Hotel Girl

No more news on the link up with Marriott to create Edition Hotels tho

The long awaited plans to convert No 10 Trinity Square into a luxury hotel and spa have been recommended for planning permission by The City Of London Corporation, taking it a step further towards reality.

US property magnate Stan Thomas plans to spend £150m turning the Grade II listed building into a 'six-star' 131 room hotel and spa

If you thought the recession had put paid to pie in the sky-scrapers, then think again.

The latest plans for the former site of the Mermaid Conference and Events centre in the City are to turn it into a £250m 'six star' hotel project.

The brainchild of Will Alsop is awaiting the go ahead from City planners but has already been likened to a spaceship. It is the latest in a series of high profile projects being planned to coincide with the Olympics.

Ok we've had the prison hotels - Malmaison Oxford and some random Eastern European joint that semi-kinkily does the whole guard, cell, gruel, punishment experience - and we've had the ice palaces in Iceland, now it's time for animals to get in on the act.

Fancy a night in the zoo anyone? Well Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is thinking of installing a hotel within its park gates.  

It'd give a whole new meaning to waking up with panda eyes and dog breath!

The largest hotel in Australia is set to open in Melbourne opposite the city's exhibition cetnre.

The 658-room Crown Metropol property which cost around £150m is being billed as modern, distinctive, fresh and vibrant having been created by Bates Smart, the team behind Melbourne's Federation Square.

It will have a 'sky-high' day spa on the 27th floor and athe Sky Bar on the 28th as well as hosting Gordon Ramsay's 300-seater Maze restaurant.

It's due to open early next year. Here's some more pics

Rezidor is set to open its first Hotel Missoni on Monday in Edinburgh.

The hotel is full of the brightly coloured patterns we know from Missoni fashion.

As the Times points out, it seems a dodgy time to be opening such a high end hotel. Rooms start from £180 a night, not including breakfast. That's more expensive than the lovely Tigerlilly, a recently opened boutique hotel which has been getting lots of attention.

It might be ok during the Edinburgh festival, where everyone's scrambling for a room, but how do we think it will do after that?

IT seems the furore over Hilton hotels recent launch of it's lifestyle luxury brand Denizen may be nearing a conclusion.

Word has it that Hilton is seeking an out of court settlement with Starwood over the allegations that Denizen designer's Ross Klein and Amar Lalvani (formerly key players in Starwoods W brand) stole intellectual property to create the new Denizen brand.

Le Mas Candille in the village of Mougins, near Cannes, is offering the chance to win a stay in one of its luxurious new suites.

We don't normally feature competitions on Hotel Girl, but I couldn't resist this one.

Customers are invited to make a bid for a night in one of the suites (which open July 6), and the lowest unique bid wins. In other words, you must be the only one to bid that price.

The winner will get to stay in a 750 euro a night suite, accessed by its own private staircase.

Can you imagine yourself lounging around on the king size bed, using your walk-in dressing room and sipping wine on the terrace?

Well, get bidding then..

email 'auction@lemascandille.com'

Castel Monastero, a  76-room rural retreat in Tuscany, opened its doors yesterday. Since visiting the Four Seasons in Florence, I'm loving luxury hotels with lots of history and this one has it in spades.

The hotel dates back to the 11th century and was once home to the noble Chigi Saracini family of Siena. The designers have kept the room design simple, with a "rustic chic" motif coming from wall frescoes of the Italian countryide, antique furniture and timber panelling.

Located in the medieval village of Monastero d'Ombrone in Chianti, the hotel is only 14 miles east of Sienna and about an hour from Florence. But, with an 11-room Urban Retreat Spa and a Gordon Ramsey fine dining restaurant on site - why would you ever leave?

Sandals has come to the rescue of the Four Seasons Great Exuma in the Bahamas, which closed in May. The hotel was forced to shut up shop after it went into receivership. 

Now the 500-acre property will begin a new life as Sandals Emerald Bay.

No prizes for guessing what changes the holiday giant will make. Sandals' guests will find a new swim-up bar and a choice of six restaurants.

Founder Butch Stewart is predicting a January 2010 opening for the resort.

It's good to hear this lovely property won't be going to waste for too long.  

Interesting article on Bloomberg.com today about London's iconic Savoy hotel. The place has been closed since late 2007 for a £100 million renovation.

After the opening date slipping further and further back - something we're no stranger to these days - it looks like the hotel will reopen in April 2010.

I'm dying to see the results of the work. However, as the article points out, other luxury hotels might not welcome the relaunch with open arms.

The luxury sector has been hardest hit in London, with bankers and corporate guests having been stripped of their expense accounts.

An extra 268 rooms is probably not what the sector needs. "Luxury properties are going to feel it when the Savoy opens," said STR Global analyst Konstanze Auernheimer. "In these market conditions, when it is already tough for everyone, it has been a blessing for rivals to have it out of action."  

A release popped into my inbox today today telling me that The Dunblane Hydro has become the Doubletree by Hilton Dunblane Hydro.

I have fond memories of this lovely old hotel as I used to go there as child with my friend and her family.

I've heard that it was looking a bit old-fashioned recently so it's good to hear it's had an expensive refurbishment from Hilton. I'm also liking the sound of Nick Nairn's signature restaurant and the new Living Well gym. 

Sounds like an exciting new era for the hotel - but let's just hope it hasn't lost too much of its character in the process.

(Pictured: Celebrity chef Nick Nairn, Miss Scotland Katharine Brown and comedian Rory Bremner at the official opening) 
 

Jealous, me? Never. My colleagues at Travel Weekly swung by the brand new W while in Barcelona for the ABTA travel convention.

I've never have wanted to sip champagne while admiring the views from the funky hotel bedrooms. Not at all. ..

The W has really made its mark on the Catalan city.  With its sail-shaped glass tower, infinity pool, super spa and chic cabanas, it would fit right in in Dubai or Las Vegas.

It is the first large hotel in Passeig de Joan de Borbó,  a trendy waterfront area with luxury shops, theaters and nightclubs.

Right now, the hotel is doing a special 249 euro opening offer including welcome cocktails, a manicure at the Bliss spa and VIP access to the glamourous rooftop club Eclipse.

Ok, well maybe I'm a tiny bit jealous. Now where's my diary...

The people behind the lovely Babington House - the home of Cowshed spa - opened a city pad in Soho today.

The Dean Street Townhouse has luxurious four-poster beds, stand-alone bathtubs and all the Cowshed goodies you can smuggle into your suitcase.

Built in a 39-room Georgian townhouse, rooms come in all sizes from 'tiny' to 'bigger'. Tinies start at £95 per night - perfect for a recession-chic mini break.

For us Londoners, it also has an all-day dining room serving British favourites - I've got my eye on the Bramley apple pie.

So now you have an excuse to be lazy cow in central London - as if you needed one.

Started planning your city breaks for 2010 yet? No? Well, here's some inspiration..

The new Four Seasons in Beirut opened  this week and the first guests are being welcomed in today.

These lucky people will be staying in one of the 230 rooms or suites with "oversized" terraces, taking a dip in the rooftop glass-enclosed swimming pool and chowing down in the steak and seafood restaurant.

In a few months, the hotel will open Club 26, a sky-high rooftop pool lounge that will offer 360-degree views of the city.

The Lebanon capital is turning into quite a hot destination, with great nightlife and thriving arts culture. With this swanky new hotel, now you have an excuse to visit it.

I popped out of Travel Weekly towers today to check out the new Park Plaza Westminster Bridge. 

Builders were rushing around frantically to get the hotel ready in time for its soft launch on February 4. All the structural work is done and they're now ready to add the furniture in the public areas.

With 1,021 bedrooms, the hotel is truly vast. Lots of work is being to make sure guests can check in, move around the hotel and check out quickly and easily.

The huge reception desk has nine check in points and there are separate check in-desks for groups and suites/apartments.

Decorated in burnt orange and browns, rooms are more stylish and spacious than your average London business hotel.  Lots of important little details have been attended to, such as a little fridge space next to the mini bar, a power block suitable for overseas plugs and cute rubber ducks by all the baths.

Built on a site previously dubbed the "ugliest building in Britian", the hotel has a great location overlooking Westminster. And there will be plenty of reasons to stay in to eat, with the UK's first Illy Espressamente coffee bar, a sushi bar and a restaurant by Joel Antunes. 

Clients who want a taste of iconic London will love this new landmark property, so it's worth getting on to one of the fam trips being planned for March so you can give them the inside track.

Ask most Glaswegians what they associate Blythswood Square with, and they won't think 'luxury'.

Before it was cleaned up, this area of the city centre was famous for being the city's red light district.

Now it's home to a new luxury hotel, the Blythswood Square, the latest addition to the mostly Edinburgh-based Townhouse Collection.

In a building dating back to 1823, the hotel has lots of beautiful period features combined with strikingly modern decor.

The owner hasn't shied away from the area's past, but given a cheeky nod to it by putting a red light in the windows of all 100 rooms. 

The other striking feature of the design is tweed. You'll find tweed, Harris Tweed in particular, in the rooms, the staff's uniforms, and even on the chairs in the screening room. American tourists will love it.

Tweed aside, rooms are spacious, luxurious and full of cute reminders of the building's former use as the Royal Scottish Automobile Club.

And judging from the Trip Advisor reviews so far, it looks like the Blysthwood is proving stiff competition for Glasgow's best-known luxury hotel One Devonshire Gardens.

The new W London Leicester Square doesn't do recruitment the easy way - oh no. The Starwood brand's first London outpost is casting aside online or newspaper ads in favour of an X Factor style audition process.

The hotel is seeking an 'insider' - or concierge to you and me - and is asking potential candidates to apply online at wlondon.co.uk/casting.

The judges, which include America's top model 'star' J Alexander (pictured), have high expectations:

"They go out every-night, they know duchesses and drag queens, they can get a table on Friday at 8pm anywhere, their parties always finish the next day.

"Culturally their references need to be broad, high and low, and they need to be aware of major events internationally. They attend first nights, openings, and visit new restaurants and bars within the first 2 weeks of opening."

If that all sounds a bit much, console yourself with a sneak peek of the new hotel, coming 'early 2011'..

Like many hotels in this economic climate, the Dream South Beach has been plagued by a series of delays.

When I visited the hotel a few weeks ago, it was starting to take shape - but looked like there was still a way to go.

The hotel is made up of two buildings joined together - Palmer Hotel and Tudor House - in a fab location on Collins Ave.

Some of the rooms were open and sporting the same gorgeous blue and white decor as the Dream New York.The dim lighting is perfect for sleeping off a hangover. 

Standard rooms are small so it's worth paying the extra for an upgrade. The lobby was still pretty bare, and the rooftop pool and lounge still under contruction.

From what I saw, it's going to be great addition to the SoBe hotel scene, so let's hope the hotel keeps its promise of a June opening date. And with opening rates of $179 night, it's a dream come true.