Hotel industry and travel news from around the Europe, Middle East & African region: NH sells 5 hotels/900 rooms, W opens in Edinburgh, Banyan Tree comes to Morocco and more...
Foncière des Régions to Acquire Five NH Hotels in Germany
French real estate group Foncière des Régions has acquired the purchase options for a portfolio of five NH hotels (900 guest rooms) across Germany for €125 million (approximately €139,000 per room) from Spanish chain NH Hotel Group. The deal is expected to close in 2017 and the hotels, in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Oberhausen and Stuttgart, will continue to be operated by NH Hotel Group under new 20-year leases.
HI Partners Pick up a Hotel on Gran Canaria
In a sale-and-leaseback agreement, Barcelona-based hotel investment firm HI Partners has recently purchased the IFA Caterina Hotel, on Gran Canaria in Spain’s Canary Islands, for €42.4 million (€105,500 per room) from Lopesan Hotel Group. The 402-room hotel is in the island’s capital, Las Palmas, and its new owner will now invest €7 million in refurbishing the property. Lopesan will continue to manage the four-star hotel.
W Hotels to Wing its Way into Edinburgh...
Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ W brand is to make its debut in Scotland. The W Edinburgh is expected to open in 2021 and will become the second of its brand in the UK, joining the 192-room W London, which opened in 2011. The 214-room, 12-storey hotel development has caused controversy in the past " nicknamed the ribbon hotel, owing to a steel band that will wind around the building, it received opposition from planning officials and the local population; however, plans for the hotel were approved last year and it is part of an £850 million, 1.7 million ft² scheme to regenerate Edinburgh’s St James shopping centre. “We are confident that there will be a huge appetite for our innovative lifestyle brand in the Scottish capital,” said Michael Wale, president of the EMEA region at Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
...And Best Western Brings its Premier Collection to the Scottish Capital
The four-star Ten Hill Place Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland, has joined Best Western International’s BW Premier Collection, becoming the collection's first hotel in Scotland and tenth property overall. The 77-room hotel, at the centre of the Scottish capital, is owned and operated by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Commercial Enterprises.
Autumn Brings Banyan Tree to Morocco...
On 1 September 2016 Banyan Tree will make its first appearance in Morocco with the opening of the Banyan Tree Tamouda Bay, the Thailand-based group’s first venture in the Mediterranean and Africa. The resort is on Morocco’s northwestern coast, between the Rif Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, 15 km away from the city of Tetouan. The development is Banyan Tree’s first all-inclusive pool villa resort, and alongside its 92 villas (some with direct beach access) it will also include four restaurants, a spa, a gym, a library and a swimming pool amongst other facilities.
..And Another Hilton on the Way
Hilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement with Société d'Aménagement et de Promotion de la Station de Taghazout for a hotel in the Taghazout Bay resort development on Morocco’s southern Atlantic coast, ten miles north of Agadir, bringing Hilton’s Moroccan portfolio up to four properties in operation or under development. The US$33 million, 170-room Hilton Taghazout Bay Beach Resort & Spa is due to open in 2018 and it will join the recently openedHilton Garden Inn Tanger City Centre and the Hilton Tanger City Centre Hotel & Residencesand Hilton Tangier Al Houara Resort & Spa, which are both scheduled to open in 2017. Commenting on the latest signing, Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president, development, EMEA, Hilton Worldwide, said, "Tourist arrivals in Morocco have more than doubled since 2000, and as the market continues to mature there is opportunity for Hilton to grow in locations across the country."
InterCityHotels Expands to the Middle East
Steigenberger Hotel Group has opened its first InterCityHotel outside of Europe: the 70-room, eight-storey InterCityHotel Salalah in Oman. The hotel, which is owned by Al Sedra Real Estate LLC of Oman, is in Salalah’s business district, just four kilometres away from Salalah International Airport.
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