Business Traveller rounds up new, upcoming and renovated hotels from brands including Raffles, Rosewood, Ibis, Conrad and Meliá
Ibis London Canning Town, UK
This new Ibis hotel is opposite Canning Town Tube station, with good transport links to the centre of London via the Jubilee line. It has 196 rooms, including 10 for people with reduced mobility, and 24-hour reception. The hotel also has a café bar aimed at local residents, with east London coffee company Climpson & Sons providing the beans. This Ibis uses the hotel chain’s newest guest welcoming system, which eliminates the traditional check-in desk through employees’ use of mobile devices. This enables them to meet guests upon arrival, key in hand.
Conrad Cartagena, Colombia
This hotel is the first from Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton’s luxury hotel brand, to open in Colombia, and is only the third to open in Latin America. It has 109 uniquely designed rooms, a golf course, and seven venues to eat and drink, offering local and wider Latin American cuisines and cocktails. Additionally the hotel has more than 2,200 sqm of event space, including the 800 sqm grand ballroom and five 46 sqm meeting rooms. The events spaces can receive up to 1,400 guests. Later in 2018 the hotel is opening 159 additional rooms and a large spa of 900 sqm.
This is the first international hotel venture of the Las Vegas Bellagio brand, providing views of the Pudong Skyline from its 162 rooms, which range from 60 sqm to the 400 sqm Presidential Suite. The hotel’s four dining areas provide Cantonese cooking (Mansion on One), chic Italian cuisine (Lago by Julian Serrano), and two areas for more relaxed coffee and cocktail appointments (The Lounge and Café Bellagio). The hotel also caters to events and meetings with a grand ballroom, three function rooms and a private VIP room. The hotel is also well-placed near Shanghai’s historic Bund district.
Hotel Cartesiano, Puebla, Mexico
The Cartesiano is set in a modern building and two restored colonial mansions, with 78 guest rooms in total, a 24-hour concierge and inclusive valet parking and wifi. The Centena Cuatro restaurant serves contemporary Mexican cuisine, while the Café Hercilia provides a more informal meal setting. The hotel also has a pool and a 24-hour gym. Guests are encouraged to unwind at the hotel’s spa. The Descartes Ballroom can host 80 guests for banquets and weddings, and 160 for cocktail receptions.
Nobu Hotel Epiphany Palo Alto, USA
Situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, this hotel from the international restaurant brand is ideal for the tech-minded traveller. Each of its 86 rooms comes with a private balcony with views of the city, and offers 24-hour in-room dining. The Nobu Palo Alto restaurant is open daily, serving the founding chef’s signature new-style Japanese cuisine with South American influences. The hospitality suites can be used for meetings, trainings, dinners and drinks receptions and can be joined through connecting doors to make larger event spaces. Guests receive free access to the Vivre health club across the street.
ME by Meliá announces its debut Middle Eastern property with the launch of this hotel, scheduled for the end of 2018. This hotel has been designed by the late Zaha Hadid, and is the only hotel where she personally designed all the interiors and exteriors. Taking residence in the newest addition to Dubai’s skyline, the more than 23,000 sqm Opus building, the hotel will consist of 93 rooms and suites over 19 floors, as well as 98 serviced apartments. Among the 15 restaurants will be Roka, serving new-style Japanese cuisine.
Raffles The Palm Dubai Hotel, UAE
Set to open in 2021, this hotel will be part of the new Palm360 development from AccorHotels and Nakheel on Dubai’s famous artificial archipelago Palm Jumeirah. It will have 125 rooms and suites, a lobby lounge, and a variety of restaurants. These include: two rooftop restaurants, a waterside restaurant, and a speciality restaurant that, they claim, will give ‘culinary presentations’ throughout the day.
Rosewood’s first German and seventh European property will open in 2023, housed in the former State Bank of Bavaria building and an adjacent former aristocratic residence. It will have 132 rooms and suites. Other amenities will include a spa with five treatment rooms, an indoor pool and fitness area; meetings and events spaces that will be able to host events, conferences and private parties for up to 400 guests; and two distinct dining venues with restaurant and bar.
Jasper Hart