Cruises, who have partnered with ecologists and the government of the Bahamas to create a US$200m (€182.7m, £139m) “flourishing

Lifestyle brand Virgin Hotels will open its first California location in Palm Springs in late 2018. The hotel will feature 150 bedrooms, multiple restaurants, a rooftop terrace and pool, and a spa – likely similar to its first spa location in Chicago, where clients can completely customise treatments. Designed by local architect Chris Pardo, the hotel will be located in the heart of downtown Palm Springs and surrounded by historic

Tree-loving Italian architect Stefano Boeri has lined up his next forest-inspired project: a resort property in China’s Guizhou province. The Cachet Hotel Group has announced Boeri will partner with acclaimed local artist Simon Ma to build the centrepiece of Cachet Wanfeng Valley – its first resort development in Asia. The group has unveiled renderings of the pair’s design for a striking “lifestyle destination” with trees on every terrace. The building

The Ritz-Carlton is opening a new hotel and spa near Scottsdale, Arizona with a focus on fitness, health and wellbeing. The Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley, developed by Five Star Development Resort Communities, will include a 10,000sq ft (929sq m) spa with ten treatment rooms, in addition to a residential component. Designed by Peter T. Mason of California-based Mason Architects, the Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley will be spread over 20 acres and consist

Multi-national conglomerate Virgin has announced its first branded hotel has achieved LEED Gold Certification, with the company outlining ambitious plans to create a zero carbon footprint hotel business. Virgin Hotels Chicago, located in the US city’s Loop district, has been awarded the accreditation by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), which analyses the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. CEO of Virgin Hotels Raul Leal pledged the

Andrew Gibson, vice president of spa & wellness for FRHI – parent company of hotel brands Swissotel, Raffles and Fairmont – has said wellness in hotels is beginning to move beyond the confines of spa. Speaking last week at the London Health Show about design trends in the spa industry, Gibson highlighted how everything from air quality to lighting to building materials can affect the experience of guests. “This is

The Italian interior designer and architect Matteo Thun has told CLAD about the challenges he faced in transforming a ruined collection of buildings on a Venetian island into a luxury home for the recently-opened JW Marriott Venice Resort + Spa. Speaking in an exclusive interview in the latest edition of CLADmag, Thun revealed he was drawn to the project by the “fantastic challenge” of creating a contemporary resort while respecting

Some of the world’s best-known hospitality operators are vying to open hotels in a new multi-million mixed-use waterfront destination in Oman, which will regenerate one of the oldest ports and market districts in the Arab world. Brands including Hyatt, Hilton, Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Banyan Tree and Viceroy have declared their interest in opening hotels in the Mina Sultan Qaboos Waterfront Project, which will enter the first phase of construction

A former fortress and concentration camp on an island in Montenegro is set to be turned into a luxury resort and spa after a controversial planning proposal was accepted by the government. Local news reports state that the five-star development – located on Lastavica Island, better known as Mamula, in the Adriatic Sea – will include a hotel complete with a marina, wine bar, restaurant, VIP terrace, open air dance

The iconic Rosewood Little Dix Bay resort in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, will close for 18 months beginning in May in order to undergo a complete renovation – the most substantial upgrade since it was founded by Laurance S. Rockefeller more than 50 years ago. New York City-based Meyers Davis Studio will lead the renovation and oversee the overall design concept for the resort. The Sense spa will remain

An iconic brutalist building on Israel’s Mediterranean coast has been transformed into a vast arts complex featuring a hotel, galleries, concert halls, restaurant, spa and wellness centre. The 1960s structure – formerly known as the Mivtachim Sanitarium – is formed by a series of modular, concrete units located on Mount Carmel Ridge in the village of Zichron Ya’akov. It was was created by the late Israeli architect Ya’akov Rechter, who

In an exclusive interview with CLAD, New York-based designer Clodagh has revealed her inspiration for the design of the Six Senses Douro Valley resort, which recently opened in Portugal. The resort and spa – the first to be operated by Six Senses in Europe – is located in a 22-acre, 19th century vineyard set within a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Speaking in the latest issue of CLADmag, Clodagh said the

Greece’s Miraggio Thermal Spa Resort is set to open in May of this year in Halkidiki, with a 3,000sq m (32,291sq ft) Myrthia Thermal Spa, and plans for a medical wellness section to be added in 2017. Owned by Med Sea Health, the resort is designed by Greek architecture firm DLP, owned by Michel De Landtsheer and Eleni Pletsa, and will feature 300 bedrooms and suites, 48 with private pools.

Italian architects Matteo Thun and Luca Colombo have designed a verdant new village in Parma, Italy to house the new headquarters and visitor facilities of hair and skincare brand Davines Group. Spread over 11,000sq m (118,400sq ft), Davines Village will feature a skin bar where people can try the brand’s Comfort Zone range of products, education zones for hairdressers to train, and the company’s development laboratories, all set around a

A 117-bedroom Nikki Beach Resort and Spa will open in Dubai in spring 2016. Developed in partnership with Meraas Holding, this will be the third property in the Nikki Beach Hotel and Resorts portfolio. The Dubai property will be located on the waterfront of Pearl Jumeira and will also include 15 villas and 61 lifestyle residences, with units ranging from one to four bedrooms. The resort will feature private pools,

Commune Hotels & Resorts will open a heritage hotel in India in 2016. The Alila Fort Bishangarh, will open in Q4, following the restoration of a 230-year-old Rajasthan Fort. Positioned on a granite hill in the Arvalli Mountain Range, with spectacular 360-degree views, the fort is thought to be the only one of its kind to be converted into a hotel. The building is an example of the Jaipur Gharana

A unique new attraction is set to open in the Turkish city of Antakya by the end of 2016: a museum/hotel hybrid where guests can walk around archaeological ruins dating back more than 2,000 years. In 2010, international design studio Emre Arolat Architecture had been developing a five-star hotel development on the site, located close to St. Pierre Church – an early centre of Christianity and an important pilgrimage site.

The famous Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight Center at New York’s JFK International Airport is set to be converted into a luxury hotel themed around the airport’s golden jet age. New York state governor Andrew M. Cuomo has formally approved a $265m (€244.3m, £177.6m) project to renovate the centre and create two new six-storey hotel towers. According to plans, the hotel will feature 505 guestrooms, a new aviation museum, several