Hotel News We Noted: August 17, 2012

Greetings, from warm and muggy Florida! As we stretch into the last weeks of summer break, we’ve got some cool hotels on tap to keep you full with your weekly dose of “Hotel News We Noted.”

As always, if you have a tip, trend or topical idea you’d like to tell us about, send us a note.

Coming Soon: Hotel Openings
Want the scoop on where your favorite hotels are heading? The Delano announced plans to build in Moscow, we’ll be reporting live on the Capella in Georgetown, opening in early 2013, the Weekapaug Inn, in Weekapaug, Rhode Island, is re-opening from a $20 million renovation in October and QT Sydney, a new five-star design hotel in Australia, is coming September 17.

Branded Hotels: Ikea?
The budget furniture maker is primed to enter the hotel market in a big way. The Inter Ikea name will feature 100 budget-friendly hotels (they will not have the Scandanavian line’s famed flat-pack furniture), according to Reuters. The Inter Ikea brand already owns a few hotels, but this represents their first major move into the hospitality space. The first hotel will likely enter the market in Germany in 2014 and be run by a separate hotel operator.

Eco-Amenity: An In-House Bottling Plant at Shangri-La
We’ve heard of a lot of hotels going eco-friendly, but this is the first we’ve heard of an in-house bottling plant. Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa and Golden Sands Resort in Penang will see a reduction of approximately10,379 pounds of plastic drinking bottles per year through this new initiative. The complimentary drinking water will be packaged in 1.0-liter glass bottles and will replace the plastic mineral water bottles currently used. The resort is the first in Penang accorded this bottling license, and it will serve both carbonated and stilled water.

Hotel Packages: Le Divorce
Papers signed? Celebrate your single status with a three- to 30-day package at Kamalame Cay, a private island resort in the Bahamas. The package includes meals, a spa day and unlimited booze and cigarettes (okay, ew). For every three days on island, guests can choose from one activity from a special “Le Divorce Activities Menu,” including such items as spa treatments, fishing excursions and underwater adventures. Those booking this package can also fill out a “virtue and vice” form three weeks prior to arrival detailing favorite cocktail(s), preferred style of wine(s), favorite fruit(s), favorite candy or other “naughty” treats, favorite author(s), favorite musician(s), etc. Personalized “surprises” will then magically appear in a fun way throughout the stay. Rates start at $600 per night; those booking the full 30 days receive 20 percent off.