COCO PALMS RESORT TO REOPEN UNDER KIMPTON: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants has collaborated with Kaua’s Coco Palms Resort to announce IHG’s luxury and lifestyle destination in Hawaii. The iconic Coco Palms Resort will be restored and revitalized to open as Coco Palms Resort, A Kimpton Resort in 2026. When it opens, it will be the west coast resort flagship for Kimpton in the Americas. Located along the Wailua valley, the resort is owned by Reef Capital Partners and will be operated by Highgate. Once preferred by Hollywood celebrities, the resort will offer 350 rooms spread across three low-rise buildings, as well as cottages. The property will also have a 15-acre coconut grove, a spa, three outdoor pools and multiple dining options. The resort will also open an onsite cultural center and museum honoring Kauai. Coco Palms Resort was destroyed when Hurricane Iniki struck Kauai in 1992 and has since been in a state of neglect. The resort was expected to reopen as a Hyatt resort, before Reef Capital acquired it in 2022. Kimpton’s portfolio currently includes more than 75 hotels and over 100 restaurants, bars and lounges globally.
VIRGIN HOTELS TO DEBUT IN LONDON: Virgin Hotels, the luxury lifestyle hospitality brand by the Virgin Group, will be debuting in London. Slated to open in Shoreditch on August 1, Virgin Hotels London-Shoreditch will be part of a long-term agreement between Virgin Hotels and Reuben Brothers. The 120-key hotel will feature a Spanish restaurant in association with Chef Dani Garcia, a rooftop bar, pool, restaurant, private members club, gym and treatment rooms. This will be the eighth Virgin Hotels location and the 17th property for the wider Virgin Hotels Collection, following the announcement of a new hotel in Kenya and launches of hotels in Edinburgh and New York in 2023.
FIRST HOLIDAY INN -THE NIU OPENS IN GERMANY: IHG Hotels & Resorts and NOVUM Hospitality have opened Holiday Inn – the niu Cure, Erlangen, its first Holiday Inn – the niu hotel in Germany. This also marks the debut property of Holiday Inn’s collaboration with the niu. Located in Erlangen, the hotel features 177 rooms, along with an open lobby with co-working space, an onsite bar lounge area and a lobby shop. More than 50 hotels are expected to open as part of the Holiday Inn – the niu partnership, including in locations across Germany and as well as in Amsterdam and Haarlem in the Netherlands, Manchester in the U.K. and Vienna, Austria. IHG and NOVUM recently signed their first additional pipeline hotel for Holiday Inn – the niu, which is in addition to the first 52 signed under the brand collaboration in April. IHG’s portfolio in Germany currently consists of 96 open hotels.
SAGE HOSPITALITY TO MANAGE MERRIWEATHER LAKEHOUSE HOTEL: Sage Hospitality Group has signed an agreement IMH Columbia to manage Merriweather Lakehouse Hotel, Autograph Collection in Columbia, Md. Located along Lake Kittamaqundi and close to the Merriweather Post Pavilion, the hotel has 212 spa-inspired rooms, event space, a fitness center, a café, bar and lounge and a full-service restaurant. Sage will be in charge of the hotel’s operations as well as the dining venues. The hotel will join Sage’s Premier Collection.
EVERHOME SUITES OPENS IN KENTUCKY: Choice Hotels International has added to its extended-stay portfolio with a new Everhome Suites opening in Lexington, Ky. The four-story hotel, 114-key hotel is situated off I-64 in Lexington and serves the University of Kentucky market and the greater Lexington area. The pet-friendly hotel features a communal outdoor amenity area, 24×7 self-serving kiosk, fitness center and guest laundry facilities. With this opening, Everhome Suites now has four open properties, more than 60 in development, 20 under development and over 10 scheduled to open in 2025. Choice has more than 400 extended-stay properties under four brands in the pipeline.