The eagerly anticipated annual edition of Directions - The Design Hotels™ Magazine will be launched at the ITB tourism fair in Berlin, taking place from March 7-11, 2012. This year’s copy is packed with fresh trends in hospitality, hotel openings, inspiring stories behind the scenes and of course the handy locator at the back to all 225 members in 135 destinations around the world. Design Hotels™ offers an ever-changing variety of reasons to travel the world. The topics include fusion food whose cross-cultural flavors are becoming the latest craze, Patricia Urquiola’s design tryst in Berlin and the escalating importance of environmental and social responsibility in hospitality today.

Focusing on neighborhoods, some member hotels become beacons of their surroundings through excellent taste and impeccable service while others choose to charter new paths and build new engaging communities. Take the four-villa remote retreat of El Otro Lado in Portobelo, Panama that is not only attracting attention to a UNESCO World Heritage site, but serves as a launching point for exploring the region’s rich Afro-Panamanian culture. In Vienna, Austria, the soon-to-open Hotel Topazz takes its role as the first green upscale hotel in the historic 1st district rather seriously and has established a new status quo for upcoming businesses. Ekies All Senses Resort on the Greek peninsula of Halkidiki does so by measuring luxury by one’s ecological footprint. To know more, pick up a complimentary copy of Directions 2012 at the Design Hotels™ ITB stand or any member hotel worldwide.

Meet The Member Hotels at ITB in Hall 9, Stand 312

During ITB, 21 properties from Asia, Africa and Europe will be present to share their plans for 2012. With the “Neighborhood Approach” as a central theme, Design Hotels™ will showcase a bold, colorful new stand featuring large-scale graphics and a picture wall of some of the most stimulating Made By Originals stories. The stage is set to be as individual and offbeat as the communities we live in and love to travel to.

Design Hotels™ invites visitors to meet the people behind the hotels. Among them are new hotels like the Tribe Hotel in Nairobi, the brand’s first in Kenya. Nine hundred hand sculpted African artefacts create this astounding ode to a culturally rich continent in the heart of Nairobi’s diplomatic district. The Mira Hong Kong will introduce its upcoming sister property in the bustling Wanchai district. Opening in the last quarter of 2012, the project has renowned Dutch designer Marcel Wanders at its helm. 

Representatives from the following member hotels will be present at the Design Hotels™ stand:

*  Austria, Vienna: 25hours Hotel Wien
*  Germany, Berlin: Q! Hotel Berlin
*  Germany, Frankfurt: 25hours Hotel by Levi’s
*  Germany, Frankfurt: Goldman 25hours Hotel
*  Germany, Hamburg: 25hours Hafencity
*  Germany, Hamburg: 25hours Hotel Hamburg No. 1
*  Germany, Hamburg: Gastwerk Hotel Hamburg
*  Germany, Hamburg: The George
*  Hong Kong: The Mira Hong Kong
*  Iceland, Reykjavik: 101 Hotel
*  Kenya, Nairobi: Tribe Hotel
*  Netherlands, Amsterdam: Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam
*  Spain, Alicante: Hospes Amérigo
*  Spain, Cordoba: Hospes Palacio del Bailío
*  Spain, Granada: Hospes Palacio de los Patos
*  Spain, Madrid: Hospes Madrid
*  Spain, Mallorca: Hospes Maricel
*  Spain, Puigcerdà: Hospes Villa Paulita
*  Spain, Seville: Hospes las Casas del Rey de Baeza
*  Spain, Valencia: Hospes Palau de la Mar
*  Switzerland, Zurich: 25hours Hotel Zürich West