Aperture

🏖️ Club Med Punta Cana unveils renovations set for completion in September 2025, including a 360° Buena Vista Lounge with ocean views, a new main restaurant named Samana featuring over 10 international cuisines, a renovated main bar with bohemian vibes, and a tropical café. A new water park designed for children and teens will offer slides and aquatic zones, along with over 20 all-inclusive activities such as pickleball and kitesurfing. The updated Deluxe Costa del Coco rooms will have private balconies and spa-style bathrooms with rain showers.

🌊 AmaWaterways launched its new luxury river cruise ship, AmaSintra, on the Douro River in Portugal, enhancing its European presence. AmaSintra, with a capacity of 102 guests and 51 cabins, most with external balconies and full-height windows, offers a seven-night 'Enticing Douro' itinerary through Portugal and Spain, covering Porto, Régua, and Salamanca, plus an optional three-night pre-cruise land excursion in Lisbon. The ship joins sister ships AmaDouro and AmaVida in offering rich cultural heritage experiences.

🏖️ Americans and Britons are the most loyal guests at Villa Lario Resort, managed by co-owners Esa Secca and Raffaella Di Gennaro. The 5-star boutique hotel, nestled in a 10,000-square-meter park by Lake Como, features a helicopter landing pad, boat dock, pool, two private beaches, Grill & Lounge, and the fine-dining Amandus Restaurant led by Executive Chef Luca Mozzanica. With 9 luxury suites already admired for comfort and awe, plans are underway to add two lakefront suites and a spa beneath the pool area.

🏖 Arbatax Park Resort & Spa in Ogliastra, Italy, reopens on May 16th after renovating 300 rooms at Hotel Telis. Upgrades include new furnishings, travertine flooring, energy efficiency improvements, and enhanced digital infrastructure. Common areas also revamped for better accessibility. The resort boasts various accommodations like exclusive Monte Turri and traditional Borgo Cala Moresca, suites overlooking private bays, family-friendly Telis, secluded cottages, romantic Hotel Dune, and Villas del Parco surrounded by Mediterranean vegetation, plus Bellavista Naturalistic Park and Wellness & SPA Center.

📍 Rove Hotels, a lifestyle hospitality brand from the UAE, launched its first hotel in Ras Al Khaimah, Rove Al Marjan Island. Located on the beach of its namesake island, the hotel is an hour from Dubai and five minutes from a future gaming resort set to open in 2027. Developed by Marjan, the new facility offers 441 rooms, pushing the brand's total to over 4,000 rooms across the Emirates, signifying its rapid growth in the region. COO Paul Bridger highlighted the hotel's alignment with Rove's philosophy of exploration and emphasized its commitment to sustainability and local culture.

🍸 Mixologists Lorenzo Antinori and Simone Caporale are set to open a new Cuban cocktail bar, Montana, in Hong Kong, anticipated by summer. Antinori owns Bar Leone, ranked second in the World’s 50 Best Bars, while Caporale co-owns Sips in Barcelona, ranked third. Madrid will host its first Mad Ron Week from May 7 to 12, coinciding with the Spain Rum & Gin Expo on May 8 and 9. Denmark introduces the Authentic Danish Whisky Manifesto, requiring Danish whisky to be produced and aged for at least three years in Denmark, as ten local distilleries aim for a protected geographical indication.

🍔 Smashie, new fast casual dining concept by Italian leader in casual dining Cigierre, launches expansion in Central Italy starting from Rome. The restaurant, opened in the bustling Romaest Shopping Center, occupies 130 sqm with an additional terrace and outdoor seating, totaling around 100 seats. The menu features smashburgers, hot dogs, fries, and milkshakes, including a free refill option. The opening created over 20 new jobs. Cigierre, founded in 1995 and now with over 370 locations, served over 30 million customers in 2024.

🍴 Le Tre Gazzelle opens a new chapter with "Tre Gazzelle Bistrot" in Milan's Via San Pietro all'Orto 7. The bistrot, led by Valentina Calacoci, features innovative chef Kassandra Galindo Rodriguez, known from the 13th edition of MasterChef Italia. Offering a "Filogenesi" tasting menu, available for dinner Tuesday to Saturday, the venue merges Milanese tradition with modern culinary creativity. Kassandra's sous chef Matthias Wiedenhofer and a dedicated team ensure an exceptional dining experience with both a la carte and day menus, maintaining the brand's reputation for quality and innovation. For more information, call +39 375 788 5152 or email [email protected].

📦 Maiora SpA SB expands its Cash & Carry sector with a new Altasfera store in Bari, Modugno area, marking its seventh outlet in Puglia. The opening strengthens Maiora’s lead in South-Central Italy with a 14th store offering over 15,000 products, including 500 branded items, and goods from 150 local suppliers, 70 from the Bari province. The Bari Altasfera spans approximately 4,000 sqm with a 150-car parking lot, featuring specialized departments and services like order preparation and home delivery. The store is run by a team of 36, with 18 recent hires. Tasting events for professionals are scheduled for April 16-18, 23-24, and May 2-3.

🌟 Hotel Sonnenhof, owned by the Winkler family in Falzes near Brunico, is set to reopen in June with a complete renovation and a new name: Solvie, meaning "the sunny way." The venue will feature a large sun-drenched garden, new rooms and suites, a new spa, infinity pools and baths, plus new restaurants and communal spaces. Solvie focuses on wellbeing and health, offering high-level culinary experiences without fixed dining times, extending breakfast to a 11:30 brunch, and providing restaurants open all day. Health and fitness are key, with facilities including an indoor yoga room, outdoor yoga platform, meditative room, gym, and cardio room. The spa features a "Skypool relax only" on the fifth-floor, a large infinity pool, a natural garden pond, an indoor pool with relax lounge and jacuzzi, as well as herbal and Finnish saunas, and an aromatic steam bath. Relaxation rooms are scattered throughout the garden and spa. Unique Solvie experiences include guided excursions, personalized bike tours, horseback riding lessons, golf, sport car tours, and skiing with a daily skibus to Plan de Corones every 15 minutes.