Worldwide briefing

Accor is to open a hotel in the Russian city of Volgograd. The company said it plans to launch a four-star property in 2009, with the building process starting early next year. The hotel will be a 10-storey building and the company will invest around US$25m (£13m). Accor has not yet revealed the brand and number of rooms of the hotel.

Separately, LaSalle Lao, a joint venture between a fund managed by LaSalle Investment Management and Accor, has put in the top bid of US$73m (£37m) for a 3,577sq m site in Singapore and plans to turn it into an Ibis hotel. It forms part of an aggressive expansion in Asia with its Ibis brand, and the 500-room hotel in Singapore is slated to open in late 2008. A second and possibly a third Ibis hotel may be built in Singapore in the future.

International hotel consortium Design Hotels has announced the opening of three new member hotels. The Nam Hai hotel in the Quang Nam Province in Vietnam is an exclusive all villa resort featuring 60 one-bedroom villas and 40 pool villas. It is located on Vietnam's China Beach and features restaurants, a spa, three swimming pools, a health club, tennis courts and plans for an 18-hole golf course. The Goldman 25 Hours hotel in Frankfurt, Germany, is a 49-room boutique hotel that features themed rooms and is set across seven floors with different colour schemes. It is designed to offer an affordable and unique lifestyle experience and gives a 25% discount to guests aged below 25. The Library on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand is a beachfront resort featuring 26 suites and studios. It includes swimming pool, gym, beachfront restaurant and bar, and a library building with an extensive book, music and movie collection.

Marriott is opening another Renaissance-branded hotel in Shanghai in mid-2007. The 680-room Renaissance Shanghai Zhongshan Park will occupy the top 35 floors of a 60-story tower and will include a lobby lounge and three restaurants. It will also feature an executive lounge, an indoor swimming pool, a health club and spa and a business centre as well as 1,765 sq m of meeting space.

In addition, Marriott is adding a 148-room Marriott-branded hotel to its lodging portfolio in Ashbourne, County Meath, Ireland. The Ashbourne Marriott Hotel, which is scheduled to open early next year, will be located 15 minutes north of the Dublin International Airport and 30 minutes from the city centre. It will include a restaurant, a lobby lounge and a bar. It will also feature a spa with indoor swimming pool and health club including a steam room, sauna, treatment rooms and a fitness area. Other amenities will include a business centre and two retail shops. The hotel will be the fifth hotel in Marriott's portfolio of brands in Ireland.

Prêt a Manger has signed a lease agreement for a Manhattan outlet in New York. The new site is scheduled to open early next year and will include more seating and warmer decor than the first Prêts that entered the New York market. The chain intends to open up to four more Manhattan locations in 2007 and another four in 2008. Changes are underway at existing outlets and include adding new padded seats and banquettes to replace stark-looking chrome chairs and tables.

By Kerstin Kühn

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