The travel business may be slow but new hotels are still opening. The only new hotel scheduled to debut in downtown Philadelphia this year is the Philadelphia Palomar, a Kimpton Hotel. The 230-room boutique hotel is in the building previously known as the Architects Building. The building was gutted and renovated and is a LEED registered luxury hotel. The 20-month, $92.5 million renovation of the 80 year old building was done in a palette of neutral tones with Art Deco flourishes and original artwork from Philadelphia artists.

The hotel includes a fitness center and offers a morning coffee and tea bar and a hosted evening wine hour in the hotel's living room which has a fireplace. Adjacent to the hotel will be Square 1682, Kimpton's first Philadelphia restaurant and bar. Chef Guillermo Tellez serves a New American menu with world flavors. It also opens this week.

[via Philly.com]

If only this one had been open in January when millions rushing to D.C. to witness President Obama's Inauguration were faced with sold-out hotels left and right. In what marks another milestone in the global expansion of the W Hotel brand, the W Hotel in Washington, D.C opened this past Thursday with a giant bash. It was a jam-packed party full of the town's political elite, including Presidential Aide Reggie Love and the President's personal secretary Katie Johnson, as well as celebs like Emmy Rossum who flocked to hear an intimate performance by John Legend. In an event that brought Versailles to Washington, the party was full of Marie Antoinette models sporting powdered wigs and opera glasses while guests sipped on pink cocktails and munched on cotton candy.

The new W Hotel, the 25th to open in North America, takes over the historic Hotel Washington, which opened in 1917. The new design incorporates the 1920s Beaux Arts architecture of the original building with the edgy designs of Dianna Wong whose, L.A.-based firm transformed all of the interiors. Wong gathered artwork symbolizing "old Washington," which she sprinkled among her more modern designs including a digital fireplace, crackled paint, deconstructed fixtures, and new chandeliers complimenting the original 1920s light fixtures. Her theme throughout the hotel is "pinstripes and lace," to appeal to both the masculine and feminine powers of Washington.

As the city's closest hotel to the White House, the location features unparalleled views of our nation's monuments, and can expect to attract an abundance of stately guests from around the world, and perhaps a national scandal or two.

W turned the famed rooftop, where for decades politicos have converged to drink and deliberate, into a modern cocktail lounge, with a menu provided by cocktail king Sasha Petraske of Milk & Honey and Little Branch. The cocktails can also be ordered in the Living Room, W's design of the traditional hotel lobby. Dining options include the J&G Steakhouse and Wine Bar from Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.The W Washington D.C. has 317 guestrooms in total, including 23 Marvelous suites. The W's interpretation of the traditional Presidential Suite, the "pinstripes and lace" Extreme WOW suite, is an exact symbol of the new design influence quickly arriving in our nation's capital.

A former railroad headquarters has been turned into a luxury hotel in Baltimore, The Hotel Monaco Baltimore is a $65 million boutique hotel that is part of the Kimpton group. The hotel's Beaux Arts building dates back to 1906 and served as the headquarters for B&O Railroad. The 202 guestrooms and suites are done in warm colors and offer high-speed wired and wireless Internet access in all guestrooms and suites (alas only complimentary for KimptonInTouch guest loyalty members), 24-hour room service, state-of-the-art flat-screen HD 37" TV in guestrooms and 42" TV in suites, a fully stocked mini bar with gourmet and organic options, L'Occitane spa-inspired bath amenities, terrycloth robes and an In-room safe large enough to accommodate a laptop computer. You can bring your pet with you or, if you get lonely, you can have a companion goldfish delivered to your room for the duration of your stay.

The Baltimore Sun says that the hotel is opening at a time when hotel occupancy rates in the city are lower (down to 58.2 percent in the first half of this year versus 62.3 percent in the first half of 2008). This is due both to the recession and because more new hotels are opening in the area. Last year the total amount of hotels rooms within a one-mile radius of Pratt and Light streets was 6,782 but this year it has jumped up to 7,985 rooms.

To attract the city's attention, the hotel has been holding preview dinners in its restaurant, the B&O American Brasserie. The hotel is also offering an aggressive opening rate of $129 per night for rooms that will cost $329 or more after October.

Fiji's Natadola Beach is home to the new InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa set to open on June 1. The hotel is spread across 35 acres of tropical gardens and faces a stretch of white sand beach. The beach is protected by a reef creating a quiet ocean-facing lagoon.

The resort has 216 rooms and suites and every room has a private terrace or balcony with a tub and day beds for two. The resort has four pools including an adult-only infinity-edged pool, and a family activity pool. The resort offers many recreation options including a dive center, beach activities center, volleyball, Pétanque lawn, yoga deck, full gym and on-site shopping and tour facilities. For families, a kids club has educational and fun activities. There are five restaurants and bars and an 18-hole golf course offers amazing views to distract you from your game. The resort spa includes a Wai Water Zone offering gas, liquid and solid aquatherapy treatments and improbably enough, Fiji's first Ice Room. Special opening rates start around $130 a night.

Kimpton Hotels is opening a new luxury hotel in Alexandria, Virginia. The Lorien has 107 guestrooms and suites, designed by Vincente Wolfe. The rooms include custom-made furnishings, such as wingchairs and trellis-style headboards in soothing gray and white tones. Suites and specialty spa rooms also have bathrooms with claw foot tubs and rainfall showers. All rooms have 42" flat panel televisions, a spacious work area, wireless and wired high-speed Internet access, an iHome clock radio, laptop safe, plush robes, and an honor bar with organic and healthy options.

The Terrace suites include couches and seating for hosting gatherings for up to 30 people and the hotel offers a "Terrace Menu" with choices that range from private wine tasting and alfresco dining to dance lessons and such as sleeping bags, blankets, telescopes for outdoor stargazing.

The Lorien Hotel will also have a full-service spa with five treatment rooms and be home to a restaurant, tasting room and a retail cheese shop. The restaurant is overseen by chef Robert Wiedmaier and will serve Belgian cuisine with American inspiration. The hotel opens this month and grand opening rates start at $139.

The ME Madrid Reina Victoria, a hotel we first wrote about last December has finally officially opened its doors in the Hotel Reina Victoria in Madrid. The new hotel is the first in Sol Meliá's new hotel concept of experience-based hotels. The 192 rooms include 300-thread count linen, Aveda products, rainfall showerheads, a 32-inch interactive plasma television and CD/DVD, surround sound speakers, WiFi Internet access, an in room library of CDs and DVDs as well as iPod adaptors and connectivity docking stations. The ultimate suite at the hotel is the Tower, a duplex apartment with a separate lounge in the tower that offers 360º views and a terrace with an outdoor Jacuzzi. The hotel also includes a restaurant, lounge and a rooftop bar designed by Rande and Scott Gerber. Midnight Rose is the restaurant and lounge on the ground floor and the Penthouse is the rooftop terrace bar. Rates start at around 168 euros with a night in the tower costing close to 2300 euros.

Hyatt has restored the Palacio Duhau, a palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina as the site of their newest hotel. The Park Hyatt Buenos Aires will open on June 28, 2006 and sits on the Avenida Alvear in the middle of the city's most fashionable shopping district. The hotel is comprised of the Palacio Duhau which was built in 1934 and the contemporary Posadas building. An underground walkway and gallery with works from  international and local artists connects the two buildings The hotel has 165 guestrooms and 38 suites include the 1,722-square-foot Alvear Suite which has a wraparound balcony. The hotel includes elegant open spaces, several restaurants, a wine library full of local Malbecs as well as international choices, cheese room and the wood-paneled Oak Bar in the palace. The 8,000-square-foot spa includes an indoor pool, gym, sauna and five treatment rooms. Rates start at $410 for a Park Deluxe Room.

The first Rocco Forte hotel in Germany, the Villa Kennedy in Frankfurt is now open. The Villa Kennedy is a five-star hotel in the center of Frankfurt that consists of three newly constructed buildings built around the traditional 1904 Villa Speyer. The hotel is close to Frankfurt's residential area, Sachsenhausen, with many bars and restaurants. The hotel has 163 rooms and a contemporary style. The hotel also has a restaurant, Gusto and the Villa Spa which has an indoor pool, gymnasium, sauna and eight treatment rooms and there is a relaxing garden area.The presidential suite is located on the top floor of the original Speyer Villa and has a separate kitchen and turret dining room. Rates start at 260 euros per night.

[via Breaking Travel News]

Hilton International is putting on the luxe for the new Qasr al Sharq, Hilton International's first palace hotel. The hotel, which will open in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia next month is being done up with details including crystal and porcelain china, intricate mosaics and ceilings of hand-applied gold leaf. The hotel will be home to 1,200 crystal vases designed in Italy and the beds will be dressed with 600-thread count cotton linens designed in Venice and gold-embroidered duvet covers. The 46-suite hotel is shaped like a pyramid and each suite include two bedrooms, a dining room, kitchen, private health club and Jacuzzi along with chambermaid quarters. The hotel will include two restaurants: a Versace design BiCE Italian restaurant and a Moroccan Mammounia restaurant.

The Hilton hotel chain is headed to China. The Hilton Sanya Resort & Spa, the first Hilton resort in China recently had its soft open. The hotel, located on Hainan Island, off the coast of mainland China will have a grand opening at the end of March 2006. The beach resort uses local materials such as volcanic lava stone, thatched pavilions and timber decking. There are interconnected swimming pools with streams and lagoon pools as well as sand beach entry pools, a 40m lap pool and children’s pools and slide. Most of the 501 rooms, suites and villas have ocean views.

[via Asia Travel Tips]