Last week Autograph Collection celebrated the official launch of its first nine hotels in the Collection with a special event at the Boscolo Palace Roma, one of the newest hotels to join Autograph Collection.

Guests including Italian actress Martina Colombari, Laura Barriales and Sete Gibernau, as well as Autograph Collection hotel owners including Mr. Antonio Catalán (president and founder of AC hotels) and Mr. Giorgio Boscolo (vice president Boscolo Group), mixed and mingled with guests to welcome these first hotels to the Collection in Europe. 

Guests were invited on a journey to discover different Autograph Collection hotel experiences from the classic and historic to ultra-hip and modern. Celebrating the sights, sounds and tastes of individual Autograph Collection hotel experiences, the exclusive celebration featured music by DJ Juanjo Valmoriscos accompanied by live musical instruments.

Toasting to the launch of Autograph Collection in Europe, Tina Edmundson, senior vice president lifestyle brands for Marriott International said, "Autograph Collection is a great opportunity for owners with established independent hotels to harness the power of the Marriott sales and revenue engines. Autograph Collection will be populated with iconic, high design, high personality four and five star hotels. We see tremendous opportunity and are particularly excited about the European market with its many incredible iconic and historic hotels."

Edmundson added, "With Autograph the hotel is the hero, and Autograph Collection serves as a canvas to showcase these amazing independent hotels. We have seen great interest from the development community for the brand and most compelling is the performance metrics of hotels that have joined the collection as the RevPar growth has been dramatic and swift."

"We are fortunate to have great partners and personal advocates for  Autograph Collection in Europe in the Catalan and Boscolo families who have helped us shape Autograph in Europe with their outstanding hotels, and we are grateful for their support and partnership."

The first nine Autograph Collection hotels in Europe are:

• AC Palacio del Retiro, Madrid, Spain
• AC Santo Mauro, Madrid, Spain
• AC Baqueira Ski Resort, Baqueira, Spain
• AC Santa Paula, Granada, Spain
• AC Palacio del Carmen, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
• Boscolo Hotel Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
• Boscolo Palace Roma, Rome, Italy
• Boscolo Venezia, Venice, Italy
• Boscolo Prague Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic

The event was held at the beautiful Boscolo Palace Roma, a rare jewel located on Rome's famed Via Veneto. The elegant boutique hotel, designed in the 1920's by Marcello Piacentini, just completed a top-to-bottom restoration restoring it to its former glory.

Launched in January 2010, Autograph Collection is an evolving ensemble of strikingly independent luxury hotels with each destination selected for its bold originality, rich character and uncommon details. From near to far, iconic to historic, the result is a unique array of properties that is nothing less than completely eclectic, nothing short of collectively exceptional. For more information please visit www.autographhotels.com