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.

The World Dubai will see its first island open to the public this week with the launch of the luxury World Island Beach Club.

“We will be opening in the first week of January,” said Reza Sinnen, operations manager at the beach club, based on the island of Lebanon.

The resort was originally scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2011 but pushed back its launch following construction delays.

Upmarket French leisure group Club Med intends to open a second holiday village in China, in the southern province of Guilin to add to its northern ski resort.

Club Med said it had signed a 10-year accord with Chinese group China Pao Shan, owner of the site, with the resort to open next year and then be revamped and more than doubled in capacity to 300 rooms for 2013.

Guilin, famed for its scenery, is one of China’s top tourist destinations, attracting 20 million domestic and 1.4 million foreign visitors in 2010, Club Med said.

Jumeirah has opened a new cluster of ‘water villas’, dubbed ‘Ocean Pearls’, at its all-suite Jumeirah Dhevanafushi hotel in the Maldives.

Designed to make visitors feel as if they are in the middle of the ocean, the new villas sit on platforms suspended directly above the water, nearly a kilometer offshore from the main resort.

The cluster of villas is connected by a decking walkway, which allows residents to easily access the shared infinity pool, bar, seafood restaurant, elevated library and spa treatment rooms, which are also suspended above the water.

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.

Asian hotel operator Minor has launched a new luxury brand to be rolled out across Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Avani Hotels & Resorts launched last week and is intended to draw heavily on the Minor’s Asian roots, offering a ‘grounded personality’ and ‘a simple sense of style’ — Avani stems from the Sanskrit word for “earth.”

The first outpost for the new brand will open by the end of the year in Sri Lanka as the Avani Bentota Resort & Spa, a beachfront resort in the south of the country.