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.

Following its 25th anniversary last year, Marriott Hotels & Resorts has unveiled the newly renovated New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square.

A focus of the major upgrade is the brand’s reinvented lobby, including two signature restaurants and lounges.

The makeover includes the hotel’s nearly 2,000 guest rooms and a brand-new, high-tech ballroom and will cost approximately $39 million.

Accor celebrated the 90th Birthday of the Grand Mercure Melbourne, Flinders Lane building by recently completing a multi-million dollar makeover of the hotel.

Accor Vacation Club have spent $4 million to bring the property back to its glamorous glory, so well known by stars of stage and screen over the past two decades.

The building is constructed on land which first belonged to Dr. Jaeger’s Sanitary Woollen System Company — a long-winded name which would evolve into the well-known fashion brand Jaeger.