The InterContinental Playa Bonita Resort & Spa in Panama has opened its doors. The resort will host its grand opening celebration in March. “The new InterContinental Playa Bonita Resort & Spa offers international travelers a unique Panamanian experience with the most luxurious services and amenities in the area,” commented Herman Bern, president of Bern Hotels & Resorts, a Panama-based company that owns Playa Bonita.

InterContinental Hotels Group, the world´s largest hotel group by number of rooms, announced recently the opening of Mexico´s first Staybridge Suites hotel in Monterrey. “The introduction of the Staybridge Suites hotel concept in Mexico underscores our development success in the U.S. and the consistent above-market performance of Staybridge Suites and the extended stay segment overall,” said Robert Radomski, vice president of brand management, Staybridge Suites.

Hyatt broke ground in Curacao on a 350-room resort, which will be the largest on the island when it opens in 2007 and the first big property to debut since the Sonesta (now a Marriott) was completed in 1992. The project will include not only the Hyatt Regency Curacao hotel but also a 30-slip marina, an 18-hole Pete Dye-designed golf course, a beach club, 52 vacation club units, 128 condominium homes, 94 terrace homes and 106 residential lots.

The Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort´s Ixchel Spa has recently introduced a special children´s spa menu so that children can enjoy the same pampering as their parents. The new Ixchel Spa Kid´s menu includes a 25 minute back, neck & shoulder massage, 15 minute reflexology, 25 minute Baja Herbal foot soak as well as manicures, pedicures and haircuts. Prices for children´s services range from $15.00 to $40.00.

Golden Tulip is signing a new franchise agreement in the Netherlands for the Golden Tulip Zoetermeer Center. The new lodging will open its doors on January 1, 2006. The Golden Tulip Zoetermeer Center is a business hotel situated in the commercial hub of Zoetermeer nearby a large and well-known shopping mall. Furthermore the hotel is ideally located in the heart of the Rotterdam/The Hague/Amsterdam conurbation, with direct connection to main motorway (A-12) and the train station.

The Calabash Hotel and Villas, Grenada´s favorite luxury resort, has completed the multi-million dollar refurbishment of its 30 suites, contained in ten cottages and set amongst acres of tropical gardens bordering Prickly Bay Cove in the south of the island. The new décor and luxurious furnishings, by British designers Sally Harcourt International, have given the suites a light, bright environment where guests can enjoy every comfort expected from a leading luxury resort.