The robots are coming: Alibaba Group’s FlyZoo Hotel has finally opened in Hangzhou, China. The property, which was built by online travel platform, Fliggy, utilizes Alibaba’s tech ecosystem to weave automation and robots in wherever possible. When making room reservations through the FlyZoo app, guests select their preferred floors and room location. Guests can also opt to use facial recognition to unlock their room doors or access elevators and delivery of food and amenities can be performed by the hotel’s room-service robots. Robots are also used in the hotel’s restaurants to assist in dish delivery. Go inside the hotel here.
Here’s a new lifestyle draw: Rosewood Hong Kong has opened, occupying 43 floors of a multi-use tower in the city. Situated on the Kowloon harbor-front, at 413-rooms, the property is among the largest in the city. The site is the former Holt’s Wharf, dating back to 1910, which was subsequently acquired and developed into New World Centre, a lifestyle draw for the city in the 1980s. The property has eight restaurants and lounges along with recreational facilities including Asaya, Rosewood’s holistic wellness concept opening in fall 2019.
Ultra-lux Singita opens two: Set in the northwestern reaches of Rwanda on the edge of Volcanoes National Park, the ultra-luxury Singita Kwitonda Lodge (with seven one-bedroom suites and one two-bedroom suite) and Kataza House (four suites) will open their doors in August. The lodge and villa are set against the backdrop of the Virunga Mountain Range – home to the critically endangered mountain gorillas and also one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. The two properties form part of an ambitious conservation partnership with the Rwandan government and local communities.