Hotel Openings

🌳 Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree, set to open in April 2025, is a 4.6-hectare, 338-room nature-inspired resort within Mandai Wildlife Reserve, Singapore. Designed by WOW Architects, it includes 24 tree houses and a 300-seater Meranti Ballroom. The resort features biophilic architecture, sustainable practices like rainwater harvesting, and exclusive wildlife experiences. Glen Cook, General Manager, and Teo Joo Leng, Chief Product Officer of Mandai Wildlife Group, emphasize the resort's dedication to mindfulness and nature reconnection.

🍺 Daniel Boulud, renowned chef with multiple restaurants since 1993, opened his first steakhouse, La Tête d’Or, in Manhattan's Flatiron District on November 19. Located in the redesigned One Madison tower, the steakhouse offers a 120-seat dining room, bar, lounge, and two private rooms. The menu features American classics with a French twist, including a range of steaks like black Angus and Japanese A5 wagyu, seafood platters, and sauces. The wine list highlights reds from Bordeaux and Napa Valley.

❄ Opening from 27th November to March 2025, the London Bridge Rooftop transforms into an Alpine-themed destination featuring vintage ski decor, live DJs, festive food, and cocktails. Weekday lunches offer a £20 festive menu, while the £25 menu is available from 3pm. "We Got This Friday!" parties with house, garage, and disco music, and "Après Brunch" Saturdays with 90 minutes of bottomless drinks for £45. Sundays in December feature £6 Aperol Spritz or mulled wine. Private hire includes 10-person cable cars and a Christmas Grotto, with a New Year's Eve party offering unlimited drinks and a Moet toast at midnight. Bookings are recommended via their website.

🍴 Aqua New York, offering Italian and Japanese cuisines, opened on November 11 in Manhattan's Flatiron District. Occupying a 24,000-square-foot space, the venue seats 432 guests, includes three 10-person private dining rooms, a private lounge with DJ station, and claims the city's longest sushi bar with 22 seats. Aqua Spirit, the 44-seat bar, features sakes, wines, and country-inspired cocktails. This is the third U.S. establishment by Aqua Restaurant Group, following locations in New York and Miami.

🎨 Designer Helle Mardahl opens flagship store in Copenhagen's historic Frederiksstaden district, formerly a royal jeweller's shop. The interior combines the building's traditional architectural elements with Mardahl's modern, candy-inspired glassware. Mardahl collaborated with File Under Pop for the store's color palette, featuring soft shades and dusty blue curtains contrasted by flamingo-pink double doors. The dark mahogany flooring was replaced with soft beige linoleum by Tarkett. The space showcases the studio's glass containers, candlestick holders, drinkware, and bonbon-shaped pendant lamps.

🏕 Ennismore and Sun Hospitality Group announced the signing of Rixos Phu Quoc, set to open in mid-2026 as the first all-inclusive Rixos resort in Asia. Located on Hon Thom Island, Vietnam, the resort will boast over 1300 guest rooms with ocean views, 22 dining options, and a range of facilities including a wellness spa, kids club, and water sports. Phu Quoc was recently voted the second-best island in the world by Travel+Leisure's World’s Best Awards 2024. Guests can access the resort via a 15-minute cable car ride from the mainland.

🍽 In 2024, the U.S. witnessed numerous restaurant and bar openings, featuring Italian eateries and unique concepts like astrology-themed cocktails and mushroom-based dishes. New York City, Miami, Austin, D.C., Denver, and Nashville saw these openings, with Nashville hosting Fancypants, offering a "choose your own adventure" experience, and D.C.'s Ama transforming from a café to a dinner spot. The article showcases 11 special restaurants from this year.

🎄 Hilton Lake Como offers a seasonal experience for Christmas and New Year 2024/25 with activities like ice curling, live candlelight concerts, cocktail masterclasses, festive feasting, and a special NYE celebration. Ice curling is available from 1st December 2024 to 31st January, daily 12pm-7pm. Candlelight Concerts start at €34pp on dates including 8th, 15th, and 20th December. The Spritz Masterclass costs €25pp, offered daily from 12pm-5pm. Festive dining by Executive Chef Stefano Ghielmetti starts at €75pp for groups of 15+. NYE dinner is €295 per adult, €147 per child. Rooms at Hilton Lake Como start at €350 per night with breakfast. Book at https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/mxpcohi-hilton-lake-como/.

🍴 Chef Evan Funke expanded his culinary empire with the opening of Mother Wolf in Miami’s Design District on October 5. This marks the third Mother Wolf locale, following Los Angeles' early 2022 debut and a Las Vegas branch opened later the same year. Mother Wolf Miami boasts a 10,000-square-foot space featuring a pasta lab, and offers a Roman-inspired menu with handmade pastas, brick-oven pizzas, and a selection of seafood and meat dishes. The bar complements the dining experience with over 400 wine labels, focusing on organic and sustainable options, and a cocktail menu with Italian influences.

🏡 Angelo Cappellini, known for classic and contemporary furniture designs, inaugurated a 100 square meter showroom space in Baku, Azerbaijan, showcasing products in three settings: living room, dining room, and bedroom. The Avenue showroom features the Louis XVI dining room Cezanne with a 3.2-meter table, Esedra sofas, Louis XVI coffee tables, and the Sissi Bedroom collection. This expansion strengthens Angelo Cappellini's market presence and facilitates connections with local architects, designers, and private clients.