by James Ruggia
Last updated: 9:17 AM ET, Fri December 13, 2013
First Indonesian Sofitel to Open on Bali
The Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort will be the group's first Indonesian property when it opens next week. The resort will bring 415 rooms including 17 Private Villas and 22 Prestige Suites.
The resort, located on the Nusa Dua Peninsula in Southern Bali, will have an eclectic set of dining options with three restaurants spanning Pan Asian and Indonesian cuisine, seafood and Italian fare, along with two bars and a club lounge as well as the Sofitel branded SoFit and SoSpa concepts.
ITC to Open Three New WelcomHotels
ITC Hotels, parent company of India's ITC Hotels Luxury Collection, will open three new 5 Star WelcomHotel properties: a boutique property near New Delhi and two larger hotels in Kerala.
The 49-room WelcomHotel Bella Vista, Panchkula-Chandigarh is located outside New Delhi in the heart of the tri-city of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. The 93-room WelcomHotel Raviz, Resort and Ayurveda Spa, Kollam, Kerala is known for the Raanthal, a large floating restaurant that explores Kerala's backwaters.
The 117-room WelcomHotel Raviz Kadavu is located on the Chaliyar River and is highlighted by its Ayurveda Spa. Other ITC Hotels on the horizon are the ITC Green Bharat in Manesar (Gurgaon), the ITC Vilasa in Mahabalipuram just outside of the city of Chennai, and the ITC Kolkata II, which are all due by mid-2014.
The ITC Hotel Hyderabad I and II, ITC Hotel Noida and ITC Hotel Ahmedabad are all scheduled to open in 2016.
Centara Assumes Management of Phuket's Blue Marine Resort
In January, Phuket's Blue Marine Resort & Spa will get a new management company when Centara Hotels & Resorts, which acquired the contract, takes over operations.
The resort, which is located on the northern end of Patong Beach, is undergoing renovations that will be complete in October when the resort will be rebranded as Centara Blue Marine Resort & Spa Phuket.
New Four Points by Sheraton Sits Between the Beach and George Town
Starwood opened the 220-room Four Points by Sheraton Penang after extensive renovations and rebranding of the beachfront property.
Located on the main road to George Town, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage city and also near Batu Ferringhi beach, the hotel's facilities include free Wi-Fi throughout the resort, an outdoor pool and a 24-hour fitness center.
InterContinental Opens in Shanghai's Trendy Xintiandi Neighborhood
To commemorate its 30th year in China, the InterContinental Hotels Group opened the new InterContinental Shanghai Ruijin. Located in century-old state hotel that hosted everyone from Chou En-lai to Richard Nixon, the hotel operates in the former private estate of the British Morris family, the founders of the North China Daily News.
It also served as the headquarters of the Communist Party in Shanghai during China's War of Liberation. Two new buildings were built in the style of the Ruijin Hotel's historical architecture and these contain 240 guestrooms, banquet and meeting halls and fine-dining Chinese and French restaurants.
A highlight feature is the old film library where guests can browse stills of old movies filmed on the premises. The hotel is located in the Xintiandi district.
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