Global Update
The GosTelow reporT
Jennifer Fox , FRHI Hotels & Resorts ’ president , international , wants a second Los Angeles property plus entry to Atlanta , Houston and Miami . Apart from Fairmont Mayakoba , the company is not that strong in Latin America . Fox sees some important gaps in Western Europe , and there is big growth in the Middle East . She says Raffles Hotels and Resorts will always be small in number , though she expects it to double from 11 to 22 hotels by 2019 in mega-cities and key resort locations . She plans to take Fairmont up from 70 to 100 hotels in major city or resort locations . Swissôtel ,
Mary GOSTELOw with 45 open or under development , has great potential in Asia .
There is opportunity in London . Sir George Iacobescu , CEO of Canary Wharf Group , is leading a development at Canary Wharf , to the east of the city . Songbird Estates Tower , designed by architects Herzog + de Meuron , will include a hotel .
The capital of the Philippines has seen some worthy hotels open of late , including the integral Fairmont Manila and Raffles Manila , both owned by Manila ’ s Ayala Land . Now the 230-acre ( 93-hectare ) Entertainment City , being developed by Philippine
Amusement and Gaming Corp ., is beginning to take shape . One of its resorts is City of Dreams Manila , a US $ 1 billion investment by Melco Crown Philippines , a joint venture of Filipino magnate Henry Sy , Lawrence Ho from Macau SAR and Australia ’ s James Packer . City of Dreams Manila includes a 321-key Nobu hotel , which will open before January 2015 .
Trevor Horwell , CEO of Nobu
Hospitality , says next on his list is the conversion of part of Eden Roc
Miami , scheduled for May 2015 , followed by the 55-room Nobu
Riyadh owned by Saudi Nobu – Dhaliliyah , a partnership between Nobu Hospitality and Dhaliliyah owned by HRH Princess Nouf Bint Mohammed Bin Fahad Al Saud .
Sky high
adler resorts ’ Mountain Lodge took 10 years to complete , but it is now open at 1,800 meters ( 5,906 feet ) in the heart of the Dolomites , a UNESCO world Heritage Site in Italy .
The Sanoner family , owners of adler resorts , bought what was then the Hotel Mezdi in 1999 and replaced it with a central wooden lodge with 18 guest suites and an arc of 12 small chalets modeled on old Tyrolean mountain huts . The hotel was built with natural raw materials from the region and sustainable construction methods . a wellness area on the top floor of the main lodge houses a sauna , relaxation area and three treatment rooms as well as a wraparound infinity pool , all with panoramic views of the alpine landscape .
16 HOTELS October2014 www . hotelsmag . com