Lodging Daily News

MANAMA—Dubai International Capital’s (‘DIC’) majority-owned Ishraq Gulf Real Estate Holding Company and IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), announced the opening of the Holiday Inn Express Bahrain. The 274-room hotel, which cost $40 million to build, marks the debut of the brand in Bahrain. Holiday Inn Express Bahrain features a 24-hour self-service business center, free high speed internet connection, gym, the Great Room restaurant, 24-hour kiosk and lounge bar. In an announcement, Maissan AI Maskati, chairman, Ishraq

GOA, India—Hilton Worldwide today opened the newly-renovated, upscale full-service DoubleTree by Hilton Goa-Arpora-Baga, the third DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in India. Formerly known as Riviera De Goa, the 105-room DoubleTree by Hilton Goa-Arpora-Baga marks its new affiliation with a range of refurbishments that include refreshed guestrooms, a new fully-equipped business center, updated technology, and an enhanced dining experience that encompasses the new restaurant Flame, which offers an extensive menu of Goan, Indian, Chinese, and Italian

RCI recently welcomed Casa de Guadalupe Boutique Hotel to its portfolio of affiliated resorts. This hotel, built in an eighteenth century historic building, is located in the city of San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Casa de Guadalupe Boutique Hotel is decorated with a unique colonial design. The suites, featuring cedar wood floors, are decorated with handcrafted details made by local artists and paintings, photographs, and sculptures. Four types of rooms are available. The

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.—The Generation Companies, LLC (Generation), a real estate developer, owner, receiver, asset manager and operator of extended-stay and select-service hotels, recently broke ground on the Augusta, Georgia Home2 Suites by Hilton. The 123-suite, four-story is slated for completion the first quarter of 2013. “We have worked closely with the neighborhood to design a hotel that will be an excellent addition to the area,” said William Smith, managing director, real estate & construction

In 2003, Michael A. Cioffi Jr. and his father were driving around the Val d’Orcia region of Tuscany on a vacation to Italy when they spotted an abandoned hilltop village called Castiglioncello del Trinoro. The following year, Cioffi’s father, an American lawyer and law professional from Cincinnati, bought a building and decided to renovate it. That first renovation project sparked the revitalization of the entire village, which the Cioffi family has turned into a world-class