Hotel Openings

🏙 Angsana Heritage Collection, Marrakech Riads offers a luxurious 5-star experience in six unique riads, featuring amenities like air conditioning, Wi-Fi, satellite TV, and a mini bar. Guests can enjoy the Angsana Spa, Moroccan Hammam, and the restaurant Si Said with 100% locally sourced cuisine. Ideal for winter stays, the property includes a rooftop terrace with Medina and Koutoubia Mosque views, and offers activities like hot air balloon rides, trekking tours, and desert excursions. Marrakech attractions beckon with Jemaa el-Fnaa square, souks, and historical sites, complemented by modern nightlife in Gueliz and Hivernage.

🌿 Nearly half of Brits participate in Dry January annually. Veganuary 2025 anticipates surpassing the 25 million global participants of the previous year. Nova Maldives island resort offers plant-based and alcohol-free options for January 2025, along with cocktail-making classes starting at £19+ per person. Featured dishes include Maldivian Coconut & Vegetable Curry and Kopee Faiy Salad, made with local ingredients. Mocktails like Solis Sunset Cooler and Cucumber Basil Fizz complement the dining experience. Recipes are available online, celebrating Maldivian wellness and culinary heritage.

🍻 Ste Marie designed the Meo cocktail bar and restaurant in Vancouver's Chinatown with a 1970s and '80s Hong Kong theme, featuring pink hues, floral patterns, and red accents. Inspired by photographer Greg Girard, the dimly lit space evokes nostalgia with elements like Guzzini pendant lights and an old-school jukebox. Decor items were thrifted from Taiwan, including a Persian cat portrait and a vinyl mural. Ste Marie has offices in Vancouver and Toronto, and their work includes various hospitality projects.

🍽 Waterfront Street Kitchen & Bar, a new restaurant with a menu inspired by global street food, has opened in London, accommodating 400 guests and offering a space for dining, remote work, and private events. Open daily, the restaurant enhances Excel London's waterfront, serving visitors of Immerse LDN and the local community with options from coffee to after-work drinks. Excel's CCO Simon Mills emphasizes the venue's role in realizing their vision for the world's top event destination.

🍝 Tom Goddard is launching Southern Soul this week inside Canteen, a food hall at Greenwich Peninsula. Southern Soul features low ‘n’ slow smoked meats, homemade buns, pickles, and sauces. The menu includes oak smoked pork belly rib, Applewood smoked chicken thigh, smoked and pulled beef brisket, and oak smoked beetroot, all served with fresh buns and homemade dipping sauces. Canteen, which opened in summer 2021, hosts six street food kitchens and is part of Greenwich Peninsula’s Design District.

🍽 Hera, a Greek restaurant with a 200-cover dining room and cocktail lounge, will open in Stratford Cross development opposite the new V&A Museum in Spring 2026. The menu includes mezze like anchovies, Kalamata olives, and dips such as taramasalata; categories like The Garden, The Farm, and The Sea with options like vegetable moussaka and grilled octopus. The wine list highlights Greek producers. Opening date: 21 November on Arber Way in Stratford.

🏂 Ischgl’s 5-Star Elizabeth Arthotel, founded in 1976, will reopen on 28 November 2024 for the winter season. Offers ski-in/ski-out, 39 rooms/suites, 130 artworks, and a rooftop spa. Head Chef Thomas Zechner presents a six-course menu with 46 dishes weekly. Ischgl, ranked in the top 10 by Forbes (2024), provides snow from November to May; Ellie Goulding to headline concert on 30 November. The Aloys family has welcomed guests since 1963, creating a warm ‘Elizabeth Family’ environment.

🏡 Rixos Hotels opened the Rixos Tersane Istanbul, their 13th hotel in Türkiye, attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Located 41km from Istanbul airport and accessible via public transport including a ferry line and a local helipad, this hotel is part of a historic development in the Golden Horn estuary. Offering 432 rooms, 67 luxury suites, 55 terraces, dining, an infinity pool, and a 2,027m² ballroom, it aims to attract local and international tourists by blending culture, art, and sports.

🏡 Ace Hotel and Swim Club Athens, designed by French studio Ciguë, embraces Greek modernism with vintage furniture and local art. Situated outside the Athens city center near Glyfada, the 120-room hotel occupies the former Fenix Hotel, known for its brutalist architecture. Ciguë's interior design pays homage to the 1970s Athenian Riviera, combining a laid-back elegance with the contemporary Athenian art scene. The ground floor features an expansive public space, including a redesigned pool and a wooden walkway blurring indoor and outdoor boundaries. The design incorporates sandy-hued terrazzo flooring, white plaster facade with wood and greenery, alongside art by Claire Manent, Panos Profitis, and Bregje Sliepenbeek. Dionysos marble and vintage 1960s and 70s furniture add unique character, reflecting the studio's aim to echo the local seaside ambiance and cultural heritage.

🍴 Chefs Duncan Robertson and Kyu Jeong Jeon open contemporary Korean restaurant Dongnae in Bristol's Redland, succeeding their Bokman project. Dongnae features a £24 set lunch menu and £55 hanjungshik dinner option. Head chef Clarence Fung and front of house manager Rebecca Lewis join the team. Rooted in Jeong Jeon's Korean heritage, the menu includes dishes like Korean beef tartare and cold buckwheat noodles, supported by local suppliers like Rocketman Produce. Low-intervention wines by Vine Trail offered. Dongnae plans in-house fermentation for soy sauce and gochujang. Located at 5-7 Chandos Road, Bristol BS6 6PG.