Missoni? Hotel? Kuwait?

Missoni. Does that name ring a bell?

To the fashion-inclined and shopaholics, it better. Many of you know of the brand for its loud, strong use of color, lines and pattern; and, naturally, budget-unfriendly prices. Now they're making the transition from clothes to hotels, with their first two hotels opening this year, interestingly, in Edinburgh [June] and Kuwait [August/September]. Yes, we're getting the first designer hotel in the Middle East. Suck on that, Dubai.

The Edinburgh hotel is going to be done in blacks, whites and silvers, while the hotel here is going to have a wilder color scheme more typical of the Missoni name. Think yellow walls, hot pink tables and blue-green bathrooms.

Some detes about the Kuwait hotel:

- 106 rooms and 63 suites, all with views of the Gulf

- All the rooms will have bathroom TVs built into the mirrors

- There'll be an Italian restaurant, a Choco Cafe with a terrace, a lobby lounge and a lounge on the 18th floor

- A large outdoor pool with Gulf views done in tiles with the stripes and colors of Missoni clothing

- The hotel sits on top of a new top-range mall called the Symphony Centre which'll house high-end stores and boutiques [this mall will even feature foot masseuses in the bathrooms and assistants to carry your bags while you shop. Dare I say modern-day slavery?]

Don't think you know where the hotel is? If you've ever been to Salmiya, you do. It's the huge curving beige building with a red building on the back, taking up the block from Arabian Gulf Street to Salem Al-Mubarak Street.

I think the hotel sounds incredibly exciting, and it's bound to make a huge impact in the region when it finally opens this year. Seeing as this is Kuwait though, and the hotel has already been delayed time and time again, the opening date might change.

Fingers crossed it opens on time.