China

• The 636-room Conrad Macao opened in April with 48 meeting rooms and four ballrooms, including the Kashgar Grand Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 4,000 people and be divided into 16 rooms. The Conrad is part of the multibillion-dollar Sands Cotai Central project, which also includes a Sheratonm a Holiday Inn, two casinos, 100 retail stores and numerous dining options. The three hotels added 5,300 rooms and over 100,000 square feet of event space to the coastal China region. For more information, call +853.2882.8800 or visit www.sandscotaicentral.com.

France

• The opening of Starwood’s W Paris–Opera marked the brand’s debut in France. The hotel is set inside an 1870s building from the Haussman era, which Starwood acquired in 2008 and refurbished. The W is located near the Opera Garnier and offers 91 guest rooms, including 20 suites, and two meeting rooms. For more information, call +33.144.77.10.68 or visit www.wparisopera.com.


• A new 20-story Melia hotel is scheduled to open in the La Defense business district of Paris in 2014. Targeting corporate business travellers, the hotel will have 369 rooms and views of the Arc de Triomphe. For more information, visit www.melia.com.

Guinea

• Radisson Blu Hotel Conakry is scheduled to open in 2014 in the West African port city of Conakry. The hotel will have 249 rooms, 17,000 square feet of event space and views of the Atlantic Ocean. For more information, visit www.carlsonrezidor.com.

India

• Sofitel Mumbai opened in the Banda Kurla Complex business district with 302 rooms and six restaurants. Nine meeting spaces offer more than 7,000 square feet of space. For more information, call +91.22 611.75000 or visit www.sofitel.com.

Russia

• The 173-room InterContinental St. Petersburg is set to open in 2016 and will be the brand’s second Russian property. Part of the 24-acre Europe Embankment development that will also be home to the Eifman Dance Palace, the hotel will offer 10,700 square feet of event space. For more information, visit www.ihg.com.

Spain

• The Sunborn Barcelona, billed as the world’s first luxury yacht hotel, is scheduled to open in September in the city’s new Port Forum Marina overlooking the Mediterranean. It will feature banquet and conference facilities for up to 450 people, 180 guest rooms and suites, a sun deck, bars and restaurants, a spa and a fitness center. For more information, call +34.93.364.4040 or visit www.sunbornbarcelona.com.

Thailand

• The Siam hotel will open in June along the banks of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. The resort will feature 39 suites and a meeting room for 30, in addition to amenities such as a yoga terrace, library, screening room, pool villas and Muay Thai boxing ring. Guests will be able to explore Thailand’s capital by boat from the property’s private pier. For more information visit www.thesiamhotel.com.

Turkey

• The 34-story Le Meridien Istanbul Etiler opened this year with 259 guest rooms and 10 meeting spaces, the largest of which is a ballroom measuring more than 8,000 square feet. The new-build hotel is located along the Bosphorus Strait, offering panoramic views of both Europe and Asia from its 360-degree rooftop bar. For more information, call +90 212.384.00.00 or visit www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien.

Ukraine

• Starwood’s first branded resort in the Ukraine, Four Points by Sheraton Zaporozhye, opened in late 2011 along the banks of the Dnieper River in the industrial-hub city of Zaporozhye. The lobby design features a sunflower motif, a symbol of fertile lands in Ukrainian folklore. The hotel has 164 guest rooms, and the largest meeting space measures 2,799 square feet. A presidential suite is located in the bridge connecting the hotel’s two main buildings. For more information, call +380.61.766.0000 or visit www.starwoodhotels.com/fourpoints.

United Arab Emirates

• Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company launched its International Convention Center (ICC) at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC). The Abu Dhabi Hall was rebranded in an attempt to bolster Dubai’s capital as a large-scale convention destination. The ICC at ADNEC’s 85,250 square feet of event space includes a 6,000-seat tiered theater, two large conference rooms and 19 small breakout rooms. For more information, visit www.abudhabitourism.ae.


• The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi is the first St. Regis hotel in the Middle East and one of three set to open in 2012. A ballroom measuring more than 30,000 square feet can accommodate conferences, exhibitions and special events, and is accompanied by four meeting rooms, a boardroom and an ocean-view terrace. The St. Regis Doha in Qatar and the St. Regis Abu Dhabi on the Corniche coastline will open later this year. For more information, call 877.787.3447 (U.S.), +97.124.88888 or visit www.stregissaadiyatisland.com.