From the Trump Hotel Collection to the Four Seasons, here are the top hotel openings -- current and planned -- of the week.
Trump to Open First Asia Resort in Bali
Trump Hotel Collection announced its first expansion into Asia this week with plans to open a luxury resort and residence in Bali. While few details were initially available, the new resort will be along the southwest coast, with suites and villas offering clifftop views of the Indian Ocean and the famed Tanah Lot temple.
The resort will be produced as part of an agreement with Indonesian investment group MNC Group.
1 Hotel Central Park Opens Restaurant
1 Hotel Central Park, the second property in the recently-launched 1 Hotels brand, opened earlier this month in New York City, and opened its new signature restaurant this week.
With Chef Jonathan Waxman at the helm, the restaurant, Jams, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily out of a high-energy open kitchen. The cuisine aims for a local, seasonal focus. Waxman is also in charge of the property's room service and on-site catering.
The hotel is designed in keeping with the 1 Hotel brand's eco-savvy ethos, with an ivy-covered façade, three-story exterior green wall, and guestrooms with paperless amenities (think electronic check-in and in-room Nexus tablets). As its name would imply, property is just one block from Central Park.
LeDomaine Opens "El Santuario" Spa in Spain
In terms of hotel spas, abbey hotel and winery Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine recently opened its new spa, "El Santuario."
The historic property in Spain's Duero wine region dates from 1146 and added the 10,000 square foot spa space underground, below the abbey's original stables, as part of a plan to preserve the property's original ambiance. Simultaneously, the stables were converted into eight additional guestrooms with direct spa access. The new guestrooms bring the hotel’s total to 30 rooms and suites.
The spa offers a 10,000 square foot spa space aimed at offering a "fusion wine" vinotherapy spa concept based on a blind tasting of wines, a signature treatment menu and "Spa Sommeliers" who guide guests. "Spa Butlers" are also on hand to provide assistance.
The spa's facilities include four individual treatment rooms, a Spa Suite, outdoor rain showers, indoor heated pool, outdoor pool with a snack menu, and separate ladies and men’s wellness areas each with a sauna, steam baths, experience showers, hydrotherapy pools, relaxation room and changing areas. Among the wellbeing offerings are Pilates, personal training sessions, yoga, meditation and Qi Gong.
Spa Sommeliers work to analyze the needs of guests and recommend effective treatments, as well as conduct a blind tasting (tasting for wines, smelling for oils) to ensure treatments work with guests' individual palates. For guests who do not drink alcohol, the wines are replaced with seasonal teas and juices.
For bites, there is also a light Spa Cuisine menu -- the brainchild of hotel Head Chef Pablo Montero, who in November 2014 earned a Michelin Star for LeDomaine’s Refectorio restaurant.
New Four Seasons Private Residences at Walt Disney World
Also this week Disney fans got a new option when it comes to vacation residences: Disney has begun sales of Four Seasons Private Residences Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, the most recent phase of development in the luxury resort-residential community of Golden Oak.
The single-family custom homes are inside Golden Oak with private entry to Four Seasons Resort Orlando, which offers a full-service spa, five pool areas, tennis courts and six onsite restaurants.
The Resort will also offer homeowners in-home a la carte services such as spa treatments, residential cleaning and in residence dining and catering for parties. Residents will also have a la carte access to the Kids for All Seasons program for an additional fee. All services and amenities available through Four Seasons Resort Orlando will be overseen by a dedicated Residence Manager.
The residences will include three collections of approximately one-half acre homesites. These custom residences, ranging in size from 6,000 to over 10,000 square feet, will feature three European-inspired styles embodying Venetian, Italianate and Spanish Revival architectural precedents. Homeowners will also have the option to include a Four Seasons butler pantry, allowing in-home deliveries of everything from groceries to linens, while not permitting staff access to the primary residence.
Belmond Eagle Island Lodge Reopens This November
Finally, guests looking for a safari should keep in mind that Belmond Eagle Island Lodge is set to reopen this November following a major revamp.
The refresh, which has taken as its focus local artisans and materials, includes 12 new Deluxe Tented Rooms, each with their own plunge pool and outdoor deck. Thoughtful touches: a minibar crafted inthe style of an explorer's toolbox, plus hand-stitched waxy leather upholstery on furniture and a custom-designed table with canvas and leather pockets. The centrepiece is an oversized bed with views onto the delta with a handmade copper finish -- a reference to the country's mining tradition. Each Deluxe Tented Room also has a bathroom with large bathtub, a double vanity unit and a walk in wardrobe, as well as a walled outdoor shower with a window looking onto the delta.
The reno extends to the lodge's public areas, which now include a roomier reception area, new restaurant offering inside and outside dining and new lounge area with bar and library.
Outdoor areas include a new campfire and barbecue, in an enclave directly on the edge of the water channels, around which guests can gather at night to share their stories. Located close to the camp fire is another bar and alternative destination -- Fish Eagle Bar.