Hotel Openings

🌿 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.

🏕 Minor Hotels opens Anantara Stanley & Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel in Zimbabwe on December 1, marking the brand's debut in the country. The hotel, situated in a conservation area near Victoria Falls, offers 16 suites with double/twin configuration and interconnected options for a two-bedroom unit. Anantara's portfolio to expand with Anantara Kafue River Tented Camp in Zambia by mid-2025. Formida Capital, backed by Oaktree, offers financing solutions from $5 million to $75 million+ in the U.S. Langham Hospitality Group to open The Langham, Kuala Lumpur in 2027, with 198 rooms and a Michelin-star restaurant. Grand Mercure inaugurates in Goa, India, with 87 rooms and a range of amenities.

🍻 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.

🏠 Accor to open Sofitel Legend near Giza Pyramids, Egypt, in 2027; second Sofitel Legend in Egypt with 303 rooms, fitness center, and infinity pools. PM Hotel Group to manage 324-room Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport, and two other properties in Washington D.C. area; expanding portfolio to 86 hotels across 22 states. IHG to open InterContinental Kodaikanal Resort in Tamil Nadu, India, in 2028; sixth InterContinental with 100 rooms in the country. Peter Island Resort in the British Virgin Islands to reopen on December 1, after 2014 closure, with new rooms, suites, villas, yacht club, and 10,000-square-foot spa.

🍝 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.

🏨 Choice Hotels International opened three Cambria Hotels in Imperial, CA; Pigeon Forge, TN; Spokane, WA, and began construction on two more in O'Fallon, MO; Bend, OR. The brand has launched 18 new hotels in the last two years, with plans for a total pipeline of 62 properties, including one in New York Times Square set for 2025. Newly opened Cambria hotels feature 91-118 rooms and meeting spaces ranging from 738 to 2,050 square feet. The company aims to expand Cambria nationwide and has acquired Radisson Hotels Americas in 2022 to boost its upscale portfolio.

🏂 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.