Global Update
The GosTelow reporT
Myles McGourty , Miami-based senior vice president of Hyatt , Latin America and Caribbean , says the expansion of Hyatt Place in Central America ( Guatemala City , Tegucigalpa , San Pedro Sula , San Salvador and Managua ) is a strategic move to bring the brands closer to Central American travelers . Hyatt is already in Mexico , Costa Rica and Chile , and this year will add two properties in Mexico ( La Paz and Ciudad del Carmen ) and one in Panama City . Next year will see openings in Central America , another in Tijuana , Mexico , one in the state of São Paulo , Brazil ( San José do Rio Preto ), and the opening of the first Hyatt House
Mary GOSTELOw extended-stay in Santa Fe , Mexico .
Is Cambodia ripe for development ? One challenge is the growing number of inbound Korean travellers to the Angkor temples near Siem Reap who are more self-sufficient and find Koreanmanaged hotels and restaurants . Peter French is president of Raffles International , Singapore . Unlike the other two brands in the FRHI Hotels & Resorts portfolio — Fairmont and Swissôtel — French reports directly to Zurich-based FRHI President and COO Michael Glennie . French wants more hotels in the Middle East and , like everyone , he wants London . One challenge in established destinations , he says , is that luxury operators are losing out to residential developers .
Carlson Rezidor Asia Pacific President Thorsten Kirschke is extremely bullish on his region with strong partnerships , as in India , already providing a good presence . Now , changing demographics and a burgeoning percentage of Millennials mean that while the last decade saw , if anything , an oversupply of luxury hotels , today there are massive opportunities for lifestyle products in Indonesia , the Philippines and Australia . When it comes to China , Kirschke is looking not only at the usual destinations of Beijing , Guangzhou , Shanghai and Shenzhen , but also at secondand third-tier cities .
The basics reimagined
Seventeen years after opening , Singita Boulders Lodge in the Sabi Sand , South Africa , has been reinvented . Located on the banks of the Sand River , the original inspiration for the lodge came from the geometry of the ancient , weathered boulders and the natural curve of the riverbed .
This time , designers Cécile & Boyd and architect Sally Tsiliyiannis of GAPP Architects & Urban Designers have taken further cues from nature , incorporating the colors , textures and elements of the landscape . Throughout the 12-suite lodge , sculptures , abstract art and other found
The lounge at Singita objects show a deeper Boulders Lodge features connection with the wild . rustic and worn furnishings
Safari specialist Singita including pieces fashioned operates 12 low-impact from fossilized tree stumps , slabs of solid stone , artisanal luxury lodges and camps in wrought iron and leather . five African destinations .
16 HOTELS September 2014 www . hotelsmag . com