Mövenpick to add resort in Thailand and other international hotel news

Mövenpick to add resort in Thailand
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is continuing its expansion in Asia with the opening of a new property in Pattaya in Thailand in 2010. The five-star Mövenpick Resort & Spa Pattaya will include 300 rooms and suites offering sea views. The resort facilities include a main restaurant, offering signature Mövenpick buffets, two speciality restaurants and an entertainment centre. Leisure facilities will include a spa and wellness centre, a fitness centre, swimming pools, tennis courts, water sports and a kids' club.

Accor to double presence in Brazil French hotel group Accor plans to double its share of the Brazilian hotel market in the next three years. The company currently runs 134 properties in the country accounting for 20% of its annual revenue. Accor recently opened Villa Europa, the first five-star hotel in Vale dos Vinhedos, in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul stater. The hotel includes 128 suites as well as a convention centre for 500 people, two restaurants and a spa. Accor at present runs 4,000 hotels in 90 countries. It manages hotels under the Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, Red Roof Inn, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands.

Marriott to open new hotel in TexasMarriott is to launch a new property in Texas, USA, with the opening of the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in 2010. Located 20 minutes from the San Antonio International Airport, the 1,002-room resort will include a range of dining outlets and a multi-media sports bar. Facilities will also feature a water playground, more than 140,000sq ft of meeting space, a luxury spa and two 18-hole Tournament Players Clubs golf courses.

New One&Only resort to open in ZanzibarKerzner International is to launch a new One&Only resort with the opening of a $150m (£75m) luxury resort in Zanzibar in 2009. One&Only Zanzibar will feature a 150-room luxury hotel, a 50-room residence and a spa retreat on a 76-hectare site at Muyuni Beach in Zanzibar. One&Only Resorts is one of the world's premier luxury hotel brands with six resorts in the Bahamas, Dubai, the Maldives, Mauritius and Mexico.

Portugal to receive 10 new hotels by 2010 Portugal is to receive 10 new luxury hotels in the Algarve by 2010 representing a total investment of €1.5b (£1b). The hotels will include eight five-star properties including the Real Marina Hotel & Spa in Olhão, which will comprise a marina, apartments and a spa. It is expected to be completed by 2009 and will be complemented by a 150-room aparthotel. Additionally there will be three developments in the Lagos area, including the five-star 165-room Meia Praia Bay Resort and the four-star 307-room Vila Gale Lagos marketed towards leisure and families.

By Kerstin Kühn

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