Latest news: IHG adds two luxury hotels in KSA; pre-Olympic sales of prominent Paris hotels

IHG adds two luxury hotels in KSA. IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement to bring two luxury hotels to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In an expansion of its partnership with King Abdullah Financial District Management and Development Company (KAFD DMC), IHG will add 250-key Regent Riyadh KAFD and 400-key InterContinental Riyadh KAFD which are both scheduled to open in 2027. They will complement the region’s first Kimpton at KAFD, which will debut by the end of 2024. IHG currently operates 43 hotels across 6 brands in Saudi Arabia and has a pipeline of 32 hotels due to open in the next two to five years. 

Sono acquires in Paris. Sono Hospitality, which is the European arm of South Korea-based Sono International, has acquired the Hotel Dame Des Arts in Saint Germain-Des Pres in Paris from a joint venture of London-based EQ and New York City-based Angelo Gordon for €120 million ($130.2 million), according to multiple reports. The 109-key hotel reopened in early 2023 after an extensive renovation. The JV acquired the hotel and four other properties in 2019 for a reported €181 million.

CDL could acquire Hilton Paris Opera. Singapore-based City Developments (CDL) is close to a deal to buy the 268-key Hilton Paris Opera hotel in Paris from Blackstone for €244 million ($265.2 million), according to a report in The Strait Times and Asian real estate website Mingtiandi. Blackstone acquired the property in 2013 for a reported €250 million ($271.7 million) and changed its name from Concorde Opera to Hilton Paris Opera after a $50 million renovation. If completed, it would be the third hotel CDL has acquired in Paris and its third acquisition of a Blackstone property in recent years.

Remington president retiring. Dallas-based management company Remington Hospitality announced that its president Chris Green is retiring on April 5. Green served as president of Remington for the past two years and was integral to the merger of Chesapeake Hospitality with Remington. Before the merger, Green spent 22 years with Chesapeake, most recently as its CEO. Remington manages 134 hotels in 26 states across 33 brands. 

Minor adds in Tanzania. Minor Hotels is adding a new resort in Tanzania with the 181-key Anantara Zanzibar Resort, scheduled to open in 2027. The owner, Dubai-based Infinity Group, has chosen Minor to manage the property.

Another IHCL Vivanta in India. Indian Hotel Co. Ltd. (IHCL) has signed a new Vivanta hotel in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. IHCL is partnering with Phulwani Real Estate India Private Ltd. on the project, and Greenfield is developing the 130-key hotel. It will be IHCL’s 12th in Madhya Pradesh, including four under development.

Hilton adds in KSA. Hilton has signed an agreement with Jeddah-based Azad Properties and PROPER Developments to bring a Hampton by Hilton hotel to the Souq7 precinct in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The 216-key Hampton by Hilton Souq7 is scheduled to open in 2026.

Dusit hotel reopening in Thailand. The newly built Dusit Thani Bangkok hotel will officially reopen later in September. The 39-story hotel will feature fewer rooms than its previous version (257 versus 517) and is part of a mixed-use development that will include Dusit Residences and a Dusit Parkside office tower with retail and a rooftop park, all of which are scheduled to open in 2025.  

De Vere appoints co-CEOs. UK-based De Vere has appointed Laurie Nicol and Alan Corlett to co-CEO positions. Nicol and Corlett have been with De Vere for over a decade, most recently as COO and chief commercial officer, respectively. De Vere’s current CEO, James Burrell, will now be executive chairman of the company.

Castello acquires in Sardegna, Italy. Italian real estate asset management company Castello SGR, through its GEM fund, has acquired for €70 million the 139-room Grand Hotel Poltu Qualtu and 100 residential units in Sardegna, Italy, from Italian real estate company Gruppo Pulcini. The complex is set to be redeveloped into a 150-room W-branded resort with 80 serviced apartments to be managed by Marriott International. Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit and Banco BPM are providing financing for the acquisition and the redevelopment works. Castello was acquired in July 2023 by the ANIMA Group, one of Italy’s largest independent asset management groups.

Visasur acquires in Spain from ADIA. Seville, Spain-based Visasur has acquired the 126-room Hotel Merida Medea Affiliated by Melia in Badajoz, Spain, from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for an undisclosed amount. The hotel was part of the Spanish Equity Real Estate portfolio of 17 hotels comprising 2,587 rooms, which ADIA acquired in 3Q23 for a reported €600 million (€232,000 per room). The hotel is expected to be operated by Visasur’s operator, AZZ Hoteles, and be rebranded to the AZZ Meridea Medea.

Mövenpick coming to Adriatic Coast. Following a $48 million renovation, Montenegro’s Briv Construction plans to reopen in May 2025 the Teuta hotel on the Bay of Kotor in the town of Risan on the Adriatic Coast as a 150-room Mövenpick-branded hotel. Briv acquired the Teuta in 2014 from bankrupt tourism and hotel operator HTP Onogost for €6.5 million.