The number of boutique hotels in London is set to soar over the next few years, a new report has predicted.

London, which will host the 2012 Olympic Games next year, could see the number of design-led hotel rooms double by 2013, adding some 2,544 rooms to the market.

Hotel consultancy HVS London predicted this week that another 18 boutique properties will open their doors in the capital through 2013.

Located at 11th Street and Collins in the heart of Miami Beach, Lords South Beach is the first gay boutique hotel brand in the US.

The hotel opened in an historic Art Deco building with 54 rooms and a variety of hotel venues, including the Cha Cha Rooster Restaurant and the poolside Cabana Bar.

Amenities include a Lords online social network for guests, staff uniforms custom designed by Levis, and linens by Frette.

Brazilian design duo the Campanas have unveiled their latest project, a boutique hotel in Athens.

Humberto and Fernando Campana, known for their Brazilian carnival-themed designs for everything from furniture to shoes, officially opened their first hotel earlier this month in the Greek capital.

The New Hotel, a 79-room property in the historical center of the Greek capital, is inspired by three traditional Greek themes — Karagiozis, a shadow puppet; the “evil eye” used to guard against ill-omen; and the Athens of years gone by.

Californian hotel favorite Joie de Vivre has announced Arizona is to be its first destination outside of its home state.

The boutique hotel chain, which operates over 30 properties in California, confirmed last week that it had selected Scottsdale, Arizona for its next opening, where it will compete with the likes of Fairmont, Four Seasons and W Hotels.

As of fall this year, The Drinkwater, a 195-room property in the popular town described by the New York Times as “a desert version of Miami’s South Beach,” will join the Joie de Vivre fold of properties as its easternmost outpost.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has revealed the new cabin designs to be used on its new ships set to come into service over the next three years.

The cabins, unveiled June 21, are described as “modern boutique hotel meets the sea” and are built on the experience of Norwegian over the past ten years — during which time it has launched ten new ships.

The two new vessels, currently codenamed Project Breakaway, are scheduled for delivery in April 2013 and April 2014, and can carry around 4,000 passengers.

Exclusive hotel chain the Dorchester Collection has promised that its new London boutique property will open later this year, the latest in a series of new luxury hotels to hit the British capital.

45 Park Lane is set to officially open in September in London’s well-heeled Mayfair district, although the hotel would ‘soft’ open to guests in August.

With just 45 rooms, the hotel is likely to be one of the smallest luxury properties in the city, although the Dorchester Collection — which also operates London’s Dorchester Hotel, Paris’s Plaza Athenee and the Beverly Hills Hotel in California — seems determined to offer the facilities of a much larger property.