Peel Hotels' Royale Exchange | Doubletree Number Three For Russia | Town House 8 Opens In Milan | Elysium On Earth | A New Radisson Blu For Paris | A Little Bit Of Las Vegas Comes To Dubai | Renovations Galore | Kiessling’s Corner

Peel Hotels' Royale Exchange | Summertime is nearly upon us and, like most Brits do when the sun begins to peek through the clouds, Peel Hotels has headed to the seaside; the London-based hotel company signed on the dotted line this week in a deal which saw it acquire the 95-room Norfolk Royale Hotel, in the seaside resort of Bournemouth, on England’s south coast. Peel Hotels bought the property for £8.25 million from Yorkshire-based English Rose Hotels. The transaction, which includes the freehold, business and assets of the four-star hotel, is expected to be completed on 1 June. This transaction brings Peel Hotel’s portfolio of UK city centre hotels up to nine.

Doubletree Number Three For Russia | Hilton Hotels Corporation has signed a management agreement with ZAO Pansionat Solnechy Lutch for a Doubletree by Hilton hotel in the city of Sochi in southwest Russia. The 200-room Doubletree by Hilton, Sochi Adler is to open at the end of 2011. Sochi will be the third Russian city to receive a Doubletree by Hilton property as the 188-room Doubletree by Hilton Novosibirsk is to open in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk in the third quarter of 2009, and the 288-room Doubletree by Hilton Perm is to open in the port of Perm at the beginning of 2010.

Town House 8 Opens In Milan | The Italian city of Milan welcomed a new addition to its hotel supply this week with the opening of the 11-room Town House 8. This is Town House Hotels’ sixth Hotel in Milan and its second to open inside the historic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, alongside the 24-room Town House Galleria.

Elysium On Earth | Independently owned Greek hotel company Harmony Resorts Group held a party this week to celebrate the opening of its third property on the Greek Island of Rhodes, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. The five-star Elysium Resort & Spa opened with 330 rooms on the beachfront at Kallithea, on the island’s east side. The resort, which is owned by NHKA SA, cost €50 million to develop, and it joins its sister properties the five-star Rodos Palladium and the four-star Sun Beach Resort Complex.

A New Radisson Blu For Paris | The Radisson Blu Le Metropolitan Hotel, Paris Eiffel has recently opened in the city of Paris, France. The 48-room hotel, which was converted into a hotel from a private residence, is the second property under Rezidor Hotel Group’s new brand to open in the French capital this year. Paris now has six Radisson Blu hotels in operation and the Radisson Blu Hotel, Paris La Défense is expected to open in mid 2011.

A Little Bit Of Las Vegas Comes To Dubai | The reflection of MGM Mirage’s logo will soon be shimmering on the surface of the Gulf off the coast of Dubai, in the UAE, as the Las Vegas-based company has announced that its first properties in the emirate are to be developed within the AED15 billion (US$4 billion) mixed-use Dubai Pearl project. A 250-room Bellagio Hotel, a 350-room MGM Grand hotel and a 30-suite Skyloft hotel will be owned by Pearl Dubai and managed by MGM Mirage Hospitality, a wholly owned subsidiary of MGM Mirage. There is currently no information available about the timescale of these hotels.

Renovations Galore | Rumours abound that in just two years time the Ritz-Carlton Dubai will be two times bigger! Work is reported to begin on an expansion of the 138-room hotel this summer. Another Dubai hotel is currently undergoing a renovation; The First Investor LLC (the hotel’s owner) is investing AED22 million (US$6 million) in upgrading the 125-room Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, which is closed from 16 May to 15 July 2009.

Kiessling’s Corner | The latest news from Spain by Gabriele Kiessling, Analyst, HVS Madrid. Grupo Fuentepizarro has recently opened its first business resort in Madrid. The Fuentepizarro Resort has 33 rooms and it caters to the city’s business clientele. Grupo Globalia is to open its 14th establishment in Spain. The Oasis El Plantio Golf, in the province of Alicante, is due to open on 1 July with 204 luxury apartments. NH Hoteles has recently opened a new four-star, 64-room hotel in the city of Gijon, in the Principality of Asturias. The 2009 Market Intelligence Report for Madrid is now available at .

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week 14-21 May 2009

  • Marriott International - Shares rose as the initial scare about swine flu began to subside.
  • Whitbread - Deutsche Bank reduced Whitbread's target price from 1,330p to 1,305p.
  • InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) - RBS downgraded IHG from "buy" to "hold" and reduced its target price from 575p to 545p.

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