Hospitality titan Simon Cooper, whose prolific career encompassed leadership roles at Ritz-Carlton, Delta Hotels and Omni Hotels, died on April 24 following a battle with leukemia.
13.04.2024 - 10:07 / forbes.com
An audacious new arrival has descended on Byron Bay's laid-back, surf-tousled shores—a brazen example of brutalist design making waves as the first five-star hotel in this famously bohemian beach enclave. Hotel Marvell, the vision of entrepreneurial design provocateurs Scott Didier and Scott Emery, is no mere upscale accommodations for Byron's sandal-clad masses and arriving jet set alike. It's an immersive architectural critique defiantly disrupting Australia's luxury hospitality norms. With its soaring raw concrete façades ingeniously softened by tropical plantlife, this daring design statement reimagines sophistication through Byron's inimitable counterculture lens—a surprising and unprecedented juxtaposition defying expectation at every turn.
From the street, local firm Harley Graham Architects' striking tropical brutalist facade commands attention like an urban arthouse installation: A triple-height laneway operates as the hotel's palate-cleansing entranceway, enveloping guests in a living, breathing urban rainforest before revealing the raw concrete behemoth beyond. It's an masterful juxtaposition of man's rigid lines against nature's sinuous forms, setting an avant-garde tone. Cross the threshold and the sensory recalibration continues, conceived like an experiential art exhibit. Warm sandstone tones meld with burnished timbers and pops of plum and sunset orange in this geometric playground of shapes and shadows. The 24 luxury accommodations are each oriented as distinct light studies, their bare concrete canvases activated by the choreographed ingress of Byron's dramatic tropical rays throughout the day.
It's a daring interplay of coarse materiality and organic forms that's distinctly regionalized yet thoroughly avant-garde. Even the purposefully porous laneway blurs boundaries between indoors and out like some primordial temple courtyard reclaimed by the tropics. In the guest rooms, the stark concrete walls and ceilings contrast with soft linens, creating a visual and textural interplay that reflects the hotel’s industrial and natural blend, cleverly tied into the broader narrative of a sophisticated, bohemian luxury. Yet, these elements are cleverly subverted with Graham's signature minimalism into an elevated, refined ode to bohemian luxe. Every quartile is infused with a grounded sense of place: a commitment to locally sourcing amenities and provisions, handmade ceramic mugs crafted by Byron-based potter Brooke Clunie found in guest rooms, and the artisanal spirits stocked at the bar courtesy of the Northern Rivers' Winding Road Distillery Co., as an example.
The masterful fusion of texture and material application reaches its crescendo at Bonito, the hotel's culinary installation helmed
Hospitality titan Simon Cooper, whose prolific career encompassed leadership roles at Ritz-Carlton, Delta Hotels and Omni Hotels, died on April 24 following a battle with leukemia.
Ongoing conflict in the Red Sea has led Princess Cruises to revise its world cruise itineraries for the Island Princess and the Crown Princess, which were scheduled to sail there in 2025.
AAA Travel announced that two hotels and four restaurants in the Dominican Republic, United States and Canada are the newest additions to the organization’s Five Diamonds list.
Radisson Hotel Group continues to intensify its efforts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, aligning with the Saudi 2030 vision for hospitality. Building on a robust five-year expansion and transformation plan, the Group aims to establish itself as the preferred brand for owners, partners, and guests by strengthening its presence in major and secondary cities across the Kingdom.
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For centuries, dogs have been bred to work and perform specific tasks. For example, Pembroke Welsh corgis often work as herding dogs and were "once invaluable to farmers in Wales," according to the American Kennel Club.
Standing tall above Sydney’s Darling Harbor, the recently opened W Sydneywill command your attention before you even step foot inside. The feeling of marvel doesn’t stop once you enter the building; an illuminated vertical promenade inspired by the Australian Waratah flower leads you into the heart of the hotel where 585 rooms and many thoughtfully designed communal enclaves await. The largest W property to date, W Sydney welcomes visitors and Sydneysiders to enjoy round-the-clock moments big and small. From the sprawling rooftop pool to small tipples in your room, this hotel is designed to create your own adventure and symbolizes a new chapter for W Hotels.
If you’re a traveler or a foodie, you have probably heard of the Michelin Star rating system given to restaurants.
While iconic Caribbean dishes span from ackee and saltfish to coucou and flying fish to mofongo, each island across the region is united by one common spirit: rum, to be precise. Derived from fermented and distilled molasses, this alcoholic beverage has played a major role in Caribbean culture for centuries, with the world’s oldest surviving rum distillery deed dating back to 1703 and hailing from Barbados. In the modern era, the spirit also serves as a major draw for tourism, with the Caribbean’s most opulent hotels and resorts offering carefully-curated rum experiences for visitors to enjoy. As you plan your next booze-focused foray into the region, don’t miss out on these world-class hotels.
Michelin began rating hotels this month, starting with 189 properties in France. Yet many of the hotels that received coveted Michelin “keys” didn’t overlap with the list of best-rated hotels at online review sites. What gives?
Hyatt Hotels definitely has its eyes on India and the focus specifically is on domestic Indian leisure travelers. “The leisure travel market is primarily driven by Indians traveling within India and discovering the country,” said CEO Mark Hoplamazian during his recent visit to the country.
Michelin on Monday awarded 24 French hotels with “Three Keys” – its highest rating in a new hotel rating system that will be rolling out globally this year.