Hotel, industry and travel news from around the EMEA region - this week: Rezidor expands in Riyadh, Renaissance heathrow sold, Accor adds hotels and more...

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Edinburgh's SoCo Site Sold

LaSalle Investment Management has purchased a hotel development in Edinburgh, Scotland, for £30.6 million. Construction formally started this week on the SoCo mixed-use project at the Cowgate site, a part of the city's historic Old Town that was devastated by a fire in 2002, and is expected to finish in December 2013, when LaSalle will take over the development. SoCo will include an ibis hotel, retail space and food and beverage facilities. 
 
Arora Acquires The Renaissance Hotel At Heathrow

Arora Hotels has purchased the Renaissance London Heathrow at London's Heathrow Airport from Hotel Property Investors for an undisclosed sum. Arora Hotels' founder Surinder Arora has said that he was "delighted to add this prestigious hotel and those that work there to the Arora group". Mr Arora's relationship with the hotel, which was built in 1973, goes back a long way – he used to work part time as a banqueting waiter at the property in the mid 70s. Arora Hotels now plans to carry out a major refurbishment of the hotel's guest rooms and public areas. The hotel will continue to operate under Marriott International's Renaissance brand. As well as its newest purchase, Arora's portfolio consists of four Arora-branded hotels in London and Manchester and the Sofitel London Heathrow and the Sofitel London Gatwick. 
 
More Mercures For The UK 

Accor will expand its Mercure portfolio in the UK by four hotels (394 rooms) over the next four months, to 75 properties. The first of the four hotels that the group has signed franchise agreements for is in the town of Darlington, northeast England. Originally a coaching inn dating from the early 1600s, the King's Head Hotel was damaged by fire in 2008 and then underwent an £8 million refurbishment before opening as the 83-room Mercure Darlington Kings Hotel last week. The 145-room Mercure London Greenwich, in southeast London, is a conversion of Maurice Drummond House, an eight-storey building that was originally built in the 1930s as accommodation for officers from the Metropolitan Police. During the conversion an additional two storeys were added to the building. This hotel is due to open later this month. The 78-room Mercure Eddleston Barony Castle Hotel and Spa in Scotland will also open this month as the first castle within Accor's Mercure portfolio. Originally the Barony Castle Hotel and Spa, this property underwent a £400,000 refurbishment and was upgraded to from three stars to four. Lastly, the purpose built Abbey Hill Hotel in Milton Keynes, south England, is to open as the 88-room Mercure Milton Keynes Abbey Hill in January 2013. 
 
£20 Million Hotel Development Planned For UK Resort

UK holiday company Richardson's has submitted plans for a 260-room hotel in the seaside resort of Hemsby in the country of Norfolk, east England. If permission is granted for the scheme, which also includes a caravan park, work could start in late summer 2013. Richardson's, which owns two holiday parks in Norfolk, plans to invest £20 million in the development. The local borough council is expected to make a decision on the plans in December. The hotel will be part of a ten-year redevelopment scheme. 
 
NH Makes Its Debut In Prague 
 
NH Hoteles opened its first hotel in Prague, Czech Republic, this week. The Mövenpick Hotel Prague, in the city centre, has now become the four-star NH Prague. The 439-room hotel is being operated under a management agreement. It joins the group's first hotel in the Czech Republic, the 137-room NH Olomouc Congress in Olomouc, the country's sixth-largest city. The Spanish group now operates 76 hotels across Central and Eastern Europe. 
 
Accor's October Openings

On the south side of the River Thames, the four-star, 182-room Novotel London Blackfriars, a "new generation" Novotel, is now open with lots of hi-tech gadgets to keep guests entertained, including restaurant tables fitted with televisions for lone diners and a multimedia table with iPads. "It's our best Novotel to date and represents the new generation of Novotels that we want to offer in the United Kingdom," said Thomas Dubaere, Accor's managing director for the UK and Ireland. Flying the ibis flag for the first time in Abu Dhabi, the ibis Abu Dhabi Gate is to open later this month as the emirate's first internationally branded budget hotel. This hotel has 252 rooms and 42 one-bedroom apartments. Last but not least, Accor has opened its first Adagio Access property in Brussels, Belgium. The Adagio Access Brussels Europe has 110 fully equipped apartments, designed for medium- to long-stay guests. Accor currently has 89 Adagio aparthotels in operation across seven countries. 
 
Rezidor Takes Up Residence In Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter

Rezidor has announced a new property for Saudi Arabia. The Radisson Blu Hotel & Residences, Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter is expected to open in the second quarter of 2015 as the only hotel within Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter. The 110-unit hotel is one of several projects undertaken by the Prince Salman Disability Research Centre, which was founded by Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi Arabia's Crowne Prince, for charitable purposes. The proceeds of the hotel will be used to support the Disabled Children Association of Saudi Arabia. Commenting on the new signing, Kurt Ritter, Rezidor's president and chief executive officer, said, "This is already our fourth project signed in the country this year, and underlines the importance the Kingdom has for our group".
 
Marriott Brand's First Foray Into The Middle East 

This week, Marriott International celebrated the opening of its first Residence Inn property in the Middle East. The Residence Inn by Marriott Manama Juffair can be found in the suburbs of Manama in Bahrain. The 80-unit extended stay property is owned by International Trading and Investment Co. Marriott plans to follow up this debut with the 83-unit Residence Inn by Marriott Jizan in Saudi Arabia and the 143-unit Residence Inn by Marriott Kuwait, which are both currently under construction and due to open in 2013 and 2015, respectively. 
 
Rixos Number One For Egypt  
 
Turkish group Rixos Hotels recently opened its first property in Egypt. The 695-room Rixos Sharm El Sheikh is at the heart of the Sharm El Sheikh resort, at southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, on the Red Sea. This new hotel brings Rixos's total portfolio up to 20. Rixos announced earlier this year that it planned to open five hotels in 2012 overall, expanding its portfolio to 21; before the end of the year, the group will be making its debut in Azerbaijan with a 210-room hotel in the city of Quba. 
 
A DoubleTree To Spring Up In Burundi  
 
Hilton Worldwide has signed a licence agreement with franchisee the Opulent Group that will see Hilton make its first appearance in Burundi, East Central Africa. A former Novotel property in Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, on the northeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, is currently undergoing an 18-month renovation programme and is scheduled to reopen as the 130-room DoubleTree by Hilton Bujumbura at the beginning of 2014. "As the first upscale international hotel brand to establish roots in Burundi, the signing of DoubleTree by Hilton Bujumbura is a defining moment for our company," said Rob Palleschi, the global head of DoubleTree by Hilton.

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