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| Gansevoort Playa Imbert has a dramatic, three-tiered cascading infinity pool overlooking a crescent-shaped beach. |
Your upscale clients may have their favorite haunts, but chances are they are also open to trying something new and discovering the latest and trendiest accommodations. Here is a sampling of recent openings as well as soon-to-open hotels and a few to look forward to a little further in the future.
Gansevoort to Debut in Dominican Republic
Gansevoort Hotel Group opens Gansevoort Playa Imbert on December 15 on the Dominican Republic’s north coast. The resort has 48 suites comprised of one- and two-bedroom lofts, three-bedroom apartments with private plunge pools and large terraces, and a collection of four-bedroom penthouses. Each penthouse has a private rooftop Jacuzzi. Nice Touches: Floor-to-ceiling windows show off the seascapes throughout the resort and each suite has a kitchen. A three-tiered cascading infinity pool overlooks a crescent-shaped beach.
A second, adults-only pool opens in spring 2015. Other planned amenities include a fitness center, a day spa with a Hammam-style sauna and a meditation and yoga garden (Yay!). The resort is 15 minutes from Puerto Plata Airport.
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| The Anantara Medjumbe Island Resort & Spa is a collection of 12 thatched Beach Pool Villas that offer panoramic Indian Ocean views, direct beach access, a private pool and hammock. |
Bahia Principe Set for Aruba
The Luxury Bahia Principe Baby Beach Don Pablo Collection will have 950 rooms, the majority of which will be Junior Suites, when its parent company Grupo Pinero, based in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, opens doors in the summer of 2016. Offerings will include a leisure complex, a theater, a casino, several restaurants, a gym, a spa and sports courts. The new resort will be located on the Seroe Colorado coast in the southern town of San Nicolas. We hear that Baby Beach, which lends its name to the hotel complex, is acclaimed as one of the most beautiful in the world.
NYC’s 60 Thompson Rebrands
Following a multimillion dollar renovation, iconic Manhattan hotel 60 Thompson has rebranded as SIXTY SoHo. The vibe? We say it’s boho-chic, a bit of modern elegance that’s all a tad vintage. All 97 rooms now have planked timber floors, leather furnishings and specially commissioned art. Ten suites have French balconies overlooking SoHo. The three SIXTY Suites have separate living rooms and the duplex SIXTY Loft has a large private roof deck with views over Manhattan.
Munich’s New, Cool Hotel
Design Hotels has a new member: The Flushing Meadows Hotel & Bar in Munich, Germany. The intimate hotel has just 16 rooms, with 11 loft studios on the third floor and an additional five Penthouse Studios on the upper level, three of which feature private terrace access. Cool Touch: Munich mornings begin with breakfast on the top floor, while in the afternoons bar Chef Manu Pinciroli serves up classic cocktails. Check out the organic liquid store Super Danke!, which is juicing up fresh fruit and veggies.
The neighborhood, the Glockenbachviertel district, is brimming with bars, restaurants, boutiques and galleries.
Morgans Moves Into Istanbul
Turkey’s tourism continues to heat up, with Istanbul attracting travelers from all over the globe and the hotel scene is red-hot. The latest to enter the fray is Morgans Hotel Group, which is opening 10 Karaköy this month. Part of the Originals collection, 10 Karaköy joins the likes of the Sanderson in London, the Shore Club in South Beach, and Morgans and the Royalton in New York.
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There are 11 loft studios in the The Flushing Meadows Hotel & Bar in Munich. |
The hotel’s name pays homage to the vibrant district where it’s located on the European side of the Bosphorus. (10 Karaköy is just a few minutes from both historic Sultanahmet and Beyoglu). Award-winning architect Sinan Kafadar was enlisted to work on the project.
Behind a neoclassical facade, guests will find 71 guest rooms, including Loft Terrace Suites and a Penthouse with a private terrace. All rooms have free Wi-Fi, walk-in showers and MALIN+GOETZ bath amenities. Morgans plans to open a Mondrian hotel in Istanbul next year, along with a Delano in the seaside resort town of Cesme.
Anantara Debuts Second Mozambique Resort
Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas is continuing the expansion of its portfolio in Africa with the opening of its second resort in Mozambique. Nestled on a tiny private island in the Quirimbas Archipelago off the country’s northern coast, the boutique, adults-only Anantara Medjumbe Island Resort & Spa is a collection of 12 thatched Beach Pool Villas that offer panoramic Indian Ocean views, direct beach access, a private pool and hammock. Less than a mile long and only about 1,000 feet wide, the former Medjumbe Private Island is reached by a 45-minute scenic light aircraft transfer from Pemba International Airport on the mainland, which is accessible from Mozambique’s capital Maputo or by international flights from Johannesburg or Dar es Salaam.
Melia to Open Two Luxury Hotels in Qatar and Indonesia
Melia Hotels International has announced the signature of two luxury hotels in Qatar and Indonesia. The Melia Doha will open during the first quarter of 2015 and Gran Melia Bintan will open in 2017. Melia Doha will occupy 39 floors of Bin Samickh tower, located in Doha’s West Bay, the most coveted area of the capital. The hotel will consist of 282 rooms and suites as well as a wide range of restaurants and spa facilities.
Gran Melia Bintan will become the brand’s second hotel in Indonesia when it opens in 2017, joining the recently refurbished Gran Melia Jakarta. The extensive Mediterranean-style resort will consist of 120 spacious suites and 38 villas with one, two or four bedrooms.