The Adelaide Convention Centre was awarded the AIPC Innovation Award at the annual conference for AIPC (the International Association of Congress Centres) for its innovative green initiative.

Alec Gilbert, Chief Executive of the Centre, accepted the honors at the award ceremony, which took place in Coruna, Spain.  On receiving the award Gilbert said, “…We’re extremely proud of the environmental and socially responsible initiatives that we have introduced over the past two years and it is particularly rewarding to win some of these prestigious awards, cementing our reputation as one of the most socially responsible organizations on the planet.”

Besides the AIPC award, the Centre qualified for silver Green Globe accreditation status and won the 2009 IMEX Green Supplier Silver Award.

Website: www.adelaidecc.com.au

The Hyatt Regency Tokyo debuted new Regency Club Rooms and a new restaurant last April and unveiled three new suites last month. Renowned interior designer, Mr. Rakashi Sugimoto of the Super Potato Company, created both the Regency Club Rooms and the renovated suites.

The forty Regency Club Rooms offer a relaxing atmosphere with teak wood features and indirect lighting. The newly renovated suites were built with the finest materials such as Japanese akiu stone and wood-grain marble. Both the Club Rooms and the three suites feature glass walls that separate the bedrooms from the baths. The glass walls have motorized blinds to completely separate the bedroom from the bath and toilets located in separate enclosed cubicles. The new restaurant, Caffè, overlooks Shinjuku Central Park and serves Italian-inspired and local cuisines.

Website: www.hyattregencytokyo.com

InterContinental Hotels Group Asia Pacific opened the co-branded ANA InterContinental Ishigaki Resort on Ishigaki Island in Okinawa, Japan. The property is situated on Maesato Beach.  Ishigaki is located at the same latitude as Miami and Honolulu giving the destination mild winters and wonderful temperatures all year round.

The hotel, which is suitable for both meetings and incentives, features 255 guestrooms and suites including 99 Premier Floor rooms, seven restaurants, two pools, spa and tennis courts. An 18-hole golf course is located on nearby Kohama Island, a 20-minute boat ride from Ishigaki Island. Meeting facilities include two rooms with the larger accommodating 570 delegates' theater style and the smaller room accommodating 39 delegates boardroom style.

An added feature to the property is the Resort Center Concierge who can suggests programs that allow attendees to discover the real Okinawa and truly see and learn about the location and its people.

Email: reserve@ana-hotel-ishigaki.co.jp
Website: www.ihg.com

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts opens the Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa, Maldives this month. The resort, located on Addu Atoll, features over 6 km/3.6 miles of coastline, almost 2 km/1.2 miles of white sandy beach and 142 spacious stand-alone villas that range from private ocean retreats to tropical luxury tree houses. Villas feature both indoor and outdoor showers and private terraces and some have private pools. The villas are spacious starting at a minimum of 133 sqm/1,432 sqft in size with the two presidential villas measuring up to 957 sqm/10,302 sqft each.

While there are no specific meeting rooms, one of the Villingili’s many restaurants or venues work for events. The resort has a Shangri-La signature Chi Spa and a Village Centre with swimming pool, tennis courts, boutiques, an entertainment center and a medical clinic.

Website: www.shangri-la.com

Four Points by Sheraton Kuching officially opened this month with a ceremony presided over by Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak. The 421-room property is located 2 km/1.2 miles from Kuching International Airport and 15 minutes from the heart of the city.

All guestrooms and suites feature Four Points by Sheraton Four Comfort Beds™, 32-inch LCD TVs, large working desks, high speed Internet access, Wi-Fi and rainforest shower heads. Meeting facilities comprise ten event spaces including as well as a 1,456 sqm/15,672 sqft ballroom. Additional facilities include a 24-hour fitness center, outdoor swimming pool and 24-hour business center. The hotel provides a complimentary shuttle service to the airport and the city’s commercial center.

With its new convention center, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia on the Island of Borneo is an incredible meeting and incentive destination. Sarawak offers once in a lifetime experiences along with excellent event facilities.

Website www.fourpoints.com/kuching

The Marina Bay Sands in Singapore just topped off its three 55-story towers. The luxury hotel/gaming venue/MICE venue is comprised of three towers that will be topped by a huge Sky Park, which will span over the roofs of the three towers. The Sky Park will have over 120,000 sqm/1,291,669 sqft of tropical gardens, restaurants, and three swimming pools.

The property will have over 2,600 luxury guestrooms and suites and extensive event facilities that include a flexible convention center with 250 meeting rooms and capacity for over 45,000 delegates, an exhibition hall that accommodates 2,000 exhibition booths and an 8,000 sqm/86,111 sqft grand ballroom that seats 6,600 for a banquet or 11,000 theater style. The outdoor event plaza on the waterfront promenade will be able to accommodate 10,000. Additional features include an ArtScience Museum, luxury shops, Celebrity Chef restaurants, theaters, nightclubs and a Las Vegas-style casino.

Email: sales@marinabaysands.com
Website: http://marinabaysands.com

See the presentation on www.i-mi.com

The InterContinental Hotel Group will manage the Crowne Plaza Kaohsiung E-Da World, which is being built in the mix use complex in Taiwan known as E-Da World. The development, which will include shopping malls, a theme park, a university and several hotels, is planned to open at the end of this year. E-Da World will be one of the biggest mass developments in Taiwan covering 90 hectars.

The 5-Star Crowne Plaza Kaohsiung E-Da World will feature 650 guest rooms, two ballrooms and 10 meeting rooms. There will be five restaurants.

Kaohsiung is the second largest city in Taiwan and the center of Taiwan’s shipbuilding, manufacturing, refining and transportation industries. The Crowne Plaza Kaohsiung E-Da World is located at Guang-Yin Mountain, Kaohsiung City.

Website: www.ichotelsgroup.com