Would you spend US$ 300 a night to sleep underground? You might, once you see the jaw-dropping designs for China's latest hotel project. For more than a decade, China has been a front-runner in the world's skyscraper race. Now the country is taking the pole position in digging "groundscrapers" -- enormous structures built mostly underground. As reported CNN International, most recently, ground has been broken on construction of a high-end hotel at the foot of Shanghai's Tianmashan in a 100-meter-deep pit. Developed by Shanghai Shimao Property Group and to be managed by InterContinental Hotels Group, the hotel, named InterContinental Shimao Shanghai Wonderland, is expected to extend 19 stories into the bottom of the pit. Once completed, in late 2014 or early 2015, the deepest story of the luxury resort will be approximately 700 meters lower than the top floor of the world's-highest-hotel-to-be, the Shanghai Tower J Hotel in Shanghai Tower, set for completion around the same time. Located about 45 kilometers southwest of Shanghai's city center, the pit in Tianmushan is 100 meters deep, 240 meters long and 160 meters wide. The lowest 20 meters are filled with stagnant rainwater, which the hotel will retain. Construction of the 380-room InterContinental Shimao Shanghai Wonderland commenced last month. The 19-story hotel will have three levels above ground, and 16 underground, including an underwater restaurant. A 60-meter glass curtain will be built to mimic a waterfall next to the resort's main structure. The pit has served as a quarry since the 1950s, then it has been abandoned since the year 2000. Shimao purchased the surrounding land in 2006 in order to build Shimao Shanghai Wonderland, a large-scale theme park integrating hospitality, leisure and entertainment elements. The hotel is planned as part of the wonderland complex. Designed by UK-based engineering firm Atkins, the company behind the ostentatious Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, the quarry hotel design bagged a Gold Medal at last year's commercial real estate MIPIM Asia Awards. Industry experts believe nightly room rates will start from US$ 320, twice the price currently charged by nearby five-star hotels. Shimao is investing a total of US$ 555 million in the 428 thousand square meter Shimao Shanghai Wonderland, of which US$ 95 million will go toward the subterranean resort. Hotel planners are considering taking advantage of the site's surrounding cliffs by hosting activities such as rock climbing and bungee jumping.

A symbol of Dubai's resurgence and its growing importance at the centre of the global business crossroads will emerge later this year when the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai opens its doors to guests in Q4 this year, reported the official site of Marriott Hotel. This hotel set to be the world's tallest. As reported, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai will open in two phases, with the first section featuring 807 rooms and numerous restaurants and lounges. At a height of 355 meters, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world and is just 26 meters shorter than the Empire State Building in New York. In addition to serving the luxury business traveler, the hotel is targeting the lucrative and increasingly important MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) market, which currently does not have a hotel of sufficient scale to host such large groups. In addition to all the dining and entertainment options, the hotel will have two ballrooms, 24 meeting rooms and a total of 5,100 square meters of event space. Currently the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world is Rose Rayhaan in Dubai. 72 storeys, 333 meters high and certified as the World's tallest hotel by Guinness Records hotel building opened its doors in 2010. But the world's highest hotel is Ritz-Carlton housed in 484 meters high International Commerce Center in Hong-Kong. It is situated on 102-118 floors. The JW Marriott is part of Marriott International's luxury portfolio and consists of beautiful properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort locations around the world. Currently, there are 53 JW Marriott hotels in 22 countries; by 2015 the portfolio will encompass 80 properties in 29 countries.

The prefab Hotel in China's south-central Hunan province, 170 square meters hotel standing 30 stories, was erected in an incredible 360 hours or in 15 days, reported Constructiondigital. The hotel built Chinese sustainable-building firm Broad Group and the building is designed to withstand up a 9.0 earthquake - and even boasts energy-efficient building techniques. The construction firm in charge of the project was able to manage such a rapid timeline because of a smart prefab design that allowed much of the building to be manufactured off-site, and then assembled relatively rapidly once the foundations had been set. As our website reported last year the developer, Broad Group, came under the global spotlight last year when it built a 15-storey Ark Hotel in China in just 6 days. And their latest project, which is located in the south-central Chinese city of Changsha is no less impressive. The "flat pack" skyscraper was 90 percent pre-constructed in factories and then put together onsite. It uses one-sixth the materials of a comparable facility and is also an extremely energy-efficient building, combining thermal insulation, triple pane windows, external solar shading, fresh air heat recovery, and LED lighting. Having perfected their novel approach to construction the company now aims to build another 150 30-storey apartment buildings, hotels and offices in the same manner. It is hoped that the ability to build property so quickly will revolutionize areas where property is in short supply. Let's be clear what is prefab design and prefabricated building. It is a type of building or design that consists of several factory-built components or units that are assembled on-site to complete the unit. Architects are incorporating modern designs into the prefabricated houses of today. There has also been an increase in the use of "green" materials in the construction of these prefab houses. Consumers can easily select between different environmentally friendly finishes and wall systems. Since these homes are built in parts, it is easy for a home owner to add additional rooms or even solar panels to the roofs. Many prefab houses can be customized to the client's specific location and climate, making prefab homes much more flexible and modern than before. Possibly the first advertised prefab house was the Manning Portable Cottage. A London carpenter, H. Manning, constructed a house that was built in components, then shipped and assembled by British emigrants. This was published at the time (advertisement, South Australian Record, 1837) and a few still stand in Australia.

As reported Arabianbusiness, according to the latest data published by STR Global, a total of 119 hotels are predicted to be built in the Middle East/ Africa region this year. Year-to-date, 50 hotels have opened in the region supplying a further 9,663 rooms with another 69 hotels (15,420 rooms) in the pipeline for completion before the end of 2011, STR Global said. During 2012, 131 hotels are planned to open with 36,205 rooms, it added. Among the hotel sectors, the upper upscale will be boosted by 3,733 rooms and 15 projects this year and the luxury segment by 3,052 rooms and 13 projects. STR Global said in 2012, the most rooms are planned to open in the luxury segment (11,123 rooms and 34 projects) and the upper upscale category (10,198 rooms and 31 projects).

As news.am reported, Head of Government-Affiliated State Property Management Department Arman Sahakyan stated, that "Dvin" and "Sevan" Hotels Construction to be completed. During press-conference Arman Sahakyan said, "Dvin" hotel will be reconstructed by 2014, or even earlier. And the basis for this optimism is the new commitments which the Hotel's proprietor has assumed. According to these obligations, if the proprietor does not carry out the investments specified in the contract, it will have to pay ten percent from the sum of unfulfilled investments, as a penalty. "Dvin" hotel was sold in 2003 to Caucasian Communication Group for US$ 3 million. The buyer had pledged to build a 5-star hotel in five years and to invest US$ 30 million; but no essential investment is made so far. And finally, if Dvin Hotel is not reconstructed, the Government of Armenia reserves the right to take its possession by court order, after 2014. During press-conference Arman Sahakyan also hoped, that reconstruction of "Sevan" hotel will reach its logical end. The hotel was sold in 1996 to "Carousel Establishment Company", which belongs to British-Armenian businessman Vache Manukian. Even though the buyer was obliged to rebuild the hotel in five years, it remains in dilapidated condition. During his visit to Yerevan in late September, Vache Manukian discussed the hotel's fate with Yerevan's mayor, Karen Karapetyan. Apparently, Manukian does not want to build a hotel, but rather a cultural or a business center. However, he has not reached a final agreement with municipal authorities so far.