Hotel Openings

🍴 Chef Ton is set to open "Sood", a restaurant in Penang, aiming to become a culinary hub with local and international chef collaborations. Penang's status as a luxury and lifestyle destination with rich heritage enhances this vision. Additionally, Chef Ton plans to launch "As I Am", a new restaurant and bar concept in Kuala Lumpur in a few months, promising affordable yet delicious dining. Sood's opening signifies Chef Ton's venture into Malaysia, blending Thai and Penang flavors, and emphasizing sustainable practices in the food industry.

🍴 Osteria Angelina, a new pasta and grill restaurant by the Angelina, Dalston team, opens on May 20th in Norton Folgate. Pre-opening vouchers offer dining at double the purchase value, with a chance to win a year of free dining. The founders, Joshua Owens-Baigler, Amar Takhar, and Laura Horta, unveil a large, converted warehouse space on the border of Spitalfields, Shoreditch, and the City. Executive chef Usman Haider presents a relaxed à la carte menu with fresh pastas with a Japanese twist and 'big cut' Binchotan grill dishes. The menu includes eight regularly changing fresh pastas, Binchotan fired grill cuts for sharing, and more than 300 Italian wines plus a selection of Sake and cocktails. The 75-cover restaurant features an open kitchen, chef counter, table seating, bespoke tableware, furniture by Anna Owens Designs, and a private dining room for up to 18 guests. Bookings are now open.

🍴 The Stratford, an East London hotel, debuts Kokin, a Japanese fire-led, omakase-style restaurant by Chef Daisuke Shimoyama, on May 1, 2025. Located on the hotel's seventh floor, Kokin features a 140-seat dining area, two terraces, and a sushi bar. The design-led hotel, part of Marriott's Autograph Collection, is near Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Kokin emphasizes seasonality, tradition, and a zero-waste ethos with dishes like Woodfire x Charcoal Grilled Turbot and sustainable bluefin tuna from Spanish and Portuguese waters. Reservations start May 1, 2025, at 20 International Way, E20 1FD.

🏫 Blenheim Palace is undergoing a £12 million restoration over 2 years, with bookings for events and weddings contributing to the effort. The Orangery and Long Library offer event spaces for up to 120 and 220 dining guests, respectively. New experiences, like the Rooftop View platform, provide panoramic views of the Capability Brown landscape. Bespoke packages include private tours, dining, and activities such as archery and treasure hunts. Special rates for corporate and private bookings are available.

🏨 Italy's luxury hotel group Starhotels has acquired Hermitage Hotel & Resort in Tuscany, set to join Starhotels Collezione post-2025 summer. The Forte dei Marmi property spans one acre, boasting 59 rooms, a vegetable garden, and future plans for a new spa. This acquisition marks Starhotels' expansion into resorts, 45 years after its Tuscan origins. Recent openings include Hotel d’Inghilterra (Rome, September 2024) and upcoming Hotel Gabrielli Venezia and Teatro Luxury Apartments Firenze.