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The hospitality industry has suffered during the recession. In 2009,
hotels at the top end of the scale slashed their rates in a scramble to
keep doors open and beds filled; ownerships changed; new projects
stalled and opening dates were deferred - then deferred again.
Independent auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers
has forecast that the decline will slow down, but while room rates may
start to level out, they are expected to remain comparatively low.
Coupled with a healthy crop of new hotels around the globe this year,
things look set to favour the traveller again in 2010.
According to The Independent, on home soil,
"we'll see W, Starwood's ever-expanding contemporary brand, opening its
second European hotel in London. A joint project with Westminster
Council, W is attempting to re-vitalise the garish hub of Leicester
Square when it opens on the site of the former Swiss Centre this
summer".
Still in the capital, a new part of town is opening up to the luxury
hotel market: Battersea. The Rafayel on the Left Bank is dubbing this
riverside spot in South West London the new "Left Bank" when it opens
early this year. Meanwhile, the Portuguese Pestana chain is opening a
hotel in what it is calling "South Chelsea" in March; in fact, its
property is also firmly in Battersea, opposite Battersea Park. And Von
Essen Hotels will break with its country house tradition and open a new
glass and steel property called Verta next to the Battersea Heliport by
the summer. Opening in March – but this time in the East End – is Town
Hall, offering typically hip rooms and apartments in the former Bethnal
Green Town Hall.
Another landmark London redevelopment is the on the site of the former
GLC building at Westminster Bridge. Once voted one of Britain's ugliest
buildings, soon only its enormous circular silhouette will be
recognisable. The new Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, with over 1,000
rooms and six restaurants, is due for a "soft" opening here on 4
February. A spa is set to follow in spring. Also in central London, The
Dorchester Collection is opening a new sibling across the road from its
flagship Mayfair hotel in the autumn. 45 Park Lane is on the site of
the former Playboy Club and will complement the art deco grande dame
with a boutique-style offering.
The Dorchester Collection is also going rural with the launch of
Coworth Park in Ascot in the summer: a 70-room country house hotel with
an equestrian centre. Barely an hour's drive away in Surrey, and on the
site of another heritage racing circuit, the Brooklands Hotel is slated
to open on 1 March with an art deco-inspired interior. And in Scotland,
Citizen M is bringing the successful style-on-a-budget brand from
Amsterdam to Glasgow early this year.
Continental drift
Heading further afield, Istanbul is this year's European Capital of
Culture and is also the chosen location for one of the first
collaborative projects from Marriott hotels and Ian Schrager, the man
who gave the world Studio 54 and who coined the phrase "boutique
hotel". Edition hotels are sure to give Starwood's W line a run for its
money, with the Istanbul branch opening in the summer. Another
trend-setter, Soho House, is celebrating its 15th birthday by branching
out across onto the Continent with Soho House Berlin next month.
Located in central Mitte, it will feature a rooftop pool, 40
style-driven hotel rooms, a bar and Cecconi's restaurant.
In Stockholm, the Elite Hotel Marina Tower is set in a disused
19th-century red brick salt mill that directly overlooks Lake Malaren
in Nacka, an area of the city not well-versed in big, stylish hotels.
Three other big-hitters for the summer are likely to be The Oitavos – a
contemporary glass structured resort in Cascais, Portugal; the Costa
Navarino complex of luxury hotels and golf courses in the southwest
Peloponnese; and Amanresorts' redevelopment of the fortified fishing
village of Sveti Stefan in Montenegro, which will undoubtedly cause
quite a stir when it finally materialises in this up-and-coming
destination.
Far flung
Hot on the heels of Gordon Campbell Gray's Le Gray hotel, Four Seasons
is muscling in on Beirut's resurgence as a destination for the
in-crowd. Its new property offers luxurious rooms with views of the
Mediterranean. In the United Arab Emirates, two delayed projects should
materialise within the next couple of months: Banyan Tree's Al Wadi
desert resort in Ras Al Khaimah and Armani's first hotel in the world's
tallest building, the Burj Dubai.
In the Indian Ocean, the Constance Ephelia Resort will debut in
February on the fringes of the turquoise shores of Mahe island, with
suites, villas and requisite spa all overlooking Port Launay National
Park. Closer to the African continent is Coral Lodge in Mozambique's
Indian Ocean La Varanada nature reserve, which had to delay its
December opening as a result of a lack of electricity lines. Its 10
villas feature elegant design and should be hooked up and ready to go
imminently. In Tanzania, the Mbali Mbali Lodge will open in the
Serengeti in February, and in Namibia, the Okahirongo Elephant Lodge is
soon to unveil a luxurious River Camp.
Cool and contemporary lodgings have been notably lacking in the
Egyptian capital until now, but that's set to change – the Kempinski
Nile Hotel will bring chic style to Cairo on 1 March, with design by
Pierre-Yves Rochon. The most regal digs in North Africa are likely to
be at the Hotel Royal Mansour in Marrakech: 53 sumptuous riads owned by
the King of Morocco.
India sees some grand and unexpected openings in 2010, starting with
Taj Hotels' Falaknuma Palace in a 19th-century palace in Hyderabad. Taj
has also just signed a deal to expand its contemporary Vivanta brand
into Kashmir with a hilltop hotel overlooking Srinagar later in the
year. In Jaipur, the Devi Ratn resort will feature 60 luxurious suites
and three villas with views of the Aravalli Hills.
If you can't wait for Aman Sveti Stefan, then look to China, where Amanfayun opens this month in a rural valley near Hangzhou.
Other expanding groups include the Fullerton, which is breaking with
tradition (its original hotel is in a colonial Singapore post office)
and unveiling the glass Fullerton Bay Hotel this summer as part of
Singapore's Marina Bay development.
In Australia, two of the most luxurious openings are Saffire in
Freycinet, Tasmania, with space for just 40 guests and suites scheduled
for spring; and the architecturally impressive Wolgan Valley Retreat in
New South Wales' Blue Mountains World Heritage area.
Go west
Things are looking busy in the Americas and the Caribbean. First up,
New York: Hyatt's "lifestyle" brand Andaz, which launched triumphantly
in London two years ago, will impart its "personal style" mantra to
Wall Street this month, with a second branch scheduled for Fifth Avenue
in the spring. And Vikram Chatwal's much-delayed eponymous hotel,
masterminded by Thierry Despont, is said to be "coming soon".
Meanwhile, Manhattan favourite Thompson hotels will be going north of
the border to Toronto by the spring. Back in the US, the audacious City
Center luxury development in Las Vegas – dubbed "the Capital of the New
World" – will near completion when the Foster+Partners-designed The
Harmon joins Vdara and Mandarin Oriental, the other glitzy non-gaming
hotels in the complex.
New hotels for the Caribbean include another W, this time on the Puerto
Rican island of Vieques. It will be the group's first beach "retreat",
with candy colours and breezy design; opening is expected this spring.
More indulgence is being offered by chocolatier Hotel Chocolat, which
is opening a boutique hotel on its cocoa plantation in the heart of the
St Lucia rainforest in March, while Mandarin Oriental will have its
first Caribbean resort in the Turks and Caicos by the summer. Yet more
extravagant is Richard Branson's new addition to his ultra-luxurious
Necker Island retreat: Necker Belle is a new catamaran available for
charter in the Caribbean from February.
No longer the preserve of backpackers on the "Gringo Trail", Central
America is a tourist destination in the ascendant. For proof, look no
further than the Trump Ocean Club in Panama City, the boutique Jicaro
Island Ecolodge in Lake Nicaragua and the luxury wellness beach
retreat, Anamaya in Costa Rica. Finally, anyone fortunate enough to be
on Easter Island for the solar eclipse this summer should look out for
the new Hanga Roa Ecovillage, opening in April with architecture
inspired by the island's ceremonial villages.
(Source: traveldailynews.com)
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