Bigger, biggest: Starwood announced that it opened 27 hotels in North America in 2011, more than it had predicted this time last year with the addition of several high quality conversions that were signed and opened during the course of the year. In addition, in 2011 Starwood signed more new deals than in the previous two years. In fact, Starwood’s North American division – the company’s largest with 550+ hotels – led all of its global divisions in new deal signings last year. Looking ahead to 2012, Starwood is slated to open 20 new properties in North America, not including late breaking in-the-year conversions which are expected to result in additional new hotels this year. Meanwhile Hilton Worldwide opened a total of 170 hotels and gained supply share in each of its global regions. In the United States, Hilton Worldwide has over 10 percent of the room supply market share, the largest in the country, as well as over 18 percent of the active industry room pipeline in the planning to construction phases.

Four Seasons Hotels unveils $16m website: The result of the investment is a slick, bright website, with a new booking process, social media integration and personal profile technology that allows users to set preferences and create a more targeted online experience. It is also optimised for mobile, which provides access to a scaled-down site that includes videos, images, room rates and booking. Four Seasons’ revamp is part of an effort to improve online revenue – though its website attracts 30m visitors each year, online bookings only account for 12% of total revenue, an increase of just 2% in five years. Ooh, we did that a lot cheaper at stylehotelsweb…

Also, Wyndham Hotel Group launched a new website. The website is part of Wyndham Hotel Group’s Direct Strategy designed to recapture business by driving more bookings through the company’s own channels. The strategy calls for improved brand websites, several of which have already been unveiled, as well as enhanced alternative sell, a distribution model enabling Wyndham Hotel Group brands to be sold on sister websites. The Planet Hollywood, Dream and Night websites seem to not ready yet. And we think Encore, Ramada’s subbrand could do with a better image for the market they are targeting.

Yes, the Palihotel Melrose is opening February 1st. Three years after opening his stylish extended-stay hotel, Palihouse Holloway in West Hollywood (now with  Sam Nazarian’s SBE empire), Los Angeles hotelier Avi Brosh is back again with this 32-room boutique hotel envisioned as a “European neighborhood inn”. Which is quite the opposite of the Palihouse Holloway, specifically regarding the size of the guestrooms.

The Stoneleigh Hotel in Dallas is joining Luxe. The 170-room hotel, which opened in 1924, is to be called the Luxe Stoneleigh Dallas Hotel & Spa in the 2nd quarter of 2012. Redesigned by internationally recognized interior design firm Forrest Perkins, the property recently underwent a $36 million renovation which restored its historic grandiosity and added a chic new personality and energetic vibe.

After making its debut in Cardiff, Wales, three years ago, UK budget brand Sleeperz Hotels has now added property number two to its budding portfolio: the 98-room, six-storey  Sleeperz Newcastle, which opened this week in the city of Newcastle, northeast England. Its guests might be getting a good night’s rest, but there’ll be no sleeping for this London-based group, however, as it is planning to develop a network of hotels across city centres in the UK. According to the group’s chief executive, David Myers, hotels in London and Liverpool are in the pre-planning stage and further sites are being considered in Birmingham and Bristol.

Stylehotelsweb is on annual leave. See you back after February 15!

Marriott International, Inc. announced plans to open the first new hotel to join the AC Hotels by Marriott portfolio since the launch of the joint venture and new co-brand last year. Joining over 80 existing AC Hotels by Marriott throughout Spain, Italy and Portugal, the 143-room Elysee Palace Hotel in Nice will be rebranded AC Hotel Nice following an extensive renovation. The hotel is expected to open in early 2013 under a management agreement with SNC Hoche Promotion.

The Rezidor Hotel Group and Al Jassim Group have announced a 2015 opening for the Hotel Missoni Doha (Qatar). The luxury lifestyle hotel will be exclusively designed by Rosita Missoni and feature approximately 200 rooms and 70 serviced apartments. The hotel will be built along the C Ring Road in the heart of Doha, just 10 minutes from the International Airport. The extensive food and beverage outlets will comprise Hotel Missoni’s signature restaurant “Cucina” with a traditional yet creative Italian menu, a second all-day-dining restaurant, Bar Missoni, a pool bar and a lobby lounge. Guests will benefit from an 800 square meter Spa- and fitness area, an outdoor swimming pool, approximately 1,500 square meter conference- and banquet facilities including ball room, and a business centre. Hotels Missoni are operated in Edinburgh and in Kuwait; further properties are under development in Oman, Turkey, Brazil and Mauritius.

Rezidor also announced this week the rebranding of the 583-room Ramada Plaza Doha Hotel into a Radisson Blu Hotel in the third quarter of 2012.

Even more Qatar hotel news: the June, 2013 scheduled Nikki Beach Resort & Spa, The Pearl-Qatar has already won an AAA five-star diamond award as best design for a boutique beach resort in the Middle East. That is slightly odd for a hotel which even has opened yet. Designed by the award winning Singapore-based ECO ID Architects with interior design by Gatserelia Design, the Nikki Beach is a $45m boutique beachfront resort with 47-luxury villas and spa suites. The development will include Satine, a pan Asian specialty restaurant, NikkiSpa by Espa, Envy, the Ultra VIP lounge, a signature Nikki Beach Club with private plunge pools, a Tone Fitness Center and many other guest amenities.

HotelChatter reports that an offshoot of the Soho House Group will open in Chicago’s West Loop/Fulton Market area inside a vacant warehouse. Soho House would install about 50 rooms, a signature restaurant and a rooftop pool.

Our December 26 report on the Clark Hotel in Los Angeles suggesting that King & Grove was to be the new operator of New York’s Chelsea Hotel was right. This month comes the news that King & Grove are also taking over the management of the brand-new opened Hotel Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York. The Chetrit Group, owner of the Clark Hotel and the Chelsea Hotel is close to an agreement buying the Hotel Williamsburg, currently operated by Graves Hospitality from Minneapolis.

The ill-fated Cipriani hotel project in Miami Beach finally is getting afoot. Only no longer under the Cipriani name, but under its original name, The Saxony. Argentine hip hotelier Alan Faena of Buenos Aires’ Faena Hotel fame is taking on the project. A condo tower by star architects Foster and Partners is being added and the Faena Saxony Hotel as it is called now is “coming soon” we see at the Faena website.

The Spanish mission styled 97-room Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara, now with The Leading Hotels of the World, is being sold to Kimpton Hotels for $40m.

Two prestigious city palaces on Vienna’s Schubertring will be transformed into the The Ritz-Carlton, Vienna and will open in the second quarter of this year. Schubertring is part of the Ringstrasse which encircles the old town of Vienna and houses the Vienna State Opera and the Museum of Fine Arts. Ritz-Carlton, Vienna will have 202 five-star rooms.

The Peninsula, Hong Kong, one of the world’s iconic hotels will be refurbishing all of its 297 rooms. The two-phase operation already started in the Peninsula Tower, so not to disturb the guests in the original Peninsula building, and will be finished by August 2012. The last phase, that of the original Peninsula, will last untill early 2013.

China’s HNA Group has given up bidding for Indian’s DLF Group Amanresorts portfolio, Reuters reports. DLF Group was seeking bids in the range of $4m. Reports say that biddings came not higher than $3m-$3.15m and DLF is stalling the sale.

Hotelier Andre Balasz of The Standard Hotels, The Mercer and Chateau Marmont fame also lost out on his bid to acquire New York’s Temple Court Building. The 1883-vintage, nine-story palace at Beekman Street  near NYC’s City Hall, encloses a breathtaking, glass-topped central atrium and is ringed on each floor by Victorian iron balustrades. The building was vacant for a decade, but became the talk of the real estate world after the owners removed the drywall and uncovered the majestic interior. The building is to be turned into a 200-room hotel. Balasz is said to have lost his $5m deposit after struggling to get the project financed.

What is opening in New York is the Out NYC, the city’s first gay-oriented hotel. The hotel’s website is taking reservations from March 1 and the renderings look very good indeed.

“The renovation has transformed the Viceroy Riviera Maya, making it even more comfortable, luxurious and enjoyable,” said General Manager Pedro Lara, adding, “We are an ideal fit with the Viceroy portfolio because of our mutual emphasis on outstanding personalized service, beautifully appointed accommodations, signature amenities and sophisticated dining.”

The renovation of the all-villa resort included:

• 11 new luxury villas with plunge pools, including the resort’s first beachfront and ocean-view villas. The resort now has a total of 41 villas.
• A new entrance, motor court and reception area, bringing a sense of arrival that is more welcoming.
• A new casual restaurant, Coral Grill, located at the sand’s edge featuring a Mexican-Mediterranean menu cooked on wood-burning grills.
• A reconfigured and remodeled La Marea, now a fine dining restaurant on a romantic sea-view loft serving refined Mexican cuisine with international influences.
• A new Library Lounge with a luxurious residential feel, lending library and intimate seating areas where guests can relax and enjoy favorite beverages and snacks.
• Revitalization of the interiors of the original 29 villas including new lighting, furniture and décor accents.
• Complete interior renovation of the Presidential Villa and landscaping redesign to open up an ocean view.
• A new fitness center with state-of-the-art workout equipment.
• A new retail boutique offering a wide range of resort and personal products.

And ofcourse the name change also has do with the fact that the management of the original Tides Hotel in Miami Beach is no longer with Viceroy Hotels, but with King & Grove.

DoubleTree by Hilton today made its official debut in the Netherlands with the opening of the DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station. Formerly known as the Mint Hotel Amsterdam, the hotel is one of eight Mint Hotels across the Netherlands and the UK that will join the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of hotels under the DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn brand names during the coming months.

Simon Vincent, area president Europe, Hilton Worldwide, said, “The dynamic European growth of DoubleTree by Hilton, with more than 25 hotels opened since 2008 and 25 additional hotels under development across the region, indicates remarkable promise for the brand as we enter 2012. With more than 220 hotels open and 110 hotel development projects currently underway in Europe, the potential for travelling consumers and hotel developers alike to enjoy and explore the Hilton Worldwide portfolio has never been greater. We are delighted to welcome the first of these eight exciting hotels to our portfolio.”

The 553-room hotel which opened in June boasts a premier location immediately adjacent to Centraal Station in the historic city centre. Less than 2km from Dam Square and key attractions such as Leidseplein, Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, world-renowned canal tours and the Anne Frank Museum, the DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station is equally convenient for leisure and business travellers.

Rob Palleschi, global head, DoubleTree by Hilton, said, “DoubleTree by Hilton is honoured to enter the Netherlands and the city of Amsterdam with such an outstanding hotel. The newly renamed DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station will continue to offer guests many of the design and service attributes already enjoyed by current hotel guests, along with the added rewards of our Hilton HHonors guest loyalty programme and the signature, sweet worldwide welcome of our legendary DoubleTree chocolate chip cookie available at our more than 275 fine hotels and resorts across 23 countries.”

The DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station imbues a modern architectural design that is characterised by its transparency and versatility. Large, floor-to-ceiling windows are featured in each guest room, meeting room and all bars and restaurant spaces within the hotel, providing plenty of daylight and impressive views of the city. Several outdoor areas such as waterfront terraces, sky terrace, suite balconies, courtyard and private roof terraces ensure that each and every guest can enjoy the serenity of the city from the tranquillity of the hotel.

Guestrooms and suites at the hotel are spacious and designed for comfort, featuring a variety of essential and innovative in-room amenities including an Apple iMac computer which functions both as a TV and computer, generous work desks, gourmet in-room coffee and tea service. Complimentary high-speed internet access is available throughout the hotel as well as in each guest room.

Diners at the DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station have several options designed by Head Chef Marcel de Leeuw. City Café is a restaurant where guests eat either indoors or al fresco on a waterfront terrace. The East Dock Lounge combines impressive space with a coffee culture intimacy. The Lobby Bar is an ideal destination to enjoy cocktails, beers and wines as well as light lunches and sharing platters. Skylounge, Amsterdam’s much-talked-about rooftop gathering place, offers a dramatic vantage point 11 storeys above the city with picturesque views for guests to enjoy cocktails with friends, small meetings with colleague or intimate private dining in an unrivalled setting.

A fast-track transition programme will see the remaining seven Mint Hotel properties rebranded and fully integrated into our Hilton Worldwide systems by early 2012.

Conveniently located in downtown Quebec City‘s emerging Saint-Roch quarter and steps from the “Old City,” the hotel puts business and leisure travelers in the heart of one of Canada’s most cosmopolitan cities.

Guest rooms and suites at TRYP Quebec Hotel Pur offer sleek, minimalist decor and floor-to-ceiling windows providing panoramic views of the neo-Gothic Saint Roch Cathedral, Saint Lawrence Seaway and Old Quebec. All accommodations are outfitted with large flat-screen televisions, complimentary high-speed wired and wireless Internet access, spacious work areas, laptop-sized safes and iPod-compatible alarm clock radios. Elegantly designed bathrooms feature Japanese soaking tubs or Euro-style glass wall showers and Zero Percent™ Collection bath amenities from Gilchrist & Soames®.

Additionally, the hotel offers the TRYP by Wyndham brand’s signature Fitness rooms, equipped with elliptical machines, treadmills or stationary bikes and complimentary workout gear as well as oversized Family rooms with bunk beds for children and large, separate beds for adults.

TRYP Quebec Hotel PUR provides guests with complimentary access to its 24-hour fitness center, sauna and indoor pool, the largest in Quebec. Guests can also take advantage of the hotel’s 24-hour business center, concierge services and complimentary high-speed wireless Internet access throughout the property’s public spaces. The hotel’s ideal location in the Saint-Roch quarter provides guests with immediate access to some of the city’s best-known shopping, dining and nightlife, as well as must-see sights like the Grand Theatre de Quebec, Old Port Market and Montmorency Falls Park.

On-site dining is available at Table, Bar Gastronomique, a unique social dining experience set in a casual, yet chic, environment that offers tapas-style dishes inspired by international and local flavors. Guests can enjoy TRYP by Wyndham’s signature breakfast buffet each morning and tapas throughout the day at long, communal tables or enjoy international wines and handcrafted cocktails nightly at the bar. Table, Bar Gastronomique also features a private dining area for groups or exclusive functions.

The hotel’s flexible meeting and event space consists of more than 9,000 square feet in seven salons, many of which can be divided into smaller meeting rooms to accommodate both large-scale events and small occasions. On-site event specialists are available to arrange all event details, including catering and state-of-the-art audio-visual services.

As Hotel PUR, renowned for its urban lifestyle design and architecture and known as the first “design” hotel in Quebec City, the property has offered guests a unique experience and has seen the formerly industrial Saint-Roch area of Quebec City become a true destination for visitors and locals. With its impeccable standards of design and unparalleled approach to guest service, the hotel has received several accolades, such as inclusion in Conde Nast Traveller‘s “World’s Best Hotels” and “Hot List 2009″ and Travel + Leisure‘s “Guide to Canadian Cities.”

The Mint portolio consists of eight hotels located in the UK and The Netherlands. The properties in Amsterdam, London (Westminster and Tower of London), Leeds and Manchester will be rebranded Doubletree by Hilton. The Birmingham, Bristol, and Glasgow properties will be rebranded Hilton Garden Inn. The mostly newer (the Amsterdam location opened in September), well-located hotels have based their reputation on offering quality, innovation, outstanding customer service and good value. Mint hotels offer Apple iMacs in every room and free wireless internet.

The rebranding is a result of Blackstone’s £600 million (US$947 million) purchase of the portfolio in September. The hotels were put on the market in January by Lloyds Banking Group and the chain’s co-founder, David Orr, after the company breached the terms of its debt with Lloyds’s property investment unit Uberior Ventures. In March, Mint reported a £24.5 million (US$38.7 million) loss for 12 months and debt that totaled £417 million (US$658 million).

SBE Entertainment (SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills, The Redbury) and Stockbridge Real Estate Funds announced plans to renovate and reopen the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, which closed earlier this year. Read more at The Las Vegas Sun.

Innside by Melia Wolfsburg, Germany

Meliá Hotels International announced that it will lease a new-build 219-room Innside by Melia hotel in Wolfsburg, Germany, set to be completed in 2012. Read more at Meliá Hotels International.

Tazi Palace, Tangier, Morocco

The state-owned Qatar National Hotels Company signed an agreement to convert the Tazi Palace in Tangier, Morocco, to a 120-room luxury hotel for a US$55 million investment. Read more at Qatar National Hotels Company.

Hotel de la Paix Cha Am, Thailand and Luang Prabang, Laos

Bangkok based KS Resorts has rebranded its Cha Am Beach resort as Hotel de la Paix Cha Am Beach-Hua Hin and its Luang Prabang hotel as the Hotel de la Paix Luang Prabang. Both are named after KS Resorts original Hotel de la Paix in Siem Reap, Cambodia. KS Resorts also owns the 3 Nagas in Luang Prabang and the Park Hyatt Maldives.