Hotel Openings

🏖️ InterContinental Hotels & Resorts debuts in the Greek Islands with InterContinental Crete, featuring panoramic views of Mirabello Bay and contemporary amenities. Located near Agios Nikolaos and under an hour from Heraklion airport, the resort boasts two outdoor infinity pools, three restaurants led by Michelin-starred Chef Nikos Roussos, a wellness centre, and family-friendly features. Room prices start at €205 per night for IHG One Rewards members. The property is a vanguard of InterContinental's brand evolution, with 199 guestrooms and suites, some with private plunge pools. Guests can explore local culture and cuisine through the hotel's concierge services, connecting them with Crete's history, landscapes, and culinary delights.

🏠 Norton Park Hotel, Spa & Manor House near Winchester, set on 54 acres in Hampshire, reveals refurbishment of restaurant, lounge, and bar areas due to increased dining demand. Upgrades include a new look for The Scene Restaurant, more extensive works in The Scene Bar and Lounge, and a hot and cold buffet area for breakfast. The 17th-century barn and 16th-century Manor House on the site have also seen updates. Dinner inclusive stays offer £32 per adult for food, with children under 4 dining free. Facilities support up to 300 guests for events and feature an ELEMIS-partnered spa.

🏨 citizenM opened its third Miami location, citizenM Miami South Beach, joining the brand's 36th property portfolio. Recent openings include Miami Worldcenter in 2023 and Miami Brickell in 2022. The South Beach hotel offers 168 rooms, bleisure amenities, a 24x7 food and drinks bar, retail space, a gym, meeting rooms, a rooftop infinity pool, and an outdoor terrace. It features locally sourced art, XL king-size beds, and technology-controlled room ambience. Targeting LEED Gold certification, it reflects citizenM’s sustainability goals. The brand, launched in 2008, now has a presence in 21 cities worldwide.

🏠 New York-based Lissoni Architecture, led by Italian architect Piero Lissoni, unveils the AKA NoMad hotel in Manhattan's NoMad neighborhood, merging Scandinavian and Japanese minimalist interiors. The renovated space, previously the Roger New York hotel, marks Lissoni's first NYC hotel project, following the establishment of his US office in the preceding year. The hotel features a bronze-painted spiral staircase in its double-height lobby and rooms with a neutral palette, oversized headboards, and dark stone bathrooms. The design showcases natural materials, bespoke furnishings, and iconic design pieces.

🖤 Uchi West Hollywood, a Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles, features live-edge wood from fallen street trees sourced by Angel City Lumber as spatial dividers in its 5,200-square-foot space seating 160 guests. The wood, from 25 Aleppo Pines across 14 neighborhoods, amounts to nearly 26 tons, cut into 42 logs with an average diameter of 30 inches and a length of nine feet. Local artists and artisans, including ORA, contributed to the earth-toned interior, which includes a custom light fixture by Kazuki Takizawa and concrete planters by SBLA.

🏨 Latin America's hotel construction pipeline shows an 11% YOY increase in projects and a 10% increase in rooms, totaling 612 projects (97,597 rooms). Under construction: 253 projects (44,319 rooms), up 11% in projects and 15% in rooms YOY. Next 12 months: 187 projects (29,476 rooms), a YOY increase of 18% in projects and 17% in rooms. Early planning: 172 projects (23,802 rooms), up 3% YOY. Key segments: upscale (133 projects/18,807 rooms), upper upscale (101 projects/20,234 rooms), luxury (96 projects/17,154 rooms). Renovations and conversions at an all-time high: 186 projects (29,500 rooms), 30% more projects YOY. Mexico leads with 226 projects (33,599 rooms), followed by Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia. Top cities: Mexico City, Georgetown, Sao Paulo, Lima, and Riviera Maya. New announcements in Q2: 62 projects (8,740 rooms). 2023 expected openings: 100 hotels (17,555 rooms), with 40 already opened and 60 more planned. 2025 projected openings: 111 hotels (18,816 rooms), and in 2026, 131 hotels (18,293 rooms).

🍻 Honey Spencer, a UK natural wine authority, expanded her career after a 2011 encounter with unpredictable natural wine. She authored "Natural Wine, No Drama" and co-founded Sune, a natural wine restaurant in East London. Sune debuted on the UK's top 100 restaurants list in summer. Spencer and her business partner Charlie Sims opened Sune after experiences, including at Copenhagen's natural wine bars and Noma. Sune emphasizes clean, approachable natural wines, avoiding sanctimonious overtones. Spencer also consults for high-profile restaurants and directs wine programs. Sune, which avoids scaring traditional drinkers, plans a terrace addition and Tuesday openings. Spencer supports decanting natural wines for optimal presentation.

🏢 Bofink Design Studio transformed the 1912 Börshuset cattle-auction venue in Stockholm's Slakthusområdet into a members' club, revealing Jugend-style interior details obscured since the 1980s. The main 140 square meters hall, initially a cattle trading area then a workers' canteen, has been revamped while keeping the building's 3,600 square meters size. Original features like terrazzo floors, wall murals, double-ceiling height, and bullseye-shaped windows were restored. A mezzanine and patinated metal spiral staircase were added to connect the main hall with office spaces, including repurposed old hotel rooms and bank vaults. The industrial heritage of the surrounding meatpacking district influenced the material choices, with plywood panels resembling animal skins. The color palette was inspired by nature, featuring warm browns, tan, and reds, while vintage furnishings highlight the building's past. A House, part-owned by developer Atrium Ljungberg, occupies the revamped space.

🍴 Drew Snaith and Hannah Kowalski will launch their first restaurant, Sesta, in London's Hackney this September, following the closure of Pidgin on 18 August. Sesta, replacing Pidgin, will serve British seasonal ingredients and feature a menu influenced by live fire cooking, British, European, and Southeast Asian cuisines. The founders previously worked together at Brunswick House and Pidgin. The team includes sous chef Ben Ing and general manager Majalis Lundstrom Celedon. Sesta will source produce from Shrub, connecting to Sussex farms. The menu will change seasonally and offer dishes like Doddington cheese scone with rarebit and cured mutton bacon ribs. Natural wines, particularly French, will be curated by Kowalski, while Celedon will craft cocktails with house-made spirits. The 26-cover restaurant will later add counter dining and display local art.

🏖 SLS Playa Mujeres Cancún, the first all-inclusive SLS-brand and Ennismore's property in the Americas, will open in Mexico on November 1. The resort features 498 guestrooms and suites across 16 categories, with sizes ranging from 539 to 6,000 square feet. The property offers the new Elite category for VIP experiences, 18 restaurant and bar concepts, and 24,000 square feet of event space with seven rooms. SLS currently operates seven hotels and has five more, including SLS Barcelona, planned to open in 2024.