Opening

This fall, Rosewood announced the second Rosewood property in Asia, Rosewood Phuket (to open at the end of 2014). The resort will be located on  Emerald Bay beachfront in Western Phuket and will house villas, residences, six restaurants, spa and fitness facilities and much more.

Renovating

This September, Millennium Hotel Minneapolis announced a $20 million renovation. The property will be closed from December 11 until Monday April 1, 2013 for a four month renovation to every aspect of the property including all guestrooms and meeting spaces. The city will benefit from the upgrade with six local charities receiving donations of its current guestroom furnishings.

Other Fun Stuff

The human resources’ staff at Mexico’s Fairmont Mayakoba began to notice something. Their staff was growing. As in plump. Indeed, staff members were gaining an average of 11 pounds over their first year. And, though staff loved the food in the staff dining room, they weren’t too crazy about the excess weight. Fairmont, well-known for its emphasis on environmental and community health, responded with a campaign that would not only trim down employees but fatten up a local food bank. Staff were put into teams and given access to a nutritionist, fitness and wellness programs, and healthier food options. Each team competed against others to see who could drop the most weight. When the two-month campaign ended, more than 700 pounds total had been dropped…and the equivalent weight in food was donated to a local charity.

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, historic boutique hotel Radisson Blu Strand Stockholm has created a suite dedicated to a famous form patron– Greta Garbo. The suite was designed by Swedish stylist Maria Nordin and used Garbo’s costumes and jewelry to create the suite’s black and gold color scheme. The suite even has artifacts from the official Greta Garbo Museum in Hogsby, Sweden.

By Steven Knight for PeterGreenberg.com