With a good twenty hotels added in the first quarter and another batch of openings in the second, the Accor group is continuing to strengthen its presence in its domestic market. Widely the leader in its field, the group added several establishments in the first half of the year, under its Handwritten Collection, Mercure and greet brands in particular. And their networks have been further expanded since the summer. The sustainable economy brand greet is offering a new address near Reims, in Tinqueux, following on from its establishments in Dijon, Limoges and Saint-Nazaire earlier in the year. For its part, Mercure is offering a completely renovated hotel in Chartres, at the heart of the Cosmetic Valley business cluster, with four meeting rooms for up to 120 people.
Designed to welcome top-of-the-range independent boutique hotels into its ranks, the Handwritten Collection has also continued to expand in France, and now has 10 establishments in the country and more than 30 in Europe. After Calvi, Saint-Jean de Luz and nearby Saint-Malo and Mont Saint-Michel, the brand turned its attention to major cities in the second half of the year. In addition to the opening in Deauville, as part of a development agreement with the hotel group You Hotels, covering future openings in Amiens, Rennes and Valence and, to begin with, the inclusion in the collection of a hybrid hotel in the Normandy seaside resort combining top-of-the-range rooms, premium dormitories and coworking spaces.
As for the major French cities, the brand has set up in the heart of Old Lille, in a completely renovated 82-room hotel, Maison Louise. The hotel is run by a man who is as passionate about hospitality as he is about motor sport, having taken part in the Paris-Dakar Rally. The hotel's theme is rallying, travelling and surpassing oneself, and this spirit is reflected in the two meeting rooms, measuring 100m² and 120m², the latter of which can be divided into two areas.
In Lyon, the Grand Hôtel des Brotteaux, another new member of the collection, reflects the Belle Epoque atmosphere of its district in its lobby and 59 fully renovated rooms, a reminder that the nearby Brotteaux station was Lyon's main railway station from the early years of the 20th century.e century, until the advent of Lyon Part-Dieu and the arrival of the first TGV high-speed trains in the early 1980s.
Finally, the Handwritten Collection also has a new establishment in Paris, the Hôtel Faubourg Galant, located in the heart of the IXᵉ arrondissement, near the Grands Boulevards. Offering 63 rooms, including 2 suites, the hotel lends itself to business stays with a gym and spa for moments of relaxation and, in between, an afternoon coworking space, transforming the establishment into a place for living, working and exchanging. All in an elegant setting designed by Girós & Coutellier.
" The dynamism of our growth in France once again illustrates the vitality of our brandssays Katell Bourgeois, Vice President Development France & Benelux for Accor's Premium, Midscale & Economy brands. In this mature market, our conversion brands such as Handwritten Collection, greet and ibis Styles are making a major contribution to this success. "
At the beginning of the year, ibis Styles opened new hotels in Pantin and Marseilles, near the Palais des Congrès and the Stade Velodrome, while the second half of the year saw the opening of four new sites. Firstly in La Rochelle, on the banks of the Old Port, but also in Béziers and Gemenos, near Aubagne and the Castellet circuit, with a hotel equipped with a swimming pool and a seminar room for 40 people.
With its swimming pool, rooftop and seminar room, the ibis Styles Bordeaux Lac Bruges uses all these features to offer a pleasant base for business travellers, with its 88 rooms and its proximity to the Bordeaux Convention Centre and the city centre. As for the ibis Styles Colombes, in the Paris region, this completely renovated hotel's design focuses on sport, in a nod to its proximity to the Arena de La Défense and the Colombes stadium, at the heart of the Olympic Games in both 1924 and 2024.
In total, the ibis family, through its ibis Styles, ibis and ibis budget brands, added 13 addresses to its portfolio in the second half of the year. Other openings include the ibis Paris Nord Porte de Saint Ouen, Bordeaux Nord Carbon Blanc, Orléans Saint Mesmin, Avallon, Autun and Orange Centre Echangeur A7 A9 and, on the super-economy front, the ibis budget Le luc Le Cannet des Maures and Cannes Mougins, the latter located close to the Croisette and the Palais des Festivals.
However, the Accor group's offering in France has also been strengthened in the luxury segment with two new MGallery hotels: the Talaia Hotel & Spa and the Talaia Hotel & Spa. in Biarritz and L'Isle de Leos Hotel & Spa, nestled in the picturesque village of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. A slow-living boutique hotel with 49 rooms, including 11 suites, whose owner is no stranger to the limelight: Patrick Bruel.
