International hotel chain Starwood has announced the reopening of a landmark Florence hotel, complete with a suite from top designer label Bottega Veneta.
The St Regis Florence, originally the Grand Hotel Florence, has been treated to a ten-month restoration which has seen significant interior changes to the 18th century palace, ranked among the city’s most significant buildings.
The hotel boasts 81 rooms and 19 suites, decorated by local artisans and including antique furniture such as hand-carved gold leaf frames and crystal chandeliers.
German luxury sportscar maker Porsche is putting up for sale a Bavarian castle snapped up for six million euros ($8 million) in 2006.
“We are parting company with this estate,” a spokesman told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, after the paper said Porsche was selling Schloss Bullachberg, near the famous Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria.
Porsche had purchased the castle five years ago, hoping to transform the 180,000-square-metre, building into a luxury hotel.
Influential magazine Condé Nast Traveler has named the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong as the best hotel in the world in its annual Readers’ Choice survey.
The publication, announcing the results ahead of the November issue, revealed the Shanghai hotel’s victory ahead of Peninsula House in the Dominican Republic, which won second place, October 11.
The Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh won third place, while the Safari Lodges at Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa came in fourth.
One of China’s tallest buildings has opened for business in the nation’s ‘wealthiest village’ of Huaxi, a symbol of the country’s breakneck economic growth.
The Longxi International Hotel is 328 metres (1,082-feet) high and cost $470 million to build, an official in Huaxi told AFP.
There are around 10 taller buildings in China — including the Shanghai World Financial Center, the third highest in the world — but all of these are in major cities.
International hotel chain Marriott has confirmed the opening of three new hotels in Doha, Qatar.
The company debuted its Renaissance, Courtyard and Executive Apartment brands for in Qatar October 4, adding nearly 600 rooms to the capital city in two skyscrapers.
The hotels are located in two 48-storey skyscrapers, part of the Doha City Center Mall complex, a huge shopping and tourism complex in Doha’s West Bay district.
Casino giant Caesar’s Entertainment has announced the start of construction on its first non-casino luxury resort, in the Chinese holiday destination of Hainan.
The Caesars Palace Longmu Bay will be a 5-star resort with 1,000 rooms, a Las Vegas-style attraction which will set a ‘global luxury standard’ in China.
The first phase of the project is expected to cover a total of five square kilometers, Caesars confirmed September 27, with a planned opening date of 2014.
