• BEST WESTERN INTERNATIONAL plans to add four to six hotels in Malaysia over the next 12 months. The company will use its flagship hotel, the 556-room Best Western Premier Seri Pacific Hotel Kuala Lumpur, which offers 538,000 square feet of meeting space, as a platform from which to expand into the country, with the first new launch — a three-star product — due in September.

• Its been a little over a year since Marriott International opened the 220-room MIRI MARRIOTT RESORT & SPA, the renovated and rebranded RIHGA Royal Hotel Miri, on the Malaysian Island of Borneo. The Miri, with six meeting rooms and views of the South China Sea, is the sixth Marriott in Malaysia.

• Set on one of Malaysia's 99 Langkawi islands, the FOUR SEASONS RESORT LANGKAWI opened in 2005 with 91 rooms, including 20 beach villas, each with its own spa room; as well as a central spa with outdoor plunge pools, soaking tubs, and numerous treatment options.

• This month, SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, Singapore, unveils the renovated Island Ballroom. With an investment of more than $4 million, the Island Ballroom will showcase the latest AV facilities, a permanent bar in the foyer, and commissioned artworks. An event management team is on-site to attend to meeting details. The ballroom can host 1,500 theater-style.

• In May, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts broke ground for the new SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, GUILIN, in mainland China, scheduled to open in early 2009. With its steep green hills, Guilin is one of China's most scenic destinations. The hotel will be on the bank of Li Jiang River, a 30-minute drive from the airport, and will feature 418 guest rooms. Amenities will include 24-hour room service, satellite TV, data ports, and broadband and wireless Internet service. Meeting and banqueting facilities will include a 19,000-square-foot grand ballroom.

• INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP marked a milestone in China with the opening of four hotels and 1,100 rooms in June. The recent openings of CROWNE PLAZA CHANGSHU (275 rooms), CROWNE PLAZA FUDAN SHANGHAI (309 rooms), HOLIDAY INN JASMINE SUZHOU (287 rooms), and HOLIDAY INN SEAVIEW QINHUANGDAO (290 rooms) bring the group's portfolio of hotels in China to 57, the largest of any international hotel company. It also brings the company a few steps closer to its goal of having 125 hotels open in China by 2008.

• Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts has signed on to manage its second property in Thailand, the new PAN PACIFIC CHIANG MAI. Developed first as a condominium, the property is being converted to a 300-room deluxe hotel and will open in October, 10 minutes from Chiang Mai International Airport. Rooms will have Internet connectivity and Jacuzzi baths.

Save This Page

For more articles on international meetings destinations, click here.