Steigenberger Hotel Group announced that it will take over management of the 269-room Conrad Brussels (a Hilton brand) at the beginning of January 2013, and will run it in the future as the Steigenberger Grand Hotel Brussels. An investment programme for the coming years has been agreed with the owner, AG Real Estate, in order to give guests the best possible quality and service, in line with the international Steigenberger standards. This luxury hotel behind a historic façade has 269 guest rooms, including 32 suites and a Royal Suite, plus the restaurant “Café Wiltcher’s” and the “Loui Lounge and Bar”. It has conference facilities for up to 600 people in 16 conference rooms. The hotel also has the city’s largest column-free ballroom with 550 sqm, and there is underneath the hotel a 3,200 sqm fitness center and spa complete with pool operated by Aspria.

More Brussels hotel news: the former Brussels Hilton (another Hilton lost in Brussels) has completed the first phase of an extensive renovation of the property. Now simply named “The Hotel” the top floors have been completely renovated and have been given a surprising new identity. Guests can now fully enjoy all the various types of rooms and suites of the first 107 rooms renovated, The Urban Spa & Fitness, the latest technological gadgets, the Panorama Lounge and eight meeting rooms on the top floors. The new decor is timeless and elegant, combined with unique views over Brussels. This has been the work of the architects’ practice ‘GCA Arquitectes Associats’ from Barcelona. Extensive works have now also commenced on the lower floors, including the reception area, the restaurant, the bar and the lounge. Whilst the works are on-going, The Hotel. will remain fully open for its guests and a temporary restaurant and bar have been made available on the 26^th floor.

Quay Grand Suites Sydney has been rebranded to Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour, a move Accor says signals a dramatic expansion of its Pullman brand in Australia. Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour is set on the eastern shore of Circular Quay. Its 67 one- and two-bedroom suites all feature balconies, separate lounge and dining rooms and kitchens and offer views either of Sydney Harbour or the Botanical Gardens. Other amenities include Quadrant Restaurant, ECQ Bar and function space. Accor acquired the Pullman name in 1991 and relaunched the brand in 2007. Currently the brand has more than 60 hotels worldwide. Many of the former Australian Mirvac hotels are scheduled to be rebranded to Pullman over the next 12 months.

Trust Hospitality launched Indie Boutique Hotels & Resorts, a lifestyle hotel collection of eight properties in the Americas. Trust Hospitality of Coral Gables, Florida, manages all of the collection’s eight properties and will manage the eight properties it says are in the Indie pipeline. Hotels in the collection are in the upscale to luxury segments and include both beachside resort and city center properties. The sizes of the properties range from under 50 guestrooms to more than 200.  The collection includes: Edgewater South Beach and Lord Balfour, both located in Miami Beach, Hotel Mela and The Mave Hotel, both located in New York City, Moonrise Hotel, St. Louis, Alma del Pacifico Beach & Spa Resort, located in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, Casa San Agustin, located in Cartagena, Colombi and The Zank, located in Salvador, Brazil.

The former Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel has completed its dramatic transformation to become the D Las Vegas, revealing a sleek new style, energetic attitude and fun atmosphere in the heart of downtown Las Vegas. Located beneath the largest video screen in the world on Vegas’ famous Fremont Street Experience, the D sits at the center of four neon blocks of non-stop party action. The property’s complete interior and exterior renovation embraces the upbeat culture of downtown and invites guests to experience the modern amenities, first-class entertainment, fun culinary experiences and unique gaming that abound inside.

A former Howard Johnson, The JHouse Greenwich made its debut in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The lobby is reminiscent of a gallery, with artwork and a projected video installation by Daniel Canogar. Seating areas surround the lobby; the library has a glassed-in fireplace and contemporary furnishings.

The property’s 86 guestrooms feature televisions in the bathroom mirrors, mirrored televisions in the bedrooms, and a personal iPad.

The hotel’s fine dining restaurant, eleven14 Kitchen, offers seasonal American cuisine under Executive Chef François Kwaku-Dongo. The space has an exposed wood-fired oven, display pantry and pâtisserie. Guests can dine indoors or in an outdoor space with subterranean heating and trellises.

The Chocolate Lab, located inside the lobby, serves house made chocolates (using fair trade chocolate from Ghana), gelato, sorbet, ice cream, and fair trade coffee from Africa and Latin America. The wine vault offers tastings as well as wine by the bottle or by the glass.

Additional amenities include a fitness center, 3,400 sq ft (316 sq m) of event space, and an outdoor heated pool with five cabanas, each of which is equipped with a television.

W New Orleans – French Quarter has completed a US$9 million renovation of the whole property.

The hotel’s 97 guestrooms, the Living Room lobby space, Studio meeting spaces, corridors and the outdoor Courtyard all now sport the new look.

Nemaworkshop redesigned the guestrooms with jazz and tarot as inspirations. The jazz design has golden yellow walls, white lacquered furniture, and a floor-to-ceiling brass image reminiscent of the bell of a horn. Tarot rooms, meanwhile, are done in deep blue with a large mural of a woman reading tarot cards.

Images of the voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau appear throughout the property. “The new design definitely has a little fun with the city’s spiritual side,” says Anurag Nema, Nemaworkshop principal. “You may see Marie’s eyes following you on the guest room number placard, or you may recognize her headdress on a directional sign. If you look up while you’re standing in the lift landing, you’ll notice tiny, pin-like lights, playing off voodoo pins.”

The update also added a fitness center and SoBou, a new signature restaurant that serves Executive Chef Juan Carlos Gonzalez’ contemporary Creole fare. Nemaworkshop also designed SoBou with various elements of mixology in mind. For instance, the front room is similar to an apothecary, with bottle-clad walls. Display cases house vintage tools and glasses from the Museum of the American Cocktail. In the main dining space, a one-way glass installation gives the illusion of infinite glowing bottles. Tables in the beer garden have built-in self-service wine machines and beer taps.

To Keep Up with Demand, Starwood Hotel’s “Style at a Steal” Brand Makes Conversions a Big Part of Expansion Plans.

A pair of Aloft hotels opening this month will have more in common than bold design and a buzzing social atmosphere; both are conversions of existing hotels, and highlight an exciting new growth channel for Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ ‘style at a steal’ brand. The Aloft brand, which provided a new alternative in the select serve segment when it launched in 2008, is turning to conversions to keep up with global demand.

“Since its 2008 debut, Aloft has introduced an affordable, design-driven hotel option, growing to more than 60 properties worldwide,” said Starwood’s President and CEO Frits van Paasschen. “We continue to see a lot of demand for this brand around the globe and look forward to opening many more Aloft hotels in the years ahead.”

“Growing Aloft through conversions is the right strategy at the right time for the right brand,” said Simon Turner, Starwood’s President of Global Development. “We’ve developed a conversion-friendly strategy for existing hotels to meet owner and guest demand for Aloft while staying true to the brand’s positioning and helping our partners reposition existing assets in a cost-effective manner.”

Mr. Turner continued: “We see two types of opportunities as ideal candidates for an Aloft conversion: older hotels in need of a major renovation or unique, independent boutique hotels seeking a stronger brand point of view and the ability to utilize Starwood systems. The upcoming openings of Aloft San Francisco Airport and Aloft Nashville West End are perfect examples of these two conversion opportunities.”

Aloft San Francisco Airport has opened its doors last week after 14 months of extensive renovations. The 253-room hotel marked a milestone as the first external conversion project undertaken by Aloft in 2011. The property, owned by Starwood, brings the in-demand Aloft brand to the Bay Area for the first time.

Aloft Nashville Music Row also opened this month. The 139-room hotel will mark Aloft Hotel’s debut in Nashville, and replaces the Hotel Indigo Nashville West End. The property itself is an adaptive reuse of an office building originally constructed in 1970.

“The short turnaround of the Aloft Nashville conversion in less than one month highlights the agility of Starwood’s team to quickly and efficiently convert hotels to join our system,” said Mr. Turner. “Many well-located, but under-branded, hotels represent enormous untapped repositioning potential that will benefit from Aloft Hotels’s ever-growing guest loyalty with the right capital investment and the backing of Starwood’s powerful platforms.”

Conversion or adaptive-reuse projects are also underway for Aloft in Tucson, Calgary and Atlanta. For guests, who have made Aloft one of the world’s most prized hospitality brands, conversions mean access to their favorite hotel at more key locations.

“Aloft has developed a fiercely loyal following. Once travelers experience Aloft, they begin seeking it out wherever they travel. And they constantly ask us to bring the brand to more cities,” said Brian McGuinness, Starwood’s Senior Vice President of Specialty Select Brands. “Conversions like Aloft San Francisco Airport and Aloft Nashville West End are exciting from a brand standpoint because they allow us to bring the Aloft experience to new markets more quickly, which can only enhance the brand’s already powerful growth.”

Pioneering initiatives in music, design, and technology have positioned Aloft as a must-have brand for the next generation of travelers. Aloft has reported consistently high guest satisfaction scores since launch, reflecting the success of its modern and vibrant design at an affordable price point. Aloft’s social guest experience, with the buzzing re:mixSM lounge and w xyz® bar, has also earned select hotels within the portfolio designations in TripAdvisor’s 2012 “Top 25 Trendiest Hotels in the US” rankings.

The opening of Aloft SFO crowns an extensive, 14-month transformation of a onetime Clarion property. Aloft SFO’s strategic location, along with proximity to mass-transit options into San Francisco, made it an ideal choice for a conversion for Starwood.

The 253-room Aloft SFO boasts a 5,102-sq-ft lobby designed for socializing, with the brand’s signature w xyz bar and re:fuel by Aloft® grab-n-go pantry. Signature tactic rooms include 672 square feet of meeting space. And splash is Aloft SFO’s cool pool, where guests can refresh or just relax. The entire property also features free Wi-Fi.

Aloft SFO will also give guests an enviable location next to one of the world’s major air-travel hubs. The hotel is located at 401 E. Millbrae Avenue in Millbrae, about two miles from San Francisco International Airport, and less than a mile from the Millbrae Caltrain commuter rail station. San Francisco is an easy 14-mile drive from the front door – or a quick ride on one of many mass-transit options nearby. For business travelers, Aloft SFO offers access to major corporate headquarters like the California Teachers’ Association, Genentech, and Walmart, all less than 10 miles away.

Aloft SFO will become the third Starwood property adjacent to San Francisco International Airport, joining The Westin San Francisco Airport and Four Points by Sheraton Hotel & Suites San Francisco Airport.

Aloft Nashville’s Rapid Transformation Highlights Advantages of Conversion The opening of Aloft Nashville Music Row is the brand’s first conversion from an existing select-serve or boutique hotel. The hotel will also become the first non-Starwood-owned Aloft conversion hotel to open.

The hotel’s exceptional location, just blocks from Nashville’s historic Music Row, situates guests near Vanderbilt University, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Tennessee State Capitol. Aloft Nashville Music Row, at 1719 West End Avenue, is also just 12 blocks from the soon-to-open Music City Convention Center. Nearby attractions include the legendary Grand Ole Opry, Belle Meade Plantation, Nashville Super Speedway, Bridgestone Arena, and LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans.

Along with Aloft’s signature w xyz bar and re:fuel by Aloft grab-n-go pantry, the hotel offers an 832-square-foot re:charge® fitness center and four smart tactic rooms with 2,470 square feet of meeting space.

Hotel will continue to be managed by Starwood under the W flag.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced that it has completed the sale of W Chicago – Lakeshore to Chesapeake Lodging Trust for $126 million. As part of the sale, Chesapeake has agreed to undertake a comprehensive property renovation to the hotel’s 520 guestrooms; public spaces, including the Living Room, Wave restaurant, Whiskey Sky rooftop bar and the Welcome Desk; and prime meeting space, Altitude, with 360 degree views of the city. Starwood has entered into a 40-year management agreement with full extensions to continue operating the hotel under the W flag.

“As part of our asset light strategy, we continue to look for opportunities to sell our owned real estate at the right time to the right owners, which is in the best interest of our shareholders,” said Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood. “Chesapeake has been one of our valued partners, and we are pleased to expand our relationship with them to deliver an unparalleled W experience to our guests at W Lakeshore for many years to come.”

W Lakeshore is a full-service, luxury property with deluxe guest rooms, more than 12,000 square feet (1115m2) of meeting and event space, a SWEAT state-of-the-art fitness center, a 9,600 square foot (892m2) Bliss® Spa and the acclaimed Wave restaurant. The hotel is the only hotel on Lake Michigan, and is the closest hotel to Navy Pier and within walking distance of East Michigan Avenue and Chicago‘s business districts.

Hundred years after its opening, the belle epoque Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastian, Spain has reopened after a € 16 million renovation. Hotel Maria Cristina, was built in 1912 by French architect Charles Mewes, architect also of the Ritz in Madrid and Paris. The hotel has 136 spacious rooms and suites and is part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection. Since September of 1953, thanks to the International Film Festival, the name of the hotel Maria Cristina has been  internationally recognized. Great and illustrious film celebrities have elected year after year the hotel Maria Cristina for their stay in the city during the Festival such as Gregory Peck, Glenn Ford, Julie Andrews, Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Robert De Niro, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Woody Allen, Susan Sarandon, Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, Al Pacino, Michael Douglas, Peter O´Toole, Harrison Ford , Mel Gibson or the Spanish Fernando Fernan-Gomez, Pedro Almodovar and Francisco Rabal.

Hotel Indigo, IHG’s (InterContinental Hotels Group) upscale boutique brand, announced the opening of its second location in Atlanta in one of Georgia’s largest historic districts and just minutes from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The hotel, located in historic College Park, offers guests a unique hotel experience with a comfortable design that blends well with the surrounding neighborhood. The 142-room, five-story hotel offers a warm and inviting environment with each room featuring a vibrant décor with touches of starbursts and turquoise. Vintage photographs of the neighborhood can be found throughout the hotel that invite and inspire guests to explore the surrounding historic areas in the city of College Park. Common areas, including the reception area, are well furnished and reflect the region with layered marble brought in from Tate, the marble capital of Georgia. The first new hotel to open near the airport in two years, it’s close to Interstate 85 and Interstate 285. The hotel offers complimentary transportation to the nearby airport and is just a block from the College Park MARTA station, making it easy for guests to visit downtown Atlanta, a short ride away.

Eight months after announcing a revolutionary project designed to transform tourism in Magaluf in Majorca, today the Spanish hotel company will end in record time the first phase of the Calviá Beach Resort development by opening the Beach House Hotel which will join the recently renovated Sol Wave House Hotel to revive the Magaluf beachfront and become the first lifestyle destination on the island.

The Beach House Hotel is the result of the total transformation of the previous Majorca Beach Hotel. After four months of intense work, the hotel now presents a stunning and trendsetting new image, designed to offer a different and daring, adult-oriented experience, buzzing with energy and with great social life. This is all guaranteed by the partnership with Nikki Beach, an amazing beach club famous worldwide for the festivals and parties it hosts in Miami, Marbella or St. Tropez, and due to open in Mallorca on June 15.

The hotel and club lie alongside the sea, set in palm trees and pine trees, and its vast lobby is home to huge Balinese beds from which to listen to the hotel’s resident DJ and enjoy dinner or a drink. The interior areas are divided by huge panels that simulate white coral, designed by the architect Alvaro Sans, author of exclusive resorts such as the Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora (Tenerife) or Paradisus Playa del Carmen (Mexico). This season, the Beach House offers a hundred oversize rooms (52 m2) with an entertaining and groundbreaking interior design, including a bathtub under the window from which to view the sea. The furniture has all been acquired in Mallorca as part of a clear commitment of the hotel company to boost the local economy, and includes an XL-size minibar, 32 inch TV, full connectivity for all kinds of mobile devices and a private chill out corner on the terrace.

The Beach House has been designed not only for relaxing by the sea, but also for having fun, meeting people and enjoying every experience. The hotel is focused on adult guests, music and entertainment, and aims to raise the bar for tourism quality in the destination. It offers refreshing dining options, a gym with personal trainers, yoga and pilates, reflexology, and even a pet service. The Beach House is also plugged in to social networks, allowing guests to share their experiences immediately with their friends, including a Facebook Totem which allow guests to take pictures and share them on Facebook.

For Meliá Hotels International the hotel and resort are examples of a bold commitment to reposition a mature destination in southern Mallorca, something which the Vice Chairman and CEO, Gabriel Escarrer, says “has been made possible thanks to the extraordinary potential of the Magaluf area, with one of the most beautiful beaches in Mallorca, surrounded by marinas, golf courses and luxury residential areas, and also to the support of the Balearic Islands Government and the municipality of Calvia, which have been instrumental in creating legal guarantees and an environment to attract investment and prepare everything in time for the summer season.”

W Hotels Worldwide announced plans to reinvigorate more than 10 of its hotel properties across North America within the next 18 months. The ambitious renovation schedule is focused on many of the W brand’s early hotels in key markets such as New York City, Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, among others.

W Hotels Worldwide announced plans to reinvigorate more than 10 of its hotel properties across North America within the next 18 months. The renovations, which vary by hotel, are slated to include cutting-edge updates to public spaces, new signature bar and restaurant concepts, and stylish revamps to guestrooms, enhancing the W portfolio overall for both its jet set travelers and locals alike. The ambitious renovation schedule is focused on many of the W brand’s early hotels in key markets such as New York City, Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, among others.

“When W Hotels launched in 1998, it quickly redefined the space and continued to transform the traditional hotel experience as we entered new markets across North America,” said Carlos Becil, Vice President of Brand Management, Starwood’s Luxury and Design Brands, North America division. “As W evolves from a U.S. phenomenon into a global design powerhouse, we are committed to fueling the innovation within our existing portfolio to create a consistent, cutting-edge experience for our guests.”

Charged with further connecting hotel design to local contextual insights, W Hotels has engaged some of the industry’s brightest rising visionaries to collaborate with the W brand’s award-winning design team to transform various spaces within each of the hotels. In particular, many of the renovations focus on the Living Room (W’s take on the traditional hotel lobby), which is a key element to the W experience, offering a place for guests to mix and mingle over cocktails and pulsating music. Upgrades to these public areas, as well as the debut of new bar and restaurant concepts, allow for W to enhance the overall guest experience while also drawing in locals.

Starwood and its ownership groups, including Host Hotels & Resorts, Rockpoint Group and Estein & Associates USA, have committed more than $100 million to the renovations, which include the following W Hotels:

• W New York – Union Square - Downtown meets uptown in the sharp new design aesthetic created by d-ash and Wilson Associates for W Union Square, which just underwent a renovation of all 270 guestrooms and corridors. Olives, the hotel’s popular Todd English restaurant, as well as its famed nightlife venue, Lilium (formerly Underbar), have also been revamped. The hotel’s Living Room is set to be updated by Krause + Sawyer early next year.
• W Seattle - Inspired by the feeling of a wharf, intermixed with a central “point of impact” that radiates outward, W Seattle recently unveiled a completely redesigned Living Room and bar area. Designed by Skylab Architecture, the hotel has also debuted the W brand’s signature restaurant concept, Trace, which focuses on conscious cuisine. The hotel has engaged Therese Virserius Design to renovate all of its meeting rooms later this year.
• W San Francisco - Earlier this year, the hotel unveiled an expanded Living Room and destination bar as well as the launch of Trace. Designed by noted San Francisco-based Stanley Saitowitz/Natoma Architects Inc., the new design drew inspiration from the fog and city grid of San Francisco.
• W New York - The W brand’s flagship property, W New York, opened in 1998 and has remained a hub of New York culture and nightlife ever since. The property’s state-of-the-art meeting rooms and Great Room received a facelift by d-ash earlier this year. These updates are to be followed by the unveiling of a Krause + Sawyer-designed Living Room bar in 2013.
• W Chicago – Lakeshore - Envisioned by Josh Held Design, the renovations are a nod to the ingenuity of Chicago and the tension between city and nature. Each of the 520 guestrooms will be renovated and characterized by faceted patterns, a bridge of light and energetic colors. The hotel’s public spaces, including the Living Room, Wave restaurant, Whiskey Sky (rooftop bar), the Welcome Desk and the hotel’s prime meeting space, Altitude (with 360 degree views of the city), will also be transformed to recall the strength, invention and industrialism of Chicago, for a final reveal in 2013.
• W New Orleans – French Quarter - The award-winning, intimate hotel is currently undergoing complete renovations of all guestrooms by nemaworkshop, who incorporated both jazz and tarot motifs in the design. Renovations on the first floor were revealed this past month, with the project due to be complete by mid-Summer. Led by Ti Martin of the Commander’s Palace Family of Restaurants, SoBou, the hotel’s new destination restaurant, will present an artful cocktail program paired with a next generation Creole dining experience.
• W San Diego - W San Diego has re-energized its Rooftop Bar with a bright, bold bonfire theme – including a playful sculpture of stacked beach chairs – as envisioned by Mr. Important Design of Oakland, California. Inspiration ignites in the newly imagined Living Room where vibrant colors collide and heat up the lounge atmosphere. In addition, the hotel’s meeting rooms have been expanded and renovated as the hotel debuts its new restaurant, kelvin – which features touches of Latin soul – this month.
• W Los Angeles – Westwood - This beloved celebrity hideaway, featuring all suite rooms, has also engaged Mr. Important Design to expand and re-define its Living Room, bar and public spaces. The renovations will result in a more cohesive union of the Living Room and bar, engaging secret spaces, additional high-tech meeting room options, and a dramatic entrance moment with a signature chandelier inspired by city of LA. The hotel’s signature restaurant and popular Backyard will also be reimagined in 2013.
• W Dallas - With the design narrative of “Big/Bold,” Mars Culture is redesigning the guestrooms with traditional Texas accents that marry the juxtaposition of masculine and the belle. Accents include lasso sculptures, rhinestone hardware, armadillo skin embellishments, and more.
• W New York – Times Square - W Times Square gives guests and locals a place to experience the electric energy of Times Square from a voyeuristic, tucked away space. The WOW and EWOW suites (W’s take on the Presidential Suite), perched high above it all, will each undergo full-scale renovations.
• W Montreal - Later this year, the hotel will begin renovating all of its guest rooms with a colorful new palette that also pays tribute to the historical architecture of Montreal.

South Florida-based B Hotels & Resorts® is on the move with two additions to their portfolio and a new ‘value-full-service’ category, b2 hotels. At the 34^th Annual NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, B Hotels & Resorts® announced its first b2 hotel and the third location for the parent B brand.

B Hotels & Resorts® announced it will open its next hotel in the Downtown Disney® Resort area in the fall of 2013. The B in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, is going to offer a family-friendly lifestyle experience within one of the most popular tourist destinations, the Walt Disney World® Resort. The B resort, currently the 394-room Royal Plaza, is ideally situated within walking distance to Downtown Disney®, and easy access to all Walt Disney World® and Orlandotheme parks, as well as numerous shopping, dining, entertainment and nightlife venues. The property was acquired by InSite Group and Cube Capital in December 2011and will remain operational during a complete renovation and repositioning. It will be officially launched as part of the B Hotels & Resorts® family in the fourth quarter of 2013, joining the AAA Four Diamond Rated B Ocean Fort Lauderdale which opened March 2011, and the B South Beach which is planned to open first quarter of 2013.

The company’s first b2 hotel will debut in downtown Miamiat the site of the former Continental Bayside Hotel located at Biscayne Boulevard. The 243-room property, which will undergo an extensive renovation and open as b2 miami downtown, is steps from the Port of Miami, the shops and restaurants of Bayside Marketplace, world-class cultural and arts venues, and the American Airlines Arena (home of the NBA’s Miami HEAT). b2 miami downtown is in a prime location to benefit from leisure travel including its proximity to the largest passenger cruise port in the world. Surrounded by 16 million square feet of office space and city, state and federal court houses, it will also attract corporate travel and local business opportunities. The property was acquired by InSite Group and affiliates of The Carlyle Group in September 2011. The hotel is expected to open as b2 hotel in the first quarter of 2013.

This September the Dutch city of Arnhem will see the opening of a fashion inspired hotel. The 20 room hotel is to be called “Modez” and is a co-operation between a social housing company and ArtEZ, Arnhem’s famous fashion academy. The hotel will be curated by fashion illustrator Piet Paris. Situated in the neighbourhood of Klarendal, each room will be designed and decorated by Holland’s finest fashion and product designers, among them are Alexander van Slobbe, Spijkers & Spijkers, Francisco van Benthum and many others. The opening of Modez will be celebrated with a publication initiated and produced by the ArtEZ Modelectorate, chronicling the creation process of each room.

Pentahotel Hong Kong, Kowloon will open Summer 2013, in the emerging area of East Kowloon, home of the old Kai Tak airport. The 720-room, 32-storey hotel anticipates development earmarked for the Kai Tak area including two cruise terminals, hospital, multi-purpose stadium complex, waterfront promenade, a metro park and subway line extension. As the first pentahotel in Hong Kong, the property will join sister pentahotels in Shanghai and Beijing, along with 13 properties in Europe. Eighty pentahotels are anticipated to be in operation globally by 2020.

The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts reopens Seville’s Hotel Alfonso XIII after a 25$m restoration. Located on the historic Calle San Fernando in the heart of Seville, Hotel Alfonso XIII is considered to be one of the grandest hotels in Europe, originally designed by Sevillian architect Jose Espiau y Muñoz and eventually named after King Alfonso XIII. The extensive 10 month restoration project was led by Demopolis, a renowned local Sevillian architect, and features Arabic-inspired arches, soaring towers and renaissance-style windows. Designed by HBA Design, the interiors fuse history and opulence with original hand-painted Triana and Mensaque ceramic tiles, authentic wood carved furnishings and marble floors.

Bulgari Hotels and Resorts has opened its latest luxury property – opposite Hyde Park in London’s Knightsbridge area. Bulgari Hotel London offers 85 rooms and suites, featuring luxury interiors and amenities including minibars resembling travel trunks, freestanding Marquina marble bathtubs, 42-inch LCD TVs, Nespresso coffee machines, free wifi and Bulgari toiletries. Granite-clad Il Bar has a separate entrance from Knightsbridge Green, and features a hammered silver effect bar, ceiling finished in titanium, and Sapele mahogany walls. A staircase leads down to Il Ristorante, headed up by chef Robbie Pepin, with features including exclusive furniture and Bulgari cutlery, and offering “contemporary dishes, drawing on classic Italian gastronomic traditions”. The two-floor spa features a 25-metre swimming pool, vitality pool, thermal experiences with ice fountains and cooling showers, relaxation room, 11 treatment rooms offering “exclusive bespoke Bulgari treatments”, a fitness centre and nail salon.

Shelter Island is about to get a chic new boutique hotel that is sure to draw some of the stylish set that flocks to Andre Balazs’ popular Sunset Beach resort. Cape Advisors, which has partnered with Balazs in the city and has developed five hotels in Cape May, NJ, is in contract to buy the Chequit Inn, a 37-room mom-and-pop hotel. The $10 million project includes renovating, adding a pool and creating an upscale restaurant, developer Curtis Bashaw told Side Dish. The deal is slated to close this fall.

The Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, Switzerland, has unveiled a new bar specializing in bespoke cocktails. Named simply Bar, the space was designed in partnership with Wilsdon Design Associates and Gorgeous Group to exude a modern-meets-traditional feel. Period tapestry blends with a transparent onyx bar, antique glass vases sit atop metal and oak shelves and lighting is placed to highlight the space’s decorative moldings and pillars.

The Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC hotel’s only 8 years old, but its rooms needed a design lift. The hotel recently completed a colorful, $2.5 million guestroom overhaul. Gansevoort Meatpacking exchanged its neutral color palette for a vibrant one that will remind Gansevoort fans of the hotel’s sister location, the Gansevoort Park Avenue