New openings
Avani Metropolis Auckland Residences recently opened its doors on Kitchener Street, about 30 minutes’ drive from Auckland International Airport. There are 65 residences including one- and two-bedroom categories, each featuring a kitchen with oven and dishwasher, as well as having a washing machine, free wifi and a grocery delivery service. Some apartments also come with a balcony. Guests will also receive Avani’s “Forget Me Not” amenities, provided with yoga mats, GHD hair straighteners, international power adaptors, and sewing and dental kits.
Aloft Jakarta Wahid Hasyim is located in the city centre, about 30 to 40 minutes’ driving distance from Jakarta International Airport. It has 180 rooms with Bliss Spa amenities, free wifi and a flat-screen TV. The hotel’s restaurant, Nook, serves Indonesian dishes such as “Ayam Bakar Seruni”, while the brand’s signature W XYZ Bar and Re:mix Lounge are public spaces where guests can mingle over live acoustic music from local emerging musicians, and try the local cocktail, 45 Bullet.
Rosewood Phuket features 71 pool pavilions and villas, all in a residential setup facing the ocean, offering a bedroom, living room and an outdoor courtyard with a deep-soaking bathtub and rain shower. The opening of the hotel also marks the launch of the brand’s new Asaya wellness concept, offering a menu of fitness and lifestyle therapies such as body stretching, pilates, personal training sessions, yoga and meditation. Visiting practitioners will also organise workshops and private sessions based on various well-being practices.
Ascott Raffles City Shenzhen is the second Ascott-branded property in the city. Located in Nanshan District, the city’s technology and industrial hub, the residence is part of Capitaland’s flagship Raffles City integrated development, comprising a 70,000 sqm mall with more than 200 shops, and a 23-storey office tower. There are 182 apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units and each includes a kitchen, audio-visual equipment and wifi. Other facilities include an indoor heated swimming pool, breakfast lounge, gym, aerobic room, reading room, sauna and steam room.
Shangri-La Hotel, Xiamen is located in the newly developed financial and IT zone Guanyin Shan Business Centre, which is a 10-minute and 20-minute drive away from Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center, and Xiamen International Airport, respectively. There are 325 rooms ranging from 42-sqm Deluxe Sea View Rooms to the 168-sqm Shangri-La Suite. The hotel also has a 1,500-sqm pillarless Grand Ballroom with an eight-metre-high ceiling, capable of holding up to 1,000 guests and is the only hotel in the city featuring an elevator that is large enough to transport vehicles directly to the ballroom.
Renovations
Four Seasons Resort Langkawi has undergone a facelift. The new look sees the signature colour scheme changed from earthen tones to a palette of “bold and vibrant” blues. The resort has also unveiled three new Deluxe Family Beach Villas with Plunge Pool and two Three-Bedroom Garden Villas with Pool categories. The main pools also have been transformed and now comprise the 55-metre Adult Quiet Pool with sea views, and the Family Pool comprising several different pools. Rhu Bar has also been transformed with the addition of classy furniture, funky objets d’art and a new bar counter to match its modern casual cuisine.
ANA Intercontinental Tokyo has launched 59 newly refurbished Club Intercontinental Rooms. A highlight is the wall of clear glass in the bathroom – privacy can be achieved by activating the electrochromic glazing technology, which changes the glass from clear to opaque while still allowing light to pass through.
Additional benefits are available to guests staying in the category, including a complimentary “tokyobike” experience, the option of breakfast served in-room or at one of the restaurants, a complimentary shoeshine service, premium minibar, priority restaurant reservations and a Thann Spa upgrade programme.
Opening soon
Red Planet Manila Bay is a 150-room hotel located across from the US Embassy in Ermita, a short distance from Ninoy Aquino International Airport. It features the Red Planet Hotels standards – a bright, modern, and innovative lobby, equipped with Apple computers; the “Info Wall” containing information around the hotels; and a “Photo-me” screen, enabling guests to take selfies that can be instantly shared on social media platforms. The hotel will open its doors on December 15.
Felix Hotel by 8 Hotels will be open in early 2018. The hotel is located two minutes’ from Sydney Airport’s domestic terminal and 10 minutes from the international terminal. The 150-room hotel has four room types: first class, business, premium economy and economy, as well as two conference rooms called Boeing and Airbus. It also has self-check-in kiosks and a 24-hour food shop, with local gourmet food and drink options that can be charged back to the room by swiping your keycard.
