Jetsettersblog

VisitEngland, the official tourism body for England, is reporting significant new hotel openings in England that should upgrade the accommodations landscape of the country.

Following the £20 million conversion of the city’s old North Eastern Railways Headquarters, Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa, which opened in May, is York’s first five-star hotel.

Having opened this month after a multi-million-pound renovation, The Arden Hotel, operated by the Eden Hotel Collection, is Stratford-upon-Avon’s first boutique style hotel. Located opposite the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres and overlooking the River Avon,

The Arden Hotel is an ideal choice for travelers visiting the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as key attractions in Shakespeare’s country.

For more information, see www.theardenhotelstratford.com

Located on London’s South Bank, the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel, which opened in March of this year, is London’s largest hotel opening in a generation.

The 15-story, 1,021-room contemporary hotel, close to the London Eye, includes 54 spacious suites and penthouses, 545 studio rooms and 422 superior rooms as well as five dining and entertainment experiences and a 24-hour concierge.

For more information, visit www.parkplaza.com/hotels/gbwestmi

Georgian Coworth Park is part of the prestigious Dorchester collection, opening in Ascot in late summer 2010. Conveniently located just a 20-minute taxi ride from Heathrow Airport, the five-star hotel will offer 69 guestrooms in three different locations on the property comprised of The Manor — the main house offering extensive views over the pristine gardens and parkland, the stable and 11 private cottages.

The role of VisitEngland, the official tourism body for England, is to work in partnership with government and industry creating a national tourism strategy, optimizing marketing investment, and developing the visitor experience across England.

For more information, see www.visitengland.com

Sol Meliá announced the introduction of the Innside by Meliá hotel brand in Spain with the signature of an agreement for a new hotel in Barcelona which will become the first hotel for this youthful urban brand outside Germany.

In Germany, the brand currently operates nine hotels. Innside Barcelona will open in 2011 and will be added to the company’s hotel portfolio under a lease agreement in a deal overseen by the leading hotel, leisure and tourism consultancy, Horwath HTL.

The hotel is designed for the long-stay market in Barcelona and will provide apartments measuring between 60 and 160 square meters, all fully adapted to the Innside by Meliá brand standards — urban and avant-garde design, elegant and futuristic.

The hotel will be housed in a 19-floor building known as the LC Torre Europa, designed by the prestigious architect Oriol Bohigas and located in the Plaza Europa in l’Hospitalet de Llobregat, a new commercial and residential development in the southern suburbs of Barcelona, very near the airport, exhibition centre and Ciutat de Justicia.

The Plaza Europa is also becoming a reference point for modernity, architecture and design thanks to the high rise buildings and other constructions that have recently been developed.

The new Innside Barcelona will provide 100 apartments (33 one-room studios, 54 two-room apartments, 10 three-room suites and three deluxe four-room suites), as well as a restaurant, a swimming pool with panoramic views on the hotel roof terrace and a fitness center on the ninth floor. The new hotels adds to the growth of the brand already announced at the beginning of the year with the agreement for the new Innside Frankfurt, also ensuring the growth levels foreseen by the company as part of its strategy to diversify and strengthen its hotel portfolio using low capital intensive formulas which guarantee financial consistency.

For more information, visit www.solmelia.com

Sol Meliá, the largest Spanish hotel chain operating in Portugal, inaugurated the Meliá Braga, a newly-built hotel added under a franchise agreement to become the thirteenth Sol Meliá hotel in Portugal.

The hotel is located near the university campus and the Braga International Nanotechnology Laboratory. Braga is the fifth biggestcity in Portugal and one of the most important cultural centers and tourism destinations in the country

Meliá Braga Hotel & Spa is a modern hotel with a contemporary architectural style, designer interiors, bright and open spaces, and extensive gardens.

The hotel provides 182 rooms, including 20 executive suites with a kitchenette, and one presidential suite.

The Bracara restaurant can seat 150 diners and provides an “à la carte” menu featuring innovative Portuguese nouvelle cuisine, in addition to theme buffets and a show cooking service.

The hotel also provides two bars, one next to the pool and the other on the tenth floor.

The hotel’s leisure facilities include an outdoor swimming pool, an indoor pool, a Spa providing massages, beauty and diet treatments, and a fully-equipped fitness center with exercise machines and weights.

The new Meliá Braga allows Sol Meliá to continue to diversify its product portfolio in Portugal, where it now covers nine destinations: Lisbon, Porto, Madeira, Coimbra, Almada, Aveiro, Castelo Branco, Covilhã and now also Braga.

For more information, visit www.solmelia.com

Members of Connoisseurs Scotland won eight awards at the seventh annual Scottish Hotel Awards, including one of the top honors bestowed on Connoisseurs Scotland’s CEO, Jeremy Hawkings.

The event, which took place at Connoisseurs Scotland’s own Prestonfield Hotel in Edinburgh, encourages higher standards and investments by presenting independently and thoroughly researched honors to those who have shown excellence and achievement, and are considered by some to be the country’s most comprehensive hotel awards scheme.

Connoisseurs Scotland’s 25 members encompass four of the world’s finest golf resorts, including Gleneagles and Old Course; Inverlochy Castle, voted the best hotel in Europe several times over; seven outstanding city centre properties including Prestonfield, Edinburgh’s only five Red Star hotel; a 19th-century castle health spa;

a collection of intimate country house hotels; the Royal Scotsman luxury train;

two exclusive use properties; and three properties set in scenic coastal locations.

Four properties boast Michelin-starred restaurants.

Information on Connoisseurs Scotland, its member resorts and special offers can be found at

www.luxuryscotland.co.uk

CIE Tours is offering the Irish Spirit independent self-drive vacation with pre-booked hotels, priced from $588 for a seven-day/six-night land vacation, or from $1,043, including airfare from New York.

The vacation starts with arrival at Dublin Airport and two days devoted to exploring the Irish capital including tickets for a hop-on/hop-off bus tour and admission to the Guinness Storehouse and a free pint.

On the third day, travelers pick up a Hertz economy self-drive car with unlimited mileage downtown and then embark on a tour into the countryside, following a pre-arranged route to Cashel, Blarney, Killarney, Ring of Kerry or Dingle Peninsula, and then on to Galway and Connemara before ending for the last night at Dublin.

The package provides a scenic itinerary to follow with discounted admissions to attractions along the way.

In addition to airfare and rental car with NeverLost navigation system, the vacation includes coach transfer from Dublin Airport to a Dublin hotel, pre-booked stays at first class hotels with private bath for six nights, full breakfast daily, hotel service charges and local taxes, insurance (CDW, TP), and government tax (VAT) on rental car.

For information, call 800-CIE-TOUR or book 24/7 at

www.cietours.com

JAL Hotels Co., Ltd. has announced the opening of the 382-room, 25-story Hotel Nikko Shanghai, located in the Hongqiao Development Zone, home to the Shanghai Mart and International Exhibition Centre. People’s Square, the Bund and Pudong areas are a few miles away, easily accessible via subway or the Yan’an Expressway.

The five-star hotel is part of Manpo International Plaza, a new commercial real estate complex. Hotel Nikko Shanghai offers luxury rooms and suites with deluxe marble bathrooms, iPod docking stations, 600-thread-count sheets and flat-screen televisions.

Designed by Daguan Design and the Canada P&H International Architecture Office, the hotel combines oriental and western influences.

The Executive Floor and suites offer additional amenities such as personalized concierge service, private 24-hour check-in and late check-out, and special in-room amenities.

A private lounge with complimentary food and beverages is also available.

The hotel’s Fitness Center includes an indoor swimming pool, fully-equipped gym, steam room, solarium and sauna.

The on-site spa, operated by Banyan Tree, offers sensory treatments inspired by traditional Asian healing therapies. The complimentary business center has staff trained in organizing meetings in the hotel’s on-site conference facilities, which include a 4,400-square-foot banquet room and seven additional meeting rooms.

The hotel’s five restaurants and bars include Benkay Japanese Restaurant; Serena Café, offering Asian and Western-style foods; Jinge Chinese Restaurant with authentic Cantonese cuisine; the Lobby Lounge; and the Blue Bar.

For reservations or more information, call 800-645-5687 or visit www.jalhotels.com

The Fairmont Peace Hotel opened its doors on July 28, 2010 in Shanghai, China. Jin Jiang Hotels International and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts unveiled the culmination of a comprehensive restoration program following the legendary property’s closure in 2007.

The hotel, which first officially opened on August 1, 1929, was known for its distinctive copper-sheathed roof 77 meters above ground, white Italian marble floors, and priceless Lalique glass artwork. The design firm Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA) worked closely with a team of leading designers, architects and historians to recreate the landmark property.

The newly revitalized Fairmont Peace Hotel will offer 270 deluxe guestrooms and suites with a selection of six restaurants and lounges.

Included among these is the Jazz Bar, a Shanghai institution since the 1930s; Signature Chinese restaurant Dragon Phoenix; and The Cathay Room, offering views of the Bund from its terrace on the 9th floor.

The 8th floor will feature the Peace Hall, where the property’s sprung-wooden dance floor still evokes memories of old Shanghai cabarets and gala parties.

Guestrooms feature 1930s period flourishes. Starting at 45 squaremeters, the guestrooms feature a soft color palette and tailored art deco motifs and furnishings.

In-room technology includes a 37-inch plasma stereo TV, a bath-side LCD screen, Blu-ray DVD player and wireless and broadband Internet with “plug-and-play” connectivity. Additional room amenities include Illy espresso machines, 400-thread-count Egyptian cotton bed linens and exclusive Miller Harris Cologne Series 1888 bath products.

A new extension to the building will house a sky-lit swimming pool and a Willow Stream Spa.

The “Nine Nations Suites” will remain a feature while a new presidential suite will occupy the 10th floor penthouse where the hotel’s creator and former owner, Sir Victor Sassoon, once lived. Room rates at Fairmont Peace Hotel will start from $355 (RMB 2,300) per night. The hotel also will offer an introductory package where guests can book three nights and receive the fourth night free, valid through Aug. 31, 2010.

Rates are exclusive of taxes. For reservations or more information, call 800-441-1414 or visit www.fairmont.com

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Osaka Station North Yard Development Project reached an agreement for IHG to open a luxury hotel and high-end residences within the Osaka Station North Yard Development Project in Osaka city under the InterContinental brand.

This marks the debut of the InterContinental brand in Osaka and the debut of InterContinental residences in Japan.

Both the hotel and residences are scheduled to open in 2013.

Osaka Station North Yard lies in the heart of the city and spans approximately 24 hectares.

Work is already underway in the seven-hectare early development zone, where the new InterContinental hotel and residences will be located. Designated by the city as a “special zone for urban redevelopment,” this area will feature a concentration of urban amenities, high-end offices, luxurious modern accommodation options and a 10,000-square-meter plaza and pedestrian mall.

Osaka’s first InterContinental is a key development in the zone and will feature approximately 200 rooms and 50 residential apartments, along with restaurants and banqueting facilities.

For more information, visit the banner at right.

Hilton Hotels is opening the first luxury airport hotel in China.

The grand opening of Hilton Beijing Capital Airport hotel and conference facility this week highlights the two-year anniversary of Beijing Capital Airport’s Terminal 3 and continues to expand the services connected to the world’s second-busiest passenger airport.

Hilton Beijing Capital Airport, located at Terminal 3, features 322 guest rooms, seven restaurants and bars with 32 private dining rooms, two ballrooms and 21 meeting rooms with more than 3,000 square meters of meeting space, executive concierge services, a luxury spa and state-of-the-art fitness center.

The facility is 72,000 square meters in size and built on more than 28,000 square meters of space that provides ample room for on-site event parking as well as pleasant gardens.

While the concept of a five-star international airport hotel is new to China, such properties have been a standing part of the Hilton portfolio, with several new projects in development.

In 2010, Hilton plans to open Hilton Rosemont/O’Hare, in the United States near Chicago O’Hare International Airport, while a new-build Hilton property featuring a stylish horizontal skyscraper design at Frankfurt International Airport is scheduled to open in 2011.

For luxury island accommodation look no further than Lotus House, an exclusive retreat offering seclusion and pure indulgence on north Queensland’s Magnetic Island.

Only 25 minutes from Townsville, nestled between the Great Barrier Reef and Magnetic Island’s World Heritage National Park, this exquisite beachfront house caters for up to six adults. Lotus House features three spacious bedrooms with ensuites including a tower master suite, exotic tropical gardens, spa bath, an oceanfront temperature-controlled swimming pool, expansive upper deck and in-house chef options.

Wander down sand dunes to beautiful Horseshoe Bay, enjoy absolute privacy as you unwind by the pool, or kick back with gourmet canapés and chilled champagne on the deck while you take in spectacular sunsets and uninterrupted views of the Coral Sea.

www.lotusonmagnetic.com