A quick roundup of global hospitality news.
CROWNE PLAZA’S DEBUT IN FIJI: IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement with Wailoaloa Hotel Pte Ltd to debut its flagship Crowne Plaza brand debut in Fiji. Set to open later this year, Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort & Spa will convert from Pullman Nadi Bay following a multi-million-dollar refurbishment and extension led by interior design company P49 DEESIGN. The existing 324 rooms will be enhanced, and two-bedroom family rooms and ocean-facing king suites will be added. The property will also add a day spa featuring six double treatment rooms and a 600-seat convention center. The resort will include seven dining venues. With the addition of Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort & Spa, IHG will have five hotels across Fiji.
DUSIT TO OPEN THREE HOTELS THROUGH MAY: Thailand-based Dusit Hotels and Resorts will open three hotels globally in the next 30 days, which includes two new properties in Bangkok and its first in Japan. Soon after debuting in Europe (in Greece) and returning to Nairobi (Kenya) in March, Dusit will open dusitD2 Samyan Bangkok, its first dusitD2-branded hotel in Bangkok, on May 12. The new hotel has 179 rooms, a fitness center, a meeting space, an outdoor pool and multiple dining venues. On May 15, Dusit will expand its ASAI Hotels brand by opening ASAI Bangkok Sathorn. Located near Bangkok’s central business district, the hotel features 106 rooms, a bar, a co-working area and a dining area. On June 1, Dusit will open its first hotel in Japan and take ASAI outside of Thailand with the opening of ASAI Kyoto Shijo. Offering 114 tooms, the hotel will include a communal hub for work, rest and play and a dining room. Dusit will open nine more hotels globally by the end of the year, including debuting in Nepal, adding another one in Japan and returning to India. The company will add 1,700 keys to its portfolio, resulting in 62 hotels totaling 13,700 keys across 18 countries by the year’s end.
EMAAR HOSPITALITY TO ADD EIGHT NEW HOTELS: Emaar Hospitality Group, a fully-owned subsidiary of Dubai-based Emaar Properties, will add eight new properties in the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia and Egypt by 2024. The new properties include Address Jabal Omar Makkah (the group’s first hotel in Saudi Arabia); Address Marassi Beach Resort and Vida Marina Resort & Yacht Club Marassi — both set to open this year in Egypt; Vida Aljada in Sharjah (to open in 2024); Vida Residences Cairo Gate (to open in 2024); Vida Dubai Mall (to open later this year); and Palace Dubai Creek Harbour and Vida Creek Beach (to open in Dubai this year). These additions will bring Emaar Hospitality’s hotels in this cluster to four.
NEW LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTEL IN WILSON: The Louis, a new boutique luxury hotel, has opened in Wilson, Ark. The hotel comprises a collection of five private cottages and 16 rooms. Reservations for the rooms are open from May 16. Housed in a 100-year-old building, the property was restored by FODA Design. The hotel also offers two dining and lounge destinations, meeting and event spaces that accommodate up to 300 persons and a rooftop terrace.
LA VIE’S NEW BRAND: La Vie Hotels & Resorts has launched a new lifestyle brand, NOOE, along with the first NOOE resort, a new build island resort in the Maldives. Spread over three hectares, NOOE Maldives Kunaavashi offers 72 bungalows and villas, 39 of which have an overwater location. The two-story overwater villas include private plunge pools, a deck area and views over the Vaavu Atoll. The property also includes six dining venues, a water sports center, a kids club and a spa with three private treatment rooms.