Luxury Hotels: This Week's News, October 5, 2012

As compiled from Andrew Harper’s twitter feed, @HarperTravel. Please note that news about upcoming properties does not constitute endorsement from Andrew Harper.

• Monte Carlo's grande dame Hotel de Paris to receive a face lift

• El Encanto, new Orient-Express property in Santa Barbara, opens March 2013

• "83 per cent of luxury brands would choose Facebook if forced to choose only one social media account."

• Why aren't there more luxury hotels in Perth and Sydney? "Not a matter of if, but when."

• New GHM Chedi coming to Swiss luxury development project Andermatt

• Park Hyatt expands portfolio in India with Chennai property

• Vietnam is a fast growing, high-end holiday destination for Britons

• A day in the life of the Driskill

• Banyan Tree Hotels opens Shanghai On The Bund property

• "Why It's Hard to Trust Anything Michelin Says" - John Mariani

• Reader Reader Comments: The Ritz London, Hotel Splendido, Smith Fork Ranch, Bardessono

• Chef Eric Briffard of Le Cinq at Four Seasons George V debuts a new book of recipes

• "Rosewood Beijing will be the precursor to 10 Asian resort properties in operation or development."

• “The three most misused words in travel – Ecotourism, Volunteerism and Sustainability.” Peter Greenberg at first ever ILTM Americas in the Mayakoba Complex

• Rosewood Mayakoba debuts $1.6 million renovation

• Mandarin Oriental debuts new web site

• Who is Andrew Harper?

• Americans turning to more upscale-oriented leisure travel

• The Andrew Harper Collection: The Ultimate Luxury Travel Reference

• October 2012 Hideaway Report: Laos, Bangkok and Virginia

• Virgin America expands flight service to Palm Springs

• 21-suite Beach House Turks & Caicos opening later this month

• Designer Paul Smith curates Rizzoli Books selection for One Aldwych

• Abercrombie & Kent launches A&K International Estates

• Lovely Restaurant at Meadowood flickr set

• October Hideaway Report: Laos, Bangkok and Virginia

• Andrew Harper's Paris App - A personal guide to the best of the City of Lights

• Harper Blog: Boats & Trains Along the Mekong

• "How much for your village?" The rise of the "fu er dai" - the second generation of wealthy Chinese families

• Survey: 40% of leading travel agencies report increase in luxury bookings

• Silversea Silver Cloud to undergo "major stem-to-stern refurbishment"

• The Dorchester unveils 22 new "eclectic" suites

• Singapore's Banyan Tree has invested nearly $1 billion in eco-tourism projects in Hue, Vietnam

• Peninsula eyes reinvention, not expansion

• Small Leading Hotels introduces its first property in Vietnam

• 18 new deluxe hotels coming online in UAE

• New Four Seasons Toronto opens today