A China-owned hospitality group is launching a new homegrown five-star hotel brand in Shanghai, reported Travel Daily Media Tuesday.

W Hotels announced this Wednesday that it was opening a new property in Panama City, the first for the brand in Central America.

Slated to open in 2016, W Panama will become an iconic addition to Panama City’s skyline as part of the 50-floor Evolution Tower located in the city’s financial center.

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.

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.

The Oyster Box, one of South Africa’s most lavish hotels, will host a reception for Prince Albert II of Monaco and his new bride, Charlene Wittstock, as they visit the eastern port city of Durban this week.

The five-star hotel is famous for sweeping views of the Indian Ocean and a presidential suite that lists for 50,000 rand ($7,400) a night.

The royal newlyweds, who are in town for a meeting of the International Olympic Committee will be throwing a party at the seaside hotel for 400 guests on Thursday.

The Mandarin Oriental opened its doors in Paris on Tuesday, becoming the third top-end Asian hotel brand in less than a year to put out its shingle and woo rich visitors to the French capital.

Newly built behind a 1930s facade, the eight-story property on fashionable Rue Saint Honore boasts 99 rooms and 39 suites going for an average of 950 euros a night.

“We absolutely wanted to be in the best arrondissement, the best location for leisure travellers,” said Christoph Mares, director of operations for Europe.