There are so much going on in the world of luxury hotels. Here are three key recent devleopments to have on your radar.
Anantara Veli Maldives Resort will reopen on December 1, 2022, in time for the peak festive season following nine months of extensive renovations. The adults-only resort located 30 minutes by speedboat from Malé International Airport, will reveal new-look accommodations, including a new top room category and newly designed restaurants and spa.
What was part of the update?
All 67 over-water, ocean and beach villas have been fully renovated in traditional-meets-contemporary tropical style, using a natural palette of wood and stone, cool fabrics and rattan finishes and the latest in high-tech comforts. The new room category is the 1,590-square-foot Beach Pool Villa. There are six of them, each with a dedicated host. They come with sliding glass doors that open onto a private pool, and the beach and ocean just steps beyond.
The spa, Balance Wellness by Anantara, goes beyond the traditional spa. The wellness options range from Ayurveda treatments to the latest in epigenetics and IV therapy. In addition, the spa is home to a brand new hammam. Multi-day wellness retreats are personalized in consultation with the resident naturopath and nutritionist, personal trainer and yoga and lifestyle coach. The resort has partnered with marocMaroc to offer authentic hammam treatments, as well as exclusive skincare brand 111Skin of Harley Street, London, favored by celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Victoria Beckham.
The new high-spec suites have been intentionally created to be adapted to families and groups of differing sizes. Two-bedroom Family Suites, complete with their own private pools, offer one master King bedroom and a second bedroom with two Queen beds. They have a cobalt blue wall, curated tropical art, and a nautically inspired playful headboard. Tip: A Junior Suite can be occupied independently or adjoined to a Family Suite as a third bedroom, providing flexibility for families or groups. Junior Suites also come complete with a hospitality bar and a delicate, yet comfortable settee for dining or light work with a tea-height table.
A Jumby Bay signature is that each suite has its own al fresco bathtub and garden shower to create a spa-like atmosphere. Showers have a custom tile pattern in an ombré of the ocean-blue color palette, to create flow throughout the entire space. There is an outdoor bathing Eden, while the indoor bathroom also has large vanities and rain head showers. Just steps from the island’s private beaches, the new Junior Suites and Family Suites offer uninterrupted views of the Caribbean Sea. For those with a taste for adventure, they are located just a five-minute stroll from the nearby Jumby Bay Watersports Centre, where a host of water-based activities are waiting to be enjoyed such as paddle boarding, windsurfing, and sailing, to name a few.
Luxury hotels Raffles Doha and Fairmont Doha have opened in Qatar, and exclusively welcomed FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 guests and the VIP delegation. The dual-branded Raffles Doha and Fairmont Doha are housed within Katara Towers. Raffles Doha and Fairmont Doha will welcome guestroom reservations post-FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Seven F&B outlets have opened to the public—four located within Raffles Doha and three in Fairmont Doha. Through advanced reservation only, non-staying guests can book to enjoy gastronomic experiences at Raffles Doha’s Alba, which is the first overseas outpost for the restaurant by three-star Michelin chef Enrico Crippa; L’Artisan, which celebrates the art of modern dining for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; Blue Cigar, a lounge which offers 6,000 literary classics, including some first-edition classics as well as a bespoke cigar collection; and Malaki Lounge, which spans the atrium lounge and ground floor, and serves afternoon tea.
Diners can head to Fairmont Doha to savor Indian cuisine at Masala Library, the concept by restaurateur, television host and author Jiggs Kalra; and the Latin American cuisine of Vaya, a restaurant with open kitchens and interactive service stations and where South American-inspired dishes and drinks are prepared tableside. Guests can also choose to visit Dôme, a chic tea lounge that serves afternoon tea and French-inspired bites and sips.
The 132-key Raffles Doha is touted as Qatar’s only all-suite hotel. Each suite experience is enhanced with personalized butler service, and bespoke amenities including an exclusive scent from Frederic Malle, a gallery wall with a collection of curated books, and an in-suite boutique. The hotel is also home to nine spa and fitness suites, each equipped with treatment rooms, and some offering private outdoor terraces and plunge pools, in addition to Katara Hall, a ballroom with 72-foot-high ceilings.
The Fairmont Doha offers 270 rooms, 92 suites, four themed suites, and one presidential suite, all inspired by the interiors of luxury yachts along with an exclusive lifestyle hotel floor, Fairmont Gold, which is a hotel-within-a-hotel experience. Featuring gold mosaic wall tiling and rich wood paneling, the rooms have a spacious layout, a separate guest bathroom and a large furnished terrace offering panoramic coastline views.
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