top-of-the-range hotels

With a presence on every continent and almost 550 hotels and resorts in 53 countries, the Thai group Minor Hotels has changed scale by taking over almost all the shares - 94.1 % - in NH Hotels. While the recent acquisition of the Spanish group does not change anything in practice for the moment, this investment of...

After Phnom Penh in Cambodia and Luang Prabang in Laos, Rosewood is preparing to inaugurate what should be one of the flagships of the Asian hotel industry in Rangoon, before moving on to Bangkok and Guangzhou in 2019. For several years, Beijing was the only place where the American luxury hotel chain Rosewood had a presence in Asia, and then it moved on to...

It's quite symbolic: for its return to Athens after a five-year absence, Marriott has taken up residence in the former Metropolitan, and above all opposite the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. This new temple to culture, designed by Renzo Piano and inaugurated two years ago, embodies the renewed optimism in the country, which is...

With the recent opening of a hotel in Bordeaux, its 13th in France, Radisson Blu is one of the key players in the upmarket and seminar segment, with Pullman as its main competitor. And there's more to come, as the group aims to have a total of 25 hotels in France by 2022, whether for Radisson...

On a Friday evening, the cars speed along Sanlitun Road. Ultra-fashionable young people are being dropped off in front of the new restaurants opening one after the other in the most sought-after district of the moment. This is the epicentre of modern Beijing, where the InterContinental Sanlitun opened at the end of 2016, in an extravagant tower looking...

It's been in the making ever since Marriott International acquired Starwood Hotels in 2016: the loyalty programmes of these two major groups have now become one. Bringing together the millions of members of Starwood Preferred Guest and Marriott Rewards was even one of the main reasons for this mega-acquisition, in order to effectively combat...

With its beautiful resorts established in the middle of a tea plantation in China, in the heart of a fort in India, at the top of the mountains of Oman, on the edge of the luxuriant beaches of the Maldives or Bali and more recently on the edge of the Pacific, at Big Sur in California, Alila has become the specialist in intimate and...

With a new design by Didier Gomez, a trendy restaurant and cocktail bar - Balagan - run by the Expérimental Group and Israeli chef Assaf Granit, rooms that can be opened with a smartphone, and a workshop dedicated to meetings, events and coworking, the Renaissance Paris Vendôme has had a fresh new look for a few weeks now, without...

Leading Hotels of the World is celebrating its 90th anniversary today. How do you explain this longevity? 90 years ago, several prestigious Swiss hotels joined forces to open a representative office in New York to reach out to American customers. The result was a Gentlemen's Club that brought together the best of the Swiss...

And another strategic partnership for AccorHotels. Following on from Mantis recently in Africa, 25 Hours and Mama Shelter in Europe, Rixos in Turkey and the Middle East and Banyan Tree in Asia-Pacific, the French group has now acquired a stake - worth 50 % of the shares - in a group positioned in the...

Is France a growth market for IHG? Yes, particularly for our luxury division. After Paris, Marseille and Bordeaux, we expect to open an InterContinental in Lyon in 2019, a magnificent project in the former Hôtel-Dieu. As for Kimpton, the luxury lifestyle and design brand that we acquired...

Of course, the big news in the Paris hotel industry this autumn will be the unveiling in September of the first Fauchon hotel on Place de la Madeleine. But Esprit de France, the partner of the famous delicatessen brand for the operation of this hotel, will be opening another, more confidential establishment at almost the same time: Maison Armance....

The Hôtel Lutetia reopened its doors on 12 July after four years of renovation by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Accompanied by a number of artists, craftsmen and architects from Bâtiments de France, the architect took care to preserve the spirit of the premises, while bringing in light. This has been achieved by creating a patio and...

Civilised. That's probably the best adjective to describe these cosy hotels, some of which offer 'old-fashioned' hospitality with chandeliers and wood panelling, while others are arty and refreshing. In stark contrast to ordinary business establishments, however excellent, these hotels with their singular cachet quietly live their lives away from the big groups. "It's a...

It had been announced ever since Le Figaro revealed on 25 April that AccorHotels intended to acquire Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. Now it's official: AccorHotels is to buy the Swiss hotel operator. The French group has reached agreement with its owner, Saudi investor Kingdom Holding, on a price of 560 million Swiss francs, or 482 million euros. Completion of this transaction...

Preferred Hotels is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. What explains this longevity? Lindsey Ueberroth - We focus on the independent luxury hotel scene, unlike the big chains. So we've become experts at identifying what a truly exceptional hotel is, with service that's often family-run and very...

Your group is growing from strength to strength. How far do you intend to go? Pierre-Frédéric Roulot - We are the world's fifth-largest hotel group, and our ambition is to be number three within two years. In 2017, we opened nearly 1,000 establishments around the world, two-thirds of them in China, where our group...

The 7th edition of the Global Meeting Exchange (GME) was held in Montreal at the beginning of March. More than 250 guests converged on the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, whose $140 million (€113.5 million) renovation well deserved the spotlight. The...

Two brand launches, positive momentum in terms of both results and growth in the offering, and a new strategic vision to continue the upmarket efforts undertaken over the last three years: Best Western had an "extremely positive" year in 2017, according to Quentin Vandevyver, President of Best Western France. Firstly, because with a...

Carlson Rezidor is changing its identity to Radisson Hotel Group. As a result, the hotel group will now rely on the global recognition of its Radisson flagship brand. The reference to Carlson was effectively obsolete since 2016 and the sale of the hotel division of parent company Carlson Wagonlit to Chinese group...