Author: Ian Pollard

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Autograph Collection to open in Paris with Hotel Banke

Autograph Collection has revealed the latest addition to its portfolio, Hotel Banke, marking the brand’s entry to Paris and becomes the fourth property in France. Located in the heart of the Parisian Opera district, Hotel Banke occupies the former headquarters of Crédit Commercial de France.

The venue has an elegant feel throughout its 91 guest rooms and suites, with original features seamlessly blending with contemporary design touches, such as statement modern furniture and rich soft furnishings.

The hotel will join the portfolio of one-of-a-kind properties around the world that champion Autograph Collection Hotels’ values of vision, design and craft.

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Bliss Hotels to launch first hotel this year

Bliss Hotels has announced plans to launch its first property this year ahead of rolling the brand out nationally.

With the support of a £15m funding package from asset manager ICG, Bliss is refurbishing and rebranding the 133-bedroom Ramada Plaza hotel in Southport, Merseyside, within the city’s Waterfront development. The hotel, which is remaining open during the refurbishment, will be the first in the UK to trade under Wyndham’s Trademark soft brand of independent, upper-midscale hotels.

The refurbishment will see the relaunch of the hotel at the end of the year as the Bliss Hotel Southport, and will see an addition of three new penthouses on the fifth floor, as well as a 3,000 sq ft roof garden, the brand’s concepts including Bliss Kitchen and Blissonik.

Once the first Bliss hotel is established the group intends to target other coastal locations and secondary UK cities, with plans to create a ‘mini chain’ of approximately 10 properties by 2026 both owned and operated.

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Hilton launch meetings and events-focused Signia brand

Hilton has launched a new meetings and events-focused brand, Signia Hilton, the global hotel group’s 17th brand.

With a minimum of 500 bedrooms and 75 sq ft per key of flexible meetings and events space, Signia Hiltons will feature destination bars, chef-driven restaurant concepts, modern architecture and guestrooms, lobbies that double up as social spaces and ‘premium’ wellness facilities such as infinity pools, spas and fitness classes.

The meetings and events spaces will be the core of each Signia Hilton with large ballrooms and pre-function areas, as well as small to mid-size meeting rooms.

Signia Hilton will operate in urban and resort locations, with sites confirmed including Signia Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, Signia Hilton Atlanta and Signia Hilton Indianapolis in the USA. No plans have yet been announced to bring Signia to the UK.

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Jumeirah Carlton Tower to undergo complete renovation

Jumeirah Group have revealed plans to completely refurbish the Jumeirah Carlton Tower, its flagship hotel in the heart of London’s fashionable Knightsbridge.

The work is expected to begin in September, with a planned completion date of summer 2020. All guestrooms and suites are planned to be completely refurbished to a new level of luxury standards. With the number of keys reducing from 216 to 188 with the introduction of new signature and junior suites which will capitalise on the hotel’s stunning views of the London skyline and the private Cadogan Place Gardens.

When the hotel opened as The Carlton Tower in 1961, the hotel gained an international reputation as a beacon of British style and sophistication and was the first modern five-star property to open in London’s chic Knightsbridge district, and at the time, was the tallest hotel in London.

Jumeirah currently has a global portfolio of 24 luxury hotels, including the iconic Burj Al Arab Jumeirah in Dubai and the Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel and Grosvenor House Suites by Jumeirah Living, in London.

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First Radisson Hotel in Europe opens its doors in Gdansk, Poland

The Radisson Hotel & Suites, Gdansk in Poland, the first new Radisson in Europe, bringing the hotel group’s portfolio to 17 hotels has opened its doors.

Located on the city’s historic Granary Island, the new-build Radisson Hotel & Suites, Gdansk features 350 guestrooms and suites, including 12 junior suites, five suites and four apartments. The hotel has a range of leisure facilities, including a lobby bar, an all-day dining restaurant, gym, spa and swimming pool. The meeting area offers 1,000sqm of space set across a ballroom, four function rooms, seven meeting rooms and a separate area that can be used as a foyer or a function space.

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First voco property for the Netherlands

IHG have announced the signing of the first voco hotel in the Netherlands, voco – Kneuterdijk 8 will be set in a beautiful building located in the city centre of the Hague that formerly housed a bank and is set to open in 2020.

The signing of voco the Hague – Kneuterdijk 8 follows the recent openings of the first three voco hotels in the world — voco Gold Coast in Australia, voco Cardiff and voco Solihull in the UK – and continuing the strong momentum for IHG’s newest upscale brand in Europe.

With a listed façade dating from the 1920s and an expansive atrium, the property boasts historic features that will be retained and very carefully renovated. Inside, the hotel will be no less awe-inspiring – containing more than 200 exquisite rooms and suites.

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Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel opens in Edinburgh

IHG  has opened the first Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants in Scotland, Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel. The hotel is located in Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town, a UNESCO world heritage site and has 184 rooms and 15 suites which are part of seven interconnecting Georgian townhouses.

Last year IHG and Covivio entered an agreement to rebrand and operate 12 hotels operating under the Principal and De Vere brands. The Principal Charlotte Square is the second of these properties to rebrand as a Kimpton, following the opening of Kimpton Fitzroy London in October 2018. 

The Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel marks IHG’s return to the luxury market in Edinburgh, as its first branded luxury hotel in Scotland in over a decade. 2019 will also see Kimpton hotel openings in Glasgow and Manchester and an InterContinental Hotels & Resorts opening in Edinburgh.

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RBH’s New Partnership

Together with 4C Hotel Group RBH has signed a hotel management agreement on the Canopy by Hilton London City and Westin London City hotels, representing the launch of both brands into the UK by late 2020. RBH now holds partnerships with both Hilton and Marriott, making RBH, Marriott’s largest franchise partner in the UK. 

Westin London City will have a prime location on the River Thames, with 222 bedrooms, a riverside bar, indoor swimming pool, spa, fitness studio, ballroom, four meeting rooms and a business centre.

Canopy by Hilton London City will be located adjacent to Aldgate Station, with 342 bedrooms, a unique lobby to mirror aspects of the locality and a rooftop bar with unrivalled views across the city of London.

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Midscale lifestyle brand,Tribe, launched by Accor

French hotel group Accor has launched a new midscale, lifestyle brand called Tribe.

The first Tribe hotel has already opened in Perth, Australia, with the first European hotel – a 290-bedroom property – set to launch in Glasgow later this year. A further 50 hotels are currently in discussions with Accor to adopt the brand.

It is expected that the Tribe brand will make an appearance worldwide, including in locations such as London, Paris, Singapore, Dubai and Bangkok. 

Tribe is the 39th brand within the Accor portfolio which totals nearly 4,800 hotels and resorts across 100 countries.

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The Dixon joins Autograph Collection in London

Autograph Collection Hotels has announced the opening of The Dixon in London.

The property joins the diverse and dynamic portfolio of more than 160 independent Autograph Collection Hotels around the world. Located at Tower Bridge on Tooley Street, The Dixon is set to become a new cultural hub in the midst of a creative neighbourhood, which boasts The Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe and the new Bridge Theatre all a short distance away.

The Dixon was named after John Dixon Butler – the architect who originally constructed the Grade II listed building in 1905 as a Magistrates’ Court and police station and features 193 rooms, including ten spacious suites.