The path of kings. To make its entry into France, the Hyatt Centric brand is following in the footsteps of Louis the Pious, Charles X, François I and François II.er and Louis XIV: by coming to Reims to be crowned. The embodiment of a relaxed, upmarket contemporary hotel experience, the American group's flagship hotel is just a few minutes' walk from both the city centre and the congress centre, within the walls of what was for a long time the Mercure Centre Cathédrale. Metamorphosed after a year and a half's work, the hotel has regained its place as one of the city's leading business hotels.
With nine rooms dedicated to meetings and events in addition to 155 bedrooms - when the suites on the fifth floor are completed at the end of April -, the Hyatt Centric Reims has established itself as one of the preferred locations for corporate meetings. Indeed, only the Hôtel de la Paix - a Best Western Premier - can rival it with its 163 keys and a seminar area also with nine rooms. However, while the latter's offer is based primarily on a 200-seat amphitheatre, the Hyatt Centric is modular, with a space made up of three adjoining 80-90 m² rooms that can be used independently, in pairs or combined into a single room for 200 people.
" This is the hotel's strength, and the reason why it attracts large groups, whether from Paris or for international events organised by local companies with an international outlook, particularly in the agri-food or champagne sectors. This flexible MICE space, with a foyer for breaks, can be adapted to suit different needs on any given day," explains Marie Kerkevan, the hotel's Sales and Marketing Director. Presentations in the plenary room in the morning, private discussions in the afternoon: this flexible MICE space, with a foyer for breaks, can be adapted to suit different needs throughout the day. Another advantage is that it is located on the ground floor of the hotel, one floor below reception, offering a reception area entirely dedicated to events.
Upstairs, the hotel has four other rooms for sub-committees, executive committees or creative meetings. Recently, two 45 m² rooms, which can be combined, have been added to the rear of the restaurant to welcome participants for meals in a cosy atmosphere. They can also be used as meeting rooms if required...
Entirely redesigned by Caroline Devoluet, an interior designer accustomed to the world of luxury, with touches that evoke the region - champagne, chalk quarries, grapes, etc. - this new hotel in Reims offers its business and leisure guests a range of special touches, including a host of sweets and syrups to welcome them, bathrobes and slippers in every room, and a fitness room and sauna to keep you in shape. As for the restaurant, which is open to residents and events alike, it features traditional French cuisine with a focus on local produce.
From VF to VO
Hyatt's arrival in Reims combines the group's ambitions to expand in France's secondary cities with the desire to internationalise the Reims hotel industry. Because the British and Americans are the main customers of the champagne houses, the brands that whisper in the ears of these travellers have been magnetised by the city of Champagne. The starting point is the opening in 2019, opposite the cathedral, of the Caserne Chanzy, affiliated to Marriott's Autograph Collection.
Following in the footsteps of this former Art Deco fire station transformed into a five-star hotel, other brands have followed suit, such as the recently opened Holiday Inn Express & Suites Reims Rives de Vesle and a Four Points by Sheraton due to open in the spring just opposite the Hyatt Centric, the result of the ongoing conversion of a former Campanile. Also among these is a 'little cousin' of the Hyatt Centric, the Radisson. Not because it is part of the same hotel group, but because it belongs to the same owner, the operator Alboran.
Opened as part of the urban regeneration of the former Sernam Boulingrin railway site, the Radisson shares management with the Hyatt Centric, with Stéphanie Gagnoux heading up both establishments, as well as the Club Hôtelier de Reims et Épernay. " These international brands will help the destination to increase the number of foreign customers. The figures show a steady increasesays Stéphanie Gagnoux. Today, the destination boasts a fleet of very recent or completely renovated hotels. ".
With the addition of a Greet hotel and a future Tribe hotel from the Accor group, almost 500 new rooms will have been added to the city's offering in just a few years. It's a development that doesn't worry professionals, but on the contrary opens up a whole new world of possibilities, particularly for business tourism, given that the capacity of the convention centre is 800 people. " We now have an extremely dynamic convention bureau that works hard to bring conventions to Reims, with the entire profession mobilised to provide accommodation for participants.explains Stéphanie Gagnoux. We all work hand in hand to ensure that customers choose this beautiful destination. "
A city on the move
In addition to the upscale hotel offer, it is an overall dynamic that is supporting Reims' rise as a tourist destination. " A city on the move Reims is one of the world's most attractive cities", as the mayor of Reims, Arnaud Robinet, described it at a press conference last year. So much so that it was included in the latest Figaro as the third city in France offering the best conditions for setting up a business. " The Reims of twenty years ago and the Reims of today are very different. "says Arnaud Valary. The director of the Domaine des Crayères, one of Reims' institutions with its two-star restaurant, chic brasserie and the first hotel designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon, has an explanation for this: "The Domaine des Crayères is a great place to stay. The arrival of the TGV changed everything ".
Since 2007, Reims has been just 45 minutes by train from Paris, with CDG airport also benefiting from a direct connection in even less time, three times a day. This proximity makes the destination an easily accessible drop-off point for Parisian and even international companies, whether for seminars or conventions. At the same time, the city is doing everything it can to persuade travellers not to make day trips from Paris and make them want to stay. Upmarket hotels are just one part of this strategy. The cultural offering is also undergoing a complete overhaul.
Next year, Reims will have a new museum, the Musée des Sacres, located right next to the cathedral, in the former residence of the archbishops, the Palais du Tau. The Musée des Beaux-Arts, which has been closed since 2019 and is currently undergoing major renovations, is also due to reopen on the same date, with a tripled exhibition space and an increase in the number of works on display from 380 to 1,280.
The champagne houses, which have made the region famous the world over, are also taking part in this movement. Lanson, Ruinart, Taittinger, Thiénot: all these great names have redesigned their historic cellars in the wake of the pandemic, with new visitor trails, some of which are open to the public, as well as bars and boutiques open to the public. If not a restaurant, as at Taittinger, or a top-of-the-range 12-bedroom hotel currently being completed in the showcase of the House of Thiénot.
Business tourism in unison
Cycle paths, gardens: the city is also getting a facelift with the transformation of the banks of the Aisne-Marne canal, located just opposite the Hyatt Centric hotel. This will extend the centre of Reims, offering residents a new living space in the spring. The project will be completed next year with a footbridge providing easy access to the Auguste Delaune stadium on the opposite bank.
Business tourism could not be left behind in this development. GL Events, which has been managing the city's major event venues since 2019 through its subsidiary Reims Events, has added a new 9,000-person arena to its offering for 2022, next to the Radisson hotel and close to the station. At the same time, the exhibition centre has also been renovated. And to orchestrate everything, in early 2024 Reims Tourisme & Congrès set up a convention bureau, responsible for advising and guiding organisers while promoting the destination on the MICE market. " In the past, business tourism didn't always think of Reimssays Nathalie Mortier, in charge of the convention office. Reims is now part of the choice of destinations ". And no doubt even more so in the future.
