Global Update - Trends

By Staff -- HOTELS Magazine, 2/1/2007

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THE FAMILY

Any hotel can send out holiday cards, but for the Hotel

Plaza Athénée, Paris, just any old holiday greeting won't do.

Rather, always looking to raise the bar on creativity, while highlighting

its superior staff, this year the luxury hotel sent out a type

of card game, in its signature red color, featuring each member

of its staff. "A greeting card has an average life of 30 seconds

once pulled out of it envelope; it is either immediately trashed

or put to one side for a reply or gain dust for a few days. For

this reason, my main objective for a Plaza Athénée greeting card

is that it is created to have a much longer than average shelf

life and can even become a cherished souvenir," explains Francois

Delahaye, general manager and chief operating officer of the Dorchester

Collection. "After brainstorming various ideas, the traditional

French card game of 'Happy Families' was adopted as this year's

idea, ideally capturing the various families of professions within

our walls."

Making an Entrance

Looking to make the most out of a fi rst impression, the new Novotel

Citygate Hong Kong, features the world's tallest revolving door,

measuring 4.8 m (15.9 ft). To prove it, this German-made, custom

door now has been offi cially accredited with this accolade by

Guinness World Records Ltd. "This is great exposure for us and

highlights one of the unique design elements of our hotel," says

Scott Davies, general manager. "In a competitive market we are

always looking for a point of difference." To leverage its new

status, Davies says that during the grand opening, the hotel invited

six stilt walkers to perform outside the entrance, which produced

some great visuals for the local news. "We managed to secure coverage

in six major local dailies," he says, adding that the dramatic

door and the lobby's fl oor-to-ceiling windows add to an overall

wow factor-not your usual airport hotel.

Pampered Retreat

Perched 160 m (525 ft.) above the Indian Ocean, the second outpost of

ultra-deluxe Bulgari Hotels & Resorts recently opened in Bali. Designed

by architects Antonio Citterio and Partners, the 59-villa property blends

traditional Balinese style with contemporary Italian design. All villas

feature Balinese decorative accents, exotic woods and a neutral palette

as well as private plunge pool and tropical gardens. Two restaurants

(Italian and Indonesian), a lounge, spa and Bulgari retail store round

out the offerings at this decadent escape. Rates range from US$1,100 to

US$5,000.