In London's West End, The Savoy Group's stately Claridge's hotel added a suite of meeting rooms and a fitness center on its sixth floor. Combined, the four new meeting rooms accommodate 150 persons.
The four-year-old Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay is working on a major spa expansion. When completed in September, the 27,000-square-foot facility will include nine treatment rooms.
Looking for something remote? In the Seychelles, a republic of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean east of Kenya, Fregate Island
Resort opens this summer with 16 beachfront villas, each 1,200 square feet. Managed by Noble House Hotels & Resorts, the tiny island property promises a South Seas ambience and lots of privacy.
Marriott's CasaMagna Cancun completed a $2.5 million renovation in December, upgrading all 450 guest rooms, 38 suites, and the Mikado Restaurant.
Hotel Inter-Continental Wien in Vienna, Austria has converted its top three floors to a Club Inter-Continental, with private check-in and checkout, complimentary Continental breakfast, and in-room desks, two-line phones, voice mail, and data ports.
It began in 1994, and now the finishing touches of a $22 million renovation are in place at the Istanbul Hilton. The project completely restyled and updated all 501 rooms. The hotel now has a larger gym, an upgraded Turkish bath, and new lobby and reception areas.
Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort, which opened in 1993 with 359 rooms, opens a new 188-room wing in mid-1997 on its 32-acre site near the city of Cebu, Philippines. The expansion will also add a ballroom, restaurant, and pool.