Melbourne’s Crown Entertainment Complex is adding a third hotel to complement the award-winning and ever-popular Crown Towers and Crown Melbourne hotels. The new hotel, which as yet remains unnamed, is expected to open May 2010, will have 658 guest rooms and suites and feature a Club Lounge, signature restaurant, lounge and business center.  Meeting space will comprise four theater-style meeting rooms that accommodate 50 attendees each and two larger adjoining event spaces. All meeting facilities will have natural light and state-of-the-art audio-visual and telecommunication equipment. Additional facilities will include pool, gym and day spa with steam rooms and vitality pools.

The addition of the new hotel will make the Crown Entertainment Complex the largest in Australia with the combined number of guest rooms and suites of 1,600.

E-mail: conferences@crownmelbourne.com.au
Website: www.crownltd.com.au

The newly opened Langham Yangtze Boutique in Shanghai is a luxury art deco property decorated in the lavish style of Shanghai in the 1930s but outfitted with 21st century amenities and technology. Most of the hotel’s 96 guest rooms and suites measure over 40 sqm/431 sqft each and many feature a private balcony.

Meeting venues include the column-free, rooftop Pearl Room (250 sqm/2,691 sqft) and the elegant Jade Room (75 sqm/807 sqft), plus 9 private dining rooms. The hotel features four restaurants: T’ang Court, the sister restaurant of the two Michelin Star restaurant in Hong Kong; Ciao Dining Room and it’s baby brother Ciao Bambino; Mado Izakaya, a Japanese restaurant and Palm Court, which offers afternoon tea.

Website: http://yangtzeboutique.langhamhotels.com/en

The Sofitel Shanghai Sheshan Huanghe, which opened on 31 March, is designed in a Mediterranean style and features 368 guest rooms, suites and deluxe villas. The property, located within the Sheshan National Tourism Resort, is surrounded by 3,400 sqm/36,597 sqft of secluded parkland with outdoor pools and manicured gardens.

The Shanghai Sheshan Huanghe provides twelve rooms of flexible meeting space and a ballroom, which accommodates 900 attendees. The facilities feature state-of-the-art conference technology that includes simultaneous translation. Dining options include Mediterranean, all-day International, Cantonese and Japanese cuisines. The hotel’s SOSPA Spa provides treatments that combine ancient Chinese tradition with modern French expertise in 23 secluded spa rooms and six exclusive pavilions surrounded by tranquil lagoons. The spa and fitness center includes an indoor heated pool, hamman, Jacuzzi, outdoor pool and solarium.

Website: www.sofitel.com

The Sheraton Suzhou opened the new four-story Towers Wing in February. The property now has 484 guest rooms, 15 meeting rooms and dedicated exhibit space. The Panmen Ballroom is 486 sqm/5,231 sqft and it is divisible into three separate rooms each with its own private entrance.  There are an additional five meeting rooms in the Towers Wing, two conference rooms and six boardrooms. The hotel’s event staff is on hand to assist planners and there is a business center. Food and beverage venues include the Garden Lounge with live entertainment; the Garden Brasserie for casual dining; the Celestial Court, a Cantonese restaurant with private dining rooms; Bene Italian Kitchen in the Towers Wing and the Pagoda Lounge. Additional hotel amenities include a 24-hour fitness facility, spa and indoor and outdoor swimming pools.

Website: www.starwoodhotels.com

The Park Hotel Clarke Quay, which opened in Singapore in March, is a stunning property. It is hard to miss as it fills the skyline with its distinctive red-tiled roof and spires, replicating Singapore’s Victorian-era architecture of the early 1800s.

The hotel has 336 guest rooms and is located by the historic Singapore River, surrounded by lush landscaping. There are three meeting rooms and each one accommodates 50 attendees, and two restaurants. Recreation facilities include a swimming pool, gym and Spa Park Asia, which offers outdoor spa treatments.

The Park Hotel Clarke Quay is located near Orchard Road, Singapore’s premier shopping area and is in close vicinity to the financial district and theaters. It is also within walking distance of heritage-rich Civic District and nightlife hub, Clarke Quay.

Email: info.phcq@parkhotelgroup.com
Website: http://parkhotelgroup.com

The Plantation Island Resort in Fiji will open its new state-of-the-art convention center on 1st November 2009. The multi-purpose complex features eight function rooms with a total of 800 sqm/8,611 sqft of space. The complex also has a pre-function area, boardroom, business center and open-air central courtyard. All event rooms incorporate natural light, high ceilings and a sun filled wrap around balcony. The individual function rooms are sound proof and air-conditioned. Catering is available for groups of up to 350 attendees.

Plantation Island Resort is located on Malololailai Island and has 192 guest rooms situated withinin the beachfront hotel and in the beach and pool villas.

Dining outlets include the Black Coral Bar & Restaurant, the Breakfast Bar, Smack Bar and BBQ Deck. On-site activities include water sports, tennis and golf.

Email: continuitytm@bigpond.com     
Website: www.plantationisland.com

Korean Air is adding two new nonstop services to China from its base at Incheon International Airport in Seoul, Korea. The new China destinations are Xi’an in the west and Mudanjiang in the northeast.

Seoul/Xian service begins 27th May and will operate five times weekly, excluding Thursdays and Sundays. Equipment to be used on this route will be a Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured with 149 seats. Flights will depart Seoul at 9:20 a.m. and the return flight will depart Xi’an at 12:20 p.m.

Seoul/Mudanjiang service, which begins on 2nd June, will operate thrice weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. This route will also use a Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured with 149 seats.

Website: www.koreanair.com