An East Day Spa recently opened at the InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto. The luxurious spa, which offers a blend of modern spa and ancient healing therapies, is befitting of The Rialto, one of Melbourne’s leading hotels. Built in 1891, the property features 253 guest rooms and suites and an executive floor. Meeting facilities include seven meeting rooms with 971 sqm/10,454 sqft of space that includes two ballrooms and two boardrooms. The largest room accommodates 450 attendees for a reception and the smallest accommodates 8 for a board meeting. Alluvial Restaurant serves Asian and European influenced Australian cuisine. Rialto Bluestone is a wine bar featuring the glorious local wines of Victoria and the hotel’s Market Lane Bar offers over 100 different types of Martinis and a tapas menu. Recreational facilities include a 24-hour fitness center with indoor pool.

E-mail: events.icm@ihg.com
Website: www.intercontinental.com

The Regal Jinfeng Hotel, which opened November 2009, is located in Pudong, close to the Shanghai New International Expo Center. The property features 380 guest rooms including five dedicated Regal Club floors and 25 suites. Regal Club guests receive such extra amenities as welcome daily fruit, choice of pillows, use of the Club Lounge and its complementary food and beverage, use of the Lounge meeting room and complimentary pressing of a suit or dress. Hotel meeting facilities include a pillarless ballroom that accommodates 500 for a reception and an additional twelve state-of-the-art meeting rooms. The hotel’s five restaurants and lounges offer Chinese, Italian, and international menus. Two of the restaurants, Avanti Ristorante and Regal Court, have private dining rooms. Additional facilities include the Sino Spa and a fully equipped health club.

Email: info@RegalJinfeng.com
Website: http://www.regalhotel.com/Regal-Hotels-International/Main/Home.aspx

The newly opened Shanghai Marriott Hotel Changfeng Park is preparing for China’s World Expo 2010, which takes place from 1st May to 31st December 2010. The 5-Star property, located in Changfeng Ecology Commercial District overlooking Suzhou River, features 474 guestrooms, 27 suites and a concierge level. The hotel’s guestrooms are outfitted with ergonomic chairs, high speed Internet and a full-sized desk. For meetings and banquets, 16 state-of-the-art meeting rooms accommodate up to 700 attendees, in more than 1,500 sqm/16,146 sqft of meeting space. The hotel’s seven restaurants and bars feature international and local cuisines. The Pearl restaurant serves dishes from the Pearl River Delta region and has eight private dining rooms. A fully equipped fitness center, 25-meter indoor swimming pool and the Quan Spa are also on property.

Website: www.marriott.com

Pan Pacific Hotels and Resort takes over management of the property formerly known as Le Meridien Nirwana Bali Resort on 1st April. The Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort (new name) is set on 103-hectares on Bali’s South West coast with views of both the volcanic mountains and the Indian Ocean. The resort’s 278 guest rooms, which start at 44 sqm/474 sqft and go up to 228 sqm/2,454 sqft for the presidential suite, include one and two bedroom villas. Indoor meeting facilities accommodate up to 300 attendees for a banquet in the ballroom and 300 attendees outdoors at the poolside lagoon. The property was recognized as ‘Asia’s Leading Golf Resort’ by World Travel Awards, and its 18-hole Greg Norman golf course was named ‘Best Course in Asia’ four years in a row.

Website: www.panpacific.com

The Golden Sands Resort located on beautiful Batu Feringgi in Penang just completed a RM50 million (approx. USD14 million) redevelopment program. The new Cool Lounge, located in the lobby area is a haven for guests who arrive or leave late. The Lounge offers web access, a gym, shopping arcade and changing rooms, lockers and shower facilities, making that first or last swim possible. Golden Sands is comprised of 387 guest rooms and suites. This 4-Star property is a good venue for attendees brining families. It offers seven ‘family combo’ units of two interconnecting rooms that can easily accommodate up to seven persons. Event facilities include two flexible meeting and banquet rooms and a ballroom that accommodates 250. Recreation options abound at this beachfront property with water sports, tennis courts, a par-3 executive golf course, spa and two lagoon-shaped swimming pools.

Website: www.shangri-la.com

Newly opened Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel is 23 stories high and features 333 guestrooms including 58 suites and a concierge level. Guestrooms are designed with over-sized windows, glass-enclosed bathrooms, marble tiled entrances and white oak flooring with blonde wood furniture and closets. Meeting facilities consist of 14 meeting rooms in 1,858 sqm/19,999 sqft of total space. The Royal Maneeya Ballroom, which is the largest events space, seats 800 attendees. Food and beverage venues include Fei Ya, a Chinese restaurant, and La Tavola, the Italian restaurant as well as Azure, the pub on the top floor of the hotel. Also on property are the Quan Spa, an indoor swimming pool and fitness center, and a barbershop and beauty salon, florist, gift shop and newsstand.

Website: www.marriott.com

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is participating in Earth Hour, a global climate change initiative that takes place at 8:30 PM local time on 27 March. Over sixty Shangri-La hotels and resorts will turn off their lights in most back-of-the-house areas and dim the lights in public areas, restaurants and hotel exteriors. Guests will be encouraged to participate by turning off the lights in their guestrooms. Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo; Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur; and Shangri-La’s Kerry Centre Hotel, Beijing will offer dinner by candlelight and in the lobby of Shangri-La Hotel, Wenzhou, the band will play unplugged. Shangri-La has had a strong green program in their properties for years. Presently, over half of the Shangri-La hotels are ISO14001 certified (International Standard for Organization), with the rest to be certified by end of 2010.

Website: www.shangri-la.com
Website: www.earthhour.org