W Amsterdam has just opened and it is the latest 5* property in Amsterdam. There are 238 bedrooms, including 23 suites, two restaurants, a spa and fitness centre.
The meeting space (pictured) is flexible and if used in its entirety will take 430 people in theatre style or 280 for a dinner. It can be divided into three sections each holding 71, 130 and 177 people in theatre style.
The hotel is converted from a former Telephone Exchange and KAS Bank and is located on Dam Square in the heart of Amsterdam, behind the Royal Palace and close to the city’s canal district.
According to the Mercer 2015 Quality of Living rankings, Vienna has the world’s best quality of living. Western European cities take seven places in the top ten, with Zurich, Munich, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva and Copenhagen appearing with Auckland, Vancouver and Sydney.
In the UK, London is the highest-ranking city, followed by Birmingham, Glasgow and Aberdeen. The lowest-ranking city Western Europe is Athens. Cities in Central and Eastern Europe have a wider range of quality-of-living standards and the highest-ranking cities are Prague, Budapest, and Ljubljana.
In North America, Canada tops the list with Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa followed by the United States with San Francisco, Boston and Honolulu. Singapore is the highest-ranking Asian city and Dubai is first in the Middle East and Africa rankings. Australian cities have some of the highest standards with Wellington and Melbourne in the top 20. Dubai ranks highest for quality of living across the Middle East and Africa region.
Opening this month : Only You Hotel & Lounge, Madrid
This 4-star boutique hotel is located in the centre of Madrid, on Calle Barquillo, close to Paseo de Recoletos and in the Chueca neighborhood. It is a former Palace, dating from 19th century, now with contemporary interiors in a blue and white theme. There are three meeting areas: a boardroom for 10 people and two larger rooms for 40 and 18 people in theatre style. The hotel has 70 bedroom, which includes 7 suites. The bar and lounge have music and are popular with locals.
Madinat Jumeirah to launch new event space in October 2015
Madinat Jumeirah, the Arabian Resort of Dubai, will offer the largest hotel event space in the United Arab Emirates when the Fort Island expansion is completed in October 2015. Covering more than 1,750 square meters of outdoor space, it is now possible to build large marquees.
The area has tripled in size and will now be able to host banquets, parties, exhibitions, product launches, music concerts, weddings, sports events and festivals for up to 1,400 people. The capacities at Fort Island have increased from 425 people to 1400 people in a cocktail set-up and from 250 people to 1100 people in a banquet style set-up in rounds of 10.
The venue will feature an attractive and sustainable landscape, while preserving the fort’s traditional look and feel. Located in the heart of the resort and surrounded by Madinat Jumeirah’s characteristic waterways, the venue has views of the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. The venue was originally commissioned in recognition of the history, culture and character of old Dubai and was inspired by the Al Fahdi fort located in the oldest existing part of the Dubai creek.
Fort Island will be connected to the resort by four bridges and guests can also access the venue by the traditional wooden abra boats when staying in one of Madinat Jumeirah’s three hotels.
An integral part of the existing Madinat Jumeirah’s Conference Centre, the new island will increase the centre’s overall capacity to 9,000 people over 10,000 square meters. The Conference Centre is home to international events such as Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), the World Economic Forum and is the proud sponsor of Art Dubai.
The InterContinental Malta is the largest hotel on Malta, with 481 bedrooms, including 30 new Highline suites. The hotel has recently been carrying out extesive work to add a new Club and state of the art conference centre.
The Arena Conference Centre has 6,000 square metres of space and the largest meeting room holds 1,700 delegates in theatre style or up to 960 people for dinner. This room has a ceiling height of 8m and hanging points for lighting, as well as access for vehicles. There are 23 other meeting rooms of various sizes and there is a separate check-in area for conference attendees.
Situated in St George’s the hotel also has six restaurants and six bars as well as extensive leisure facilities: a panoramic lagoon styled outdoor pool, rooftop infinity pool, a heated indoor pool, fitness centre with squash courts and aerobics studio, a spa with traditional Turkish hamam and an exclusive sandy beach area.
The Princesa Hotel becomes the first Courtyard by Marriott in Spain
The 4-star Courtyard Madrid Princesa was added to Courtyard by Marriott group following the remodelling of the hotel’s public areas, lobby, restaurant-bar, meeting and event halls and guest rooms, of which 170 have been renovated so far. Renovation of the remaining rooms and other spaces will be completed by early 2016. The end result will be 263 Comfort Rooms, 146 Premium Rooms and 14 suites.
There are four meeting rooms and three halls for conferences and the lobby furnishings, decoration and design have been updated with versatile spaces that can be used for sitting and relaxing, for meetings or for working. The reception area has been given a more modern look, and the cafeteria has been turned into a Bistro Bar & Restaurant that has tables with individual TVs.
This hotel also has largest indoor pool of any hotel in Madrid.
The Arp-Hansen Hotel Group, the largest hotel chain in Copenhagen with 12 hotels spread around the city, has just opened a new Tivoli Hotel & Congress Center located in the heart of Copenhagen. By October 2015 the hotel will have 679 rooms in fabulous Tivoli design together with new meeting facilities that can accommodate up to 5,500 guests spread over 55 meetings rooms. The beautiful Tivoli Congress Hall can accommodate up to 2400 people at the same time. There are 2 auditoriums with room for 400 & 200 people inside and 4 big meeting rooms with a capacity for 442, 336, 308 & 192 people in theatre style. Tivoli Hotel & Congress Center also offers 4 different restaurants where 2 are based on the 12th floor overlooking Copenhagen. There will also be brand new lobby bar, a penthouse pool and relax area that will feature a unique pool designed with a glass bottom that hovers above the hotel façade at a height of 43 metres.
At floor 14th, there is a restaurant and lounge with a panoramic terrace, 360º views and a sky pool. Contemporary cuisine in a cosmopolitan and relaxed ambience, cocktails and DJ music. The Sky Lounge can be used for events.
The Dear Hotel is a new 4-star boutique hotel close to Madrid’s Plaza de España, offering accommodation in the heart of the city. It is situated at number 80 on Madrid’s Gran Vía, in a 1945 building that still retains some of the distinctive architectural features of the period. Of the 162 rooms available to guests, there are nine suites on floors 10 and 12 which offer the best views over Plaza de España and Casa de Campo Park. All of the rooms are outward-facing, with views of Plaza de España or Gran Vía, and some of them even have individual balconies.
At floor 14th, there is a restaurant and lounge with a panoramic terrace, 360º views and a sky pool. Contemporary cuisine in a cosmopolitan and relaxed ambience, cocktails and DJ music. The Sky Lounge can be used for events.
The Dear Hotel – new boutique opening in Madrid
The Dear Hotel is a new 4-star boutique hotel close to Madrid’s Plaza de España, offering accommodation in the heart of the city. It is situated at number 80 on Madrid’s Gran Vía, in a 1945 building that still retains some of the distinctive architectural features of the period. Of the 162 rooms available to guests, there are nine suites on floors 10 and 12 which offer the best views over Plaza de España and Casa de Campo Park. All of the rooms are outward-facing, with views of Plaza de España or Gran Vía, and some of them even have individual balconies.
At floor 14th, there is a restaurant and lounge with a panoramic terrace, 360º views and a sky pool. Contemporary cuisine in a cosmopolitan and relaxed ambience, cocktails and DJ music. The Sky Lounge can be used for events.
Sheraton Algarve, a Luxury Collection Hotel, has completed the first stage of a three stage phased renovation process and has opened for the summber with 50 renovated guest rooms and a redesigned Health Club – Pine Cliffs Goes Active. The second phase is scheduled to launch on November 1st until June 2016 and will include all remaining bedrooms, public areas and food and beverage outlets. In addition, an extension will be added, providing 78 luxury suites, an Italian restaurant, a Health spa and underground parking facilities. These will be completed by June 2016.
The hotel has 13 meeting rooms, which can hold up to 700 people. There are extensive grounds and a garden terrace and the beach can be used for events too. There is a total of 369 bedrooms, 215 in the Sheraton Algarve and 154 residence suites at Pine Cliffs Residence, which is in the same resort.
Grimm’s Potsdamer Platz opened in July 2015, just minutes away from Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz. The hotel has an unusual triangular shape, reminiscent of the famous Flatiron building in New York City. The three-star superior hotel has 110 rooms decorated with details from fairy tales such as rose wallpaper, standing for Sleeping Beauty’s slumber. Plans also include the “Tischlein deck dich” restaurant (named for the fairytale The Wishing-Table), a lobby bar, a lounge, and a fitness area on the 7th and 8th floors.
There are twomeeting rooms: William for 30 people and Jacob for 40 people, or they can be combined for up to 60 people.
