The Rezidor Hotel Group has announced its plans to open the Radisson Blu Hotel, East Midlands Airport in the first quarter of 2012. The hotel will be 800 m from the airport and will boast 208 guest rooms, in addition to another eight suites, food and beverage outlets, and 750 m² of conference and meeting space. The hotel will be Rezidor’s fifth airport hotel in the UK and Radisson Blu’s 250th hotel. The opening of the hotel emphasises Rezidor’s position as a leading operator of airport hotels.
London Attracts Chinese Investors
The Bank of China has agreed on a £50 million loan for the development of the 254-room InterContinental Queen Anne’s Chambers hotel near New Scotland Yard, ahead of other UK banks. This is the bank’s first substantial hotel investment in the UK. The hotel is expected to open in the latter part of 2011, just in time for the London Olympics, and it will be the Splendid Hotel Group’s largest project to date.
A Splash Of Indigo In The Northeast
A new £20 million Hotel Indigo is being developed in Newcastle by Sanguine Hospitality Management. The four-star, 148-room Hotel Indigo Newcastle will transform the once prestigious Eagle Star House site into a state-of-the-art boutique-style complex. Nick Taplin, managing director of Sanguine, said: “We looked at six sites in Newcastle, and Eagle Star House blew us away. It’s an incredible space”. Planning to open by Christmas 2011, the Hotel Indigo brand, owned by InterContinental Hotels Group, is hoping to attract a Michelin-starred chef to operate its Brasserie, spearheading Hotel Indigo’s first venture into the UK’s northeast and only the fourth in the UK overall.
Bespoke Tailor Made To Manage Six Merchant Inns
UK Hotel Management Company, Bespoke Hotels, is set to manage six former Merchant Inn properties following Merchant Inn being placed under administration last year. The properties are: The Black Boy Inn, Oxon; The Carnarvon Arms, Newbury; The Horse & Groom Inn, Wiltshire; The Lambert Arms, Oxfordshire; The Saracens Head, Essex; and The Talbot Inn, Surrey. Robin Sheppard, managing director of Bespoke Hotels, commented: “The six properties are perfectly positioned to apply the Bespoke Hotel blend of strong internal systems coupled with our philosophy that every hotel benefits from a little individuality and a little bit of tailoring to bring out its true heart and soul”.
Edinburgh’s Eleventh Travelodge Opens
Travelodge has opened the doors to its eleventh hotel in Edinburgh in time for the popular Edinburgh Festival. The 96-room Edinburgh Central Waterloo Place, Travelodge’s fifth hotel in the city in the last 15 months, brings the hotel company’s room count in Edinburgh up to 1,000. Guy Parsons, Travelodge’s chief executive officer commented: “Growth in Edinburgh has been one of our priorities as it is such an important tourism economy. We have committed around £50 million to new hotels in the city over the past three years, acquiring existing hotels that had fallen below the standards that the modern day consumer expects”.
A New Blu For Croatia
Making its way into Enews for the second time this week is The Rezidor Hotel Group, which has opened the luxury Radisson Blu Resort Split in Croatia. Located on the Adriatic coast overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Brac, the 240-room hotel is the former Hotel Split, which underwent extensive renovation and reconstruction to become the Radisson Blu Resort Split. Commenting on the opening of this hotel, president and chief executive officer of Rezidor, Kurt Ritter, said: “We are delighted to add a further outstanding first class hotel to our Croatian portfolio. Rezidor aims to grow its young and successful resort business further – and Croatia as an emerging holiday destination in Europe offers not only beautiful landscapes but also the needed infrastructure and manpower”. According to its website, there are currently 47 Radisson Blu projects under development.
Sol Meliá Goes Fourth In Egypt
Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts has just seen the opening of its first property in Sharm El Sheikh, the Meliá Sharm, its fourth hotel in Egypt. The five-star hotel is in Montaza Ras Nasrany Bay, one of the main tourist destinations in the Red Sea. The 468-room hotel has four restaurants and five bars, as well as an exclusive area to be inaugurated on 1 October that will include a private beach, swimming pool, lounge area and bar; butler service; and VIP rooms and services.
Luxury In Libya
Later this year, architects Dexter Moren Associates will start work on a £100 million project on the Libyan coast: the Wadi Alswani Resort. The resort, perched on the clifftop with uninterrupted views to the Mediterranean, is expected to have 350 luxury rooms and 45 villas with access to a private beach. The desert site is on a plateau south of an existing village and features Ottoman ruins and an Italian memorial. Commenting on Libya’s hotel market, director Jacqui Labb says “It is a growing market and, from our experience over the last year, it is a region with huge potential – particularly in the tourism sector, which is based on historic and cultural interest”.
Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week – 12-19 August 2010 — Photo by HVS
NH Hoteles – Rose 1.0% on high volume on Thursday, constituting a four-day rise of 3.2%.
Millennium & Copthorne – Evolution Securities raises target price to 565p following better-than-expected interims.
Whitbread – Increased 1.6% on firm volume on Tuesday, ending five-day streak of losses.
