The Al Habtoor Group, a UAE-based development firm, plans to build a new triple-hotel complex in the heart of the Emirate as part of a $1.3 billion project.

The “Habtoor Palace”. formed of two skyscrapers rising from a five-storey podium base, will see over 1,600 rooms added to Dubai‘s hotel scene.

The rest of the complex is designed as a ‘lifestyle experience,’ Al Habtoor says, with a luxury spa and multiple restaurants and banqueting facilities.

Marriott has announced five new locations for its luxury boutique brand Edition, promising to have properties on three continents by 2015.

Edition’s line of upscale, contemporary design hotels, which Marriott developed with hotelier Ian Schrager, will soon move into New York, Bangkok, Abu Dhabi, Los Angeles, and Gurgaon, India, the hotel firm said January 19.

The Edition brand currently consists of a single property in Istanbul, after Marriott was ousted from the first outlet in Waikiki after a disagreement with the management.

TripAdvisor has announced the results of its 2012 Travelers Choice awards, recognizing the best hotels around the world as reviewed by its users.

The site crowned The Phoenix Resort in Belize, a 30-condo beachfront property in San Pedro, as the best hotel in the world.

In second place was Anastasis Apartments in Imerovigli, Greece, while another Belize property, the Hamanasi Adventure and Dive Resort, took third place.

Luxury hotel chain Shangri-La will stop serving shark fin at its 72 properties, as the campaign to protect the marine predators gains ground among Chinese consumers.

The Hong Kong-based group said it would cease serving shark fin in all of its restaurants as well as accepting new orders for shark fin products in banqueting with immediate effect, under a “sustainable seafood policy”.

Shark fin soup is viewed by many Asians as a rare delicacy and is traditionally served at wedding parties and business banquets in Hong Kong.

Luxury hotel chain Fairmont has partnered with Abbey Road Studios, the iconic recording studio made famous by the Beatles.

Guests at the hotel chain will be offered exclusive experiences at Abbey Road, which famously featured on the front of the 1969 Beatles album of the same name.

They will be able to enjoy ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experiences ranging from behind-the-scenes studio visits to recording their own songs at the studios.

Singapore-based chain Amanresorts has signed a multi-million-dollar deal with Gabon to build six hotels and lodges in the west African country.

The first phase includes the construction of a luxury hotel in the capital Libreville, another on the nearby island of Phare de Ngombe in the Pongara national park, and a luxury camp resort in the southern park of Loango.

Lee White, the head of Gabon’s national parks, said the construction cost would be more than a million dollars per room, but did not disclose a total figure.