New Hotels for the New Year

PHOTO: How about breakfast on the rim of Santorini’s caldera at Iconic Santorini?

New hotels spring up around the world every year and, in 2015, it’s no different. 

The following is a list of new ones to keep an eye on in the coming year. 

AFRICA

Angama Mara
Angama Mara, comprising two tented camps of 15 suites each, will open in May in Kenya. “Angama” — Swahili for “suspended in mid-air”—was chosen as the name of this lodge because it is perched on a cliff overlooking the route of the Great Migration. The camps are located at the edge of the Mara Triangle in the Ngong Hills, a setting for some of the scenes in the movie “Out of Africa.”

Kokomo Lodge
In late 2015, Time + Tide (the umbrella company over Norman Carr Safaris and Chongwe Safaris) will open a new luxury lodge called Kokomo. The lodge is currently under construction in Liuwa Plain National Park. It will be a rustically luxurious headquarters from which guests can experience one of the most game-rich reserves in Africa. Liuwa is home to a blue wildebeest migration that rivals the Great Migration of the Serengeti and is so flat it’s said that the curvature of the earth becomes visible there.

The Sheraton Juba Hotel
Sheraton will open its first hotel in the Republic of South Sudan, the world’s newest country, with the 235-room Sheraton Juba Hotel. The hotel stands on a 270-square-foot site on the banks of the Nile River, only two-and-a-half miles from the airport. It offers views of the river from every room. Elaborately landscaped grounds will have a restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool and sports and conference facilities.

The Sheraton Conakry Hotel
Starwood will open its first property in the Republic of Guinea with the Sheraton Conakry Hotel in the capital city of Conakry, which Starwood claims will be the first IFC green-certified hotel in Africa. The Sheraton Conakry will be located about a 15-minute drive from the airport. The property will have 282 guestrooms, all-day dining and specialty restaurants, a lobby bar and an outdoor swimming pool with a bar and grill. The hotel will also have more than 11,840 square feet of meeting and function space.

Six Senses Zil Pasyon
Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas will open Six Senses Zil Pasyon, its first resort in the Seychelles, in 2015. Six Senses Zil Pasyon will be located on the private island of Félicité, one of the Seychelles 115 islands. It will have 28 one-bedroom villas, two two-bedroom villas and 17 private residences standing on a 652-acre estate. The buildings lie near the edge of white-sand beaches. The resort will have two restaurants, a bar, retail outlets, a recreation center and a Six Senses Spa, as well as a gym, a swimming pool and function space.

ASIA & THE PACIFIC

Aggie Grey’s Hotel & Bungalows
The 198-room Aggie Grey’s Hotel & Bungalows and the 140-room Aggie Grey’s Lagoon Beach Resort & Spa will be managed by Starwood. Opening this month, the hotels are part of gathering development of Samoan tourism. The Starwood hotels will be rebranded as the Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Hotel and the Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Resort, respectively, by mid-2014 following extensive renovations. The Aggie Grey’s Hotel & Bungalows is an iconic property in Samoa.

The Brando
The 35-villa Brando, located on Tetiaroa, an atoll north of Tahiti, just opened with 35 oversize villas, including 30 one-bedroom villas (suitable to house up to four); four two-bedroom villas; and one three-bedroom villa. All villas are located directly on the beach with their own private patios, plunge pools and outdoor dining areas. At $3,800 per couple per day, the resort offers a high-end, all-inclusive experience with 200 staff serving about 80 guests.

Nanuku Resort & Spa
This 28-room property is located on Fiji’s Pacific Harbour on the east end of Viti Levu’s Coral Coast. The new $25 million resort is a two-hour drive from Nadi, Fiji’s international gateway. As the only all inclusive “all-villa” boutique resort on Viti Levu, it has its own airport as well as two miles of private beach. The resort also offers a cultural program of village visits, kava ceremonies, Lali drum at meal times, and torch-lighting at sundown. The stay is inclusive of private car transfer to/from the resort. Guests pay additional for spa treatments, game fishing and scuba diving.

One&Only Sanya
The 192-room One&Only Sanya on Haitang Bay will be the brand’s first appearance in China. Located on Hainan Island, the Chinese Hawaii on the South China Sea, the resort will be part of the tremendous growth in the island’s resorts and attractions when it opens in 2016. The resort spreads across 1,240 feet of coastline and more than 27 acres of coconut palms and water gardens. A full variety of accommodation ranges from two- to four-bedroom private villas to executive suites, guestrooms and a Presidential suite. Six private villas will have dedicated butlers, private pools and barbeque areas.

Outrigger Konotta Maldives Resort
This 48-villa resort will open under the Hawaii-based chain’s new branding of Outrigger Resorts as its first Maldivian property this coming July. It’s all part of the chain’s continuing expansion in the Asia Pacific. The resort will follow Outriggers’ well-established appeal to couples and family travelers as well as the divers who are attracted to the Maldives. Comprising 30 beachfront one- and two-bedroom pool villas, 21 overwater pool villas and a Presidential Villa Suite, the resort will also offer a variety of restaurants featuring local seafood. Other services will include a marine education center, a Navasana Spa and retail outlets.

PHOTO: The Outrigger Konotta Maldives Resort will open in July after a thorough renovation.

Smugglers Cove Beach Resort
The Smugglers Cove Beach Resort is part of a new $15 million franchise agreement with Wyndham Hotel Group. When it opens in December 2015, it will be Fiji’s first Ramada hotel. Located on Wailoaloa Beach on Nadi Bay about 15 minutes from the international airport, the Port Denarau Marina and the golf course, the resort is under construction and will have a mix of studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments with an extra 40 apartment residences for sale. It will also offer a massage and spa facility, a fitness center, a lap pool and a gourmet deli. The Denarau area is most popular with families.

EUROPE

Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum
The 109-room Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum opened this summer on Turkey’s Bodrum Peninsula, an idyllic beach area known for both yachts and antiquity. The resort sprawls across a series of tiers on 109 hectares at Cennet Koyu (Paradise Bay), with two beaches, several bars and restaurants, and a 29,000 -square-foot spa. A broad choice of accommodation is represented in 59 rooms, 27 suites and 23 villas all employing Turkish design motifs.

Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza
Located on the Playa d’en Bossa, one of Ibiza’s best beaches, the 493-room hotel opened in June. It features live music and DJ performances, while two-Micheli-star chef Paco Roncero oversees Sublimotion, a new restaurant concept offering a radically different gastronomy experience. In keeping with Hard Rock tradition, the new Ibiza resort will seek to attract a series of high-level pop music acts to its outdoor concert terrace, which can hold up to 2,500 guests. The hotel will have 235 suites and such facilities as the Rock Spa, Body Rock workout facility and the world-famous Rock Shop, featuring Hard Rock’s merchandise.

PHOTO: Pop music has a long history on Ibiza and the new Hard Rock Hotel will add to the story.

Iconic Santorini
The 22-room Iconic Santorini opened in April as one of the latest of a series of luxury boutique hotels that are transforming tourism in Greece from a high-volume/low-yield industry to a lower-volume/higher-yielding proposition. The Iconic Santorini is a boutique cave hotel overlooking the rim of Santorini’s ancient caldera, the same that has created such a beautiful setting for so many hotels. The boutique’s lodgings follow Santorini’s style of high-ceilinged caverns notched into the cliff.

MEXICO & THE CARIBBEAN

Azul Fives Hotel
In January, Karisma Hotels & Resorts will unveil a $40 million expansion to Azul Fives Hotel in Playa del Carmen. It will include the creation of an Essence section (with 64 suites) and The Fives Plaza, with three gourmet restaurants, two bars, a coffee shop and a gym. One-, two-, and three-bedroom Essence suites will include Essence Swim-Up suites and Essence Sky suites featuring private rooftops complete with daybeds, Jacuzzis and barbecues. The area will also be equipped with two pools with swim-up suite access.

Baha Mar
Delays have pushed the launch of the Bahamas’ $3.5 billion Baha Mar resort, originally scheduled to open this month as “the biggest destination project in the Western Hemisphere,” to March of 2015.

The 1,000-acre development will be located along a 3,000-foot-long section of Nassau’s Cable Beach and feature a 300-room SLS Hotels property; a 200-room Rosewood resort; and a 700-room Grand Hyatt hotel. The project also includes the existing 694-room Melia Nassau Beach Resort, formerly the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort, currently undergoing a renovation to an all-inclusive resort.

Belle Mont Farm
The Kittitian Hill luxury sustainable development Belle Mont Farm, featuring guest houses set within an organic farm, is poised to launch this month in St. Kitts.

Located on the island’s north coast on the fertile slopes of Mount Liamuiga, Belle Mont Farm will immerse guests in local culture and heritage with an organic farming community, and distinct farm-to-table culinary experiences at The Kitchen restaurant & The Mill bar.

The resort’s 84 guesthouses and seven, four-bedroom farm houses will feature panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea and neighboring islands.

Condado Vanderbilt Hotel
San Juan’s historic Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, originally built in 1919 by Frederick William Vanderbilt, will reopen on Dec. 1, following a $200 million renovation. The property will offer five-star luxury including 319 guestrooms and suites, a posh pool, beachside lounges, and a spa featuring what is billed as Puerto Rico’s first Hammam. Guests can also dine on cuisine from celebrity chef Juan Jose Cuevas at Ola, the new restaurant.

Gansevoort Playa Imbert
This new property opened its doors this month in the Dominican Republic’s Puerto Plata province. It promises a sample of “lifestyle luxury” with upscale service and amenities, plus luxurious accommodations ranging from one-bedroom suites to four-bedroom penthouses; a three-tiered cascading, infinity-edge swimming pool; fine dining; a world-class therapeutic day spa; and unobstructed oceanviews.

Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa
Upgrades are also in the works at Montego Bay’s Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa. The recently opened resort is adding a new children’s pool and waterpark, a refurbished sports bar and a new Italian restaurant. The Grand Palladium Jamaica features a contemporary design and shares facilities and services with the neighboring Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort & Spa. Accommodations include 450 junior suites and 90 suites, dining options include seven à la carte restaurants and three buffet restaurants, plus 13 bars and what is billed as Jamaica’s largest pool.

Hyatt Ziva Cancun
Late next year, Playa Hotels & Resorts will debut the all-inclusive Hyatt Ziva Cancun set in the destination’s Hotel Zone. Its 379 suites will feature ocean views and a host of amenities, including spa-style bathrooms, minibars stocked with soft drinks and adult beverages. Hyatt Club suites will offer larger floor plans and swim-up areas with splash pools. The Delphinus Experience will enable guests to swim with dolphins. The resort will also offer lagoon-style pools with swim-up bars overlooking the Caribbean, an adults-only pool, a lounge with pool tables and board games, a 24-hour fitness center and a spa and wellness center.

Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall/Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall
The side-by-side Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall and Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall resorts will offer guests a “six-star” experience, according to Playa Resorts Management. The Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall (designed to accommodate families) and Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall (an adults-only resort) opened last month as Hyatt’s first all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean. The resorts will offer 24-hour suite service, a full-service spa and wellness center, 10 restaurants, bars and lounges, enhanced luggage and beach butler services and fire pits dotting the property.

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts
A new 300-room resort in Los Cabos will serve as Marriott’s fourth property in Mexico. The beachfront resort, set on 14 acres, is located within the Puerto Los Cabos master-planned development, and will feature a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, a specialty eatery, and bar and grill and pool bar. It will house a swimming pool, spa, a temazcal sweat lodge, Jacuzzi, tennis courts, fitness center, kids/teen club and business center. The property will also be equipped with meetings facilities, including a main ballroom, breakout rooms and a boardroom.

Moon Palace Jamaica Grande
Palace Resorts is renovating one of Ocho Rios’ iconic properties to create the Moon Palace Jamaica Grande, scheduled to open in early 2015. The property, formerly the Sunset Grande, will undergo a $50 million dollar renovation that includes modernized guestrooms, overhauled meeting spaces, upgrades and redesigns of the common areas, and restaurant updates.

Ritz-Carlton Reserve
Late next year, Ritz-Carlton will debut its second property in Mexico with the opening of the Ritz-Carlton Reserve on a 30-acre mixed-use development in San Jose del Cabo. It will feature 124 single-story one-, two- and three-bedroom oceanfront villas with views of the Sea of Cortez. Accommodations will come equipped with private infinity plunge pools, outdoor terraces with fireplaces, outdoor showers and butler service. The development will include a spa, a desert botanical theme park, a fisherman’s wharf, a 500-slip marina and two private championship golf courses.

Sandals Barbados
Barbados will witness the opening of a new property in December with the debut of the Sandals Barbados. A $65 million renovation at the formerly shuttered property will add 280 new guestrooms and seven new restaurants. The refurbishments will also include a new lobby, the addition of a Club Sandals lounge, a departure lounge and an expanded version of the company’s Red Lane Spa. A new wedding garden is also planned, along with a swim-up pool bar, fire pits and a beachfront whirlpool.

Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya
Scheduled to open next December, AMResorts Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya will feature 434 suites with balconies, many with ocean views. The adults-only all-inclusive property will offer complimentary Wi-Fi access, seven restaurants, bars and lounges, a spa, infinity pool and a wide array of entertainment options. A Sip, Savor & See Dining Experience program will enable guests to sample cuisine and entertainment at the resort’s nearby sister properties.

Thompson Hotels
Boutique operator Thompson Hotels is expanding its reach to Mexico, where it will unveil a 115-room/44 condominium project in Los Cabos, along with a 125-room mixed-use project in Playa del Carmen. The Los Cabos property, featuring views of the destination’s iconic El Arco, will offer an array of restaurants, bars and nightlife options. Located on Fifth Avenue, Thompson Playa del Carmen will boast, among other things, a spa, restaurant and rooftop infinity pool.

THE MIDDLE EAST

Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay
Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay is set for an opening on March 1, 2015. The 68-story tower will stand over Bahrain Bay on a 12-acre manmade island. The building is laid out in an H shape and houses 216 guestrooms and 57 suites. It will have five swimming pools, including ones for family, kids and adults only, as well as an indoor spa pool and a saltwater pool.

Hard Rock Hotel Dubai Marina
On a wave of growth internationally, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos plans to open its first property in Dubai, the Hard Rock Hotel Dubai Marina. The property stands on the Marina 101 development, which will be the world’s tallest residential development and the second tallest tower in the UAE when it is finished. The tower will be divided into three levels. The first 33 floors will be the Hard Rock.

Mondrian Doha
Mondrian Doha will open in 2015 in the West Bay Lagoon neighborhood of Doha, the capital city of Qatar. The property will offer 270 rooms and suites and will feature innovative bars and restaurants offering both regional and international cuisine. It will also offer have an indoor/outdoor rooftop pool bar, meeting and conference venues and a spa. Its ballroom can accommodate 1,500 people.

Studio M Riyadh
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Middle East & Africa plans to open the first Studio M brand hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during second quarter 2015. The centrally located hotel will offer 145 rooms. The brand was designed to appeal to Generation Y, but the owners believe the lively style of Generation Y will appeal to prospective guests of all ages. The property will offer meeting facilities, an all-day dining concept, a swimming pool, a gym, a pool deck and retail shops.

Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem
Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem stands at a point between the walled Old City of Jerusalem and its modern developments. The hotel is next to the shopping center Mamilla and overlooks Independence Park. It is within walking distance of the walls of the Old City and Jaffa Gate. With a design that draws from Greco-Roman, Ottoman and Gothic architectural traditions, the hotel will have 226 suites on 10 floors, two indoor lap pools, two gyms, two wet and dry saunas and a boutique spa. Dining choices include a French brasserie and a gourmet Italian restaurant

UNITED STATES

Playa Largo Resort & Spa
Set to open in summer 2015, Key Largo, the Playa Largo Resort & Spa will encompass 14 waterfront acres with 144 rooms and suites. The property, which will be part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, will include a private marina, multiple bars and restaurants, a full-service spa and fitness offerings, a beach house for private or corporate functions and wedding and conference facilities, including a ballroom.

Legoland Hotel
The Legoland Florida Resort in Winter Haven, Fla., will debut the 152-room Legoland Hotel, transforming the resort from a single-visit theme park into a multi-day resort destination. The five-story property, which is being billed as an extension of the theme park, will feature a multicolored exterior and entrance with rooms and suites that are themed with Lego décor. The property will boast interactive play areas, a pool and a restaurant.

Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort
Parrotheads rejoice: The Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort in Hollywood, Fla., is slated to open this summer. With seven food and beverage options, guests will find all the signature Margaritaville hallmarks, including Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, LandShark Bar & Grill, License to Chill Rooftop Bar, Lone Palm Bar and 5 o’clock Somewhere Bar. The 17-story property will include 349 rooms, hammocks, 27,000 square feet of oceanfront meeting space, a spa, two pools and two FlowRiders.

Conrad Fort Lauderdale Resort & Residences
The Conrad Fort Lauderdale Resort & Residences is scheduled to open in the summer in the spot that once was slated for the Trump International hotel, which never materialized. The 290-room property will occupy a two-acre block area on Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard, and will feature a fitness center, Conrad spa, oceanfront dining experience, beach concierge, elevated pool deck with swimming pool, poolside restaurant and bar, and gourmet market.

Aloft Manhattan Downtown – Financial District
Aloft Manhattan Downtown – Financial District will not only feature free Wi-Fi access, multiple ports and 42-inch flat-screen televisions in its rooms, but the Starwood Hotels & Resorts property will also provide a children’s program, a business center, a gym, express check-in and checkout, a restaurant featuring American cuisine, a casual bar and “Live at Aloft Hotels,” which offers live music by some of the hottest emerging artists. Set to open January 2015, the hotel will be located right in the heart of Manhattan’s Financial District.

The Westin Austin Downtown
Set to open in June 2015, and located just one block from the Austin Convention Center and 6th Street, The Westin Austin Downtown will offer 366 rooms and suites (including health-conscious WestinWORKOUT Rooms), a 24-hour fitness studio, a rooftop pool and bar, a restaurant and 19,000 square feet of event space.

Hyatt Regency Houston Galleria
Located within the 7.6-acre mixed-use development Galleria Plaza, Hyatt Regency Houston Galleria will feature 325 rooms, more than 12,000 square feet of meeting and conference space and a large fitness center situated next to the pool deck. Opening in fall 2015, Hyatt Regency will be joined by another Hyatt hotel in Galleria Plaza, and will be surrounded by a variety of businesses, luxury apartments and high-end retail and specialty stores. The 14-story hotel, managed by Aimbridge Hospitality, will be an extension of the growing Galleria Plaza in Houston.