News
Starwood debuts the ultimate new travel app on iOS7
Maldives.net.mv – Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®), the award-winning loyalty program from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT), today introduced an innovative and inspiring new app for iPad as well as an exciting new design to support iOS 7. The SPG App for iPad joins the SPG App for iPhone, extending SPG’s digital suite of products and gives today’s connected traveler a visually rich, personalized experience on every step of their journey from imaginative destination exploration to the details of their trip before, during and after a visit. Each new, native iOS 7 app builds on the operating system’s latest features and designs and provides guests with the beautiful, immersive travel experience Starwood is known to deliver.
“Travel is inherently mobile and the rapid advancements in technology enable us to extend the personalized experience guests receive in our hotels to their most personal devices,” said Chris Holdren, Senior Vice President, Starwood Preferred Guest & Digital. “Following our success with the SPG App for iPhone, we built the SPG App for iPad using insights we have gained from our members. The relationships we’ve built with our guests put us in a unique position to lead and win with digital by delivering the experiences they seek.”
Today’s travelers are increasingly using mobile devices to search for and explore destinations, as well as book rooms and other travel services. Industry wide, 40% of travel searches occur on mobile devices up from 25% in 2012. Starwood’s mobile bookings are growing at an annual rate of 1000% –five times greater than the annual growth rate of the web channel 10 years ago. The new Starwood apps deliver both the convenience and speed mobile travelers desire while highlighting the SPG lifestyle.
SPG App for iPad:
The new SPG App for iPad app pushes the boundaries of current hospitality apps by uniting Starwood’s unique focus on design and photography, as well as both curated and real-time social content into one mobile experience. Alongside SPG’s iPhone and Android apps, the new SPG App for iPad provides a seamless guest experience, simplifying and enriching both business and leisure travel.
Starwood’s digital design team leveraged iPad’s capacity for high resolution, immersive photography to create an editorial-like experience akin to content one might expect from high-end travel or shelter magazines.
“When we developed our iPhone App, we were focused on ease and speed, envisioning travelers engaging with the App with ‘one eye and one thumb’ in transit,” said Clay Cowan, Vice President, Global Digital for Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “We created our iPad App with a deeper, more leisurely experience in mind. We’re literally inviting people to ‘lean back’ and get lost in our destinations and hotels through fantastic photography showcasing great design, amazing locations and the unique experiences one can expect across our portfolio of nine lifestyle brands and 1,100 hotels in 100 countries.”
App Highlights:
- Explore: The “explore” section inspires travelers to dream of more vacation time with a rich mix of curated content including the more than 100 Member Favorite Resorts awarded by fellow SPG members and dynamic content generated through social interactions
- Using our guest interactions through social media, the SPG app highlights the hottest venues, as reviewed by previous guests, around the hotel right on the map embedded in the app. So when you are far from home, you can eat, drink, and travel like a local.
- SPG life: This section of the app is a hub for learning about Starwood Preferred Guest’s many benefits. Here, members can access up-to-date account information including point balance, upcoming stay information and elite benefits. Members can also take a peek at all the exclusive benefits SPG offers its members like a virtual backstage tour at one of SPG’s Hear the Music, See the World performances, soar with trapeze lessons with Cirque du Soleil or take a seat in the SPG Luxury Suite at the US Open. Users can bid on SPG Moments like these and see Instagram photos from events and live the #spglife within the app.
- Fast and easy personalized booking: A secure area stores credit card information streamlining booking to just three taps. All of Starwood’s more than 1100 properties in 100 countries are represented with full detail with ratings and reviews from verified members who have stayed at the hotel. Perfect for researching your next escape.
- Brand sections: Each of SPG’s nine brands have stunning visual content, designed to highlight each lifestyle brand’s unique attributes and social activities as well as give travelers a realistic representation of what each destination provides.
“We strive to offer our guests a great experience that is unique to them both inside our hotels and at every touch point,” said Holdren. “The experience we created with our iPad and iPhone apps combine the insights of our guests with the magic of our design-led brands. We build our apps on the newest tech in order to exceed the needs of our digitally connected guests.”
Starwood’s mobile team partnered with Bottle Rocket to design and develop the SPG apps—resulting in smart, intuitive navigation that seamlessly integrates SPG and hotel-specific branding into the iPad’s famously user-friendly interface. The SPG App for iPad will launch in both English and Chinese and will be updated with additional versions and multiple languages. The app, currently available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad or at www.spg.com/mobileapps, is the latest development in SPG’s evolution into a hyper-personalized guest services platform.
Featured
Milaidhoo Maldives introduces high-end wellness residency led by Dr Lim Xiang Jun
Milaidhoo, an intimate island retreat located within the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Baa Atoll, has announced a once-in-a-season wellness residency with internationally renowned integrative medicine specialist Dr Lim Xiang Jun, taking place from 22 to 28 February 2026.
For the first time, guests will have the opportunity to experience Dr Lim’s integrative approach to wellbeing in a private island setting. The founder of a leading modern Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practice in Singapore, Dr Lim brings more than 20 years of experience and a rare mastery of both Eastern and Western healing traditions, including acupuncture, TCM, energy medicine, yoga, Ayurveda, meditation and metaphysics Bazi astrology.
During her residency, Dr Lim will offer bespoke one-on-one consultations and signature therapies aimed at restoring vitality, balancing energy and supporting transformation of mind, body and spirit. Guests will have access to her globally recognised treatments, including facial acupuncture, gua sha, reflexology and Chi Nei Tsang, as well as immersive sessions in meditation, qigong, yoga, sound healing and energy therapy. The residency’s distinctiveness lies in its integration of ancient wisdom, modern clinical practice and metaphysical insight, creating a personalised journey for every guest.
“Milaidhoo is an ideal sanctuary for guests seeking to reset, recharge and reconnect with themselves,” said Paul van Frank, General Manager of Milaidhoo. “By pairing the island’s serene, barefoot elegance with Dr Lim’s transformative expertise, this residency delivers an experience that is intimate, exceptional and truly unique.”
Dr Lim Xiang Jun added: “I am honoured to bring my holistic practices to Milaidhoo Maldives for the first time. The island’s natural tranquillity and energy provide an ideal environment for guests to embark on a personalised wellbeing journey. I look forward to guiding each guest through integrative traditional therapies, meditation and energy healing to help them reconnect with their vitality.”
With a limited number of consultations and treatments available, the residency is designed for guests seeking a holistic reset and a deeply personalised wellness experience within Milaidhoo’s peaceful island surroundings.
Guests wishing to secure their stay for this exclusive residency may visit the resort’s Special Offers page to reserve their wellness journey.
Featured
Year of the Horse celebrated with island-inspired festivities at InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort
InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort is inviting guests and visitors to welcome the Lunar New Year with a curated programme of celebrations from 16 to 19 February 2026, marking the Year of the Horse through cultural performances, signature dining experiences, wellness rituals and family-focused festivities.
Set against the natural beauty of Raa Atoll, the resort’s Lunar New Year programme blends cultural tradition with contemporary island living, offering moments of togetherness, creativity and indulgence across the four-day celebration.
Festivities begin on 16 February with a Lunar New Year Cocktail at Café Umi Beach, followed by the resort’s signature Lunar New Year Gala Beach Dinner. This elegant evening will include festive dishes, fresh seafood and live performances such as a Lion Dance and Fire Show under the Maldivian night sky.
Culinary experiences form the core of the programme, with themed dinners and tastings crafted to reflect the spirit of the season. Highlights include wine-led dining journeys, a reunion dinner, a seafood-focused evening at Fish Market and an Asian BBQ pop-up buffet, offering guests meaningful opportunities to come together and celebrate through food.
Wellness will also feature prominently, with restorative experiences encouraging balance and renewal. Guests may enjoy signature spa rituals inspired by local traditions, immersive sound healing sessions and energising fitness activities. A visiting integrative somatic practitioner will be present throughout the festive period to support mind-body wellbeing.
Daily entertainment and cultural performances will enrich the celebrations, including ribbon and fan dances, umbrella performances, fire shows and a full day dedicated to Olympic-style island games suitable for all ages. Younger guests will have access to creative workshops, festive crafts and outdoor activities, while art enthusiasts may join resin art sessions led by the resort’s resident artist.
In addition, the resort will offer relaxed seasonal experiences available throughout the festival period, such as a Lunar New Year signature cocktail and shisha offerings at select venues, allowing guests to enjoy the celebrations at a leisurely pace.
With its combination of cultural expression, refined dining, wellness and island-inspired entertainment, InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort’s Lunar New Year celebrations promise a meaningful and memorable beginning to the Year of the Horse.
Featured
New era in reef conservation: Six Senses Kanuhura launches data-led Coral Census
Six Senses Kanuhura has announced a pioneering initiative that positions the resort at the forefront of marine conservation in the Maldives: the Kanuhura Coral Census, the world’s first long-term, 3D reef-monitoring programme implemented by a resort. Developed in collaboration with leading scientists from Newcastle University and University College London (UCL), this advanced methodology delivers an unprecedented level of accuracy, data integrity and ecological insight. The launch arrives at a critical moment, as global research indicates that up to 90% of the world’s coral reefs could be lost by 2050.
For decades, coral-reef monitoring worldwide has relied on clipboards, tape measures and diver observations—methods that, while valuable, only capture small portions of a reef and leave significant gaps. Traditional surveys remain slow, highly subjective and limited in scale, typically assessing less than 0.01% of any given site.
The Kanuhura Coral Census removes these long-standing limitations. Using 3D modelling and advanced AI analysis techniques, including Gaussian splatting, the system maps more than 100 square metres of reef at each site, capturing detail down to half a millimetre. The result is a hyper-accurate, fully repeatable digital reconstruction of the reef—something no other resort has achieved to date.
The new methodology resolves the constraints of conventional surveys in several transformative ways:
- Large-scale digital reef mapping: Entire reef sections are recorded in ultra-high resolution instead of limited snapshots.
- Rapid fieldwork: Only 20 minutes of diving is required to collect all images needed for each 3D model.
- Removal of human bias: AI-driven analysis ensures consistent, objective coral data regardless of the researcher.
- Unmatched ecological detail: Indicators such as rugosity, coral-canopy height, overhangs and habitat complexity—often overlooked in traditional surveys—are fully captured.
- Perfect repeatability: The same reef sections can be re-surveyed every few months, producing the Maldives’ most accurate time-series coral dataset.
- Visual storytelling: Immersive 3D models allow clear communication with guests, researchers and the public, transforming scientific data into intuitive visual insights.
Alicia Graham, General Manager of Six Senses Kanuhura, said: “The Kanuhura Coral Census represents a major step forward for reef science within the hospitality sector. By introducing advanced reef mapping, we are not only elevating how reefs are monitored but redefining what is possible. It allows us to track the smallest changes with scientific precision, share findings transparently and make data-driven decisions that directly support reef recovery. This project signals a new era of accountable and impact-driven conservation for the Maldives.”
The long-term objective of the Kanuhura Coral Census is to develop a next-generation restoration programme that moves away from traditional metal frames and towards sustainable, ecologically informed solutions. With highly detailed insights into which corals are thriving, struggling, recruiting or bleaching—and where—Six Senses Kanuhura will design a restoration blueprint that sets a new benchmark for the region.
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