A quick roundup of global hospitality news.
IHG SIGNS TWO HOTELS IN CAIRO: IHG Hotels & Resorts has strengthened its partnership with Arkan Pal for Real Estate Investment in Egypt to add two new-build hotels in Cairo — the 250-key InterContinental West Cairo 205 and the 140-key voco West Cairo 205 Suites. The hotels will be in 205 Arkan Palm Development, Arkan Palm, for Real Estate Investment’s new mixed-use development in West Cairo. Spanning 1 million square meters, the development will include offices, residential units, business parks, retail outlets, hospitals, a school and a Canal Walk Island featuring residential spaces and retail stores. The signing will add 390 rooms to IHG’s Egyptian portfolio. IHG has seven hotels operating under four brands in Egypt, with a pipeline of 13 hotels expected to open in the next two to five years.
ACCOR TO ADD THREE LUXURY HOTELS IN RIYADH: Accor has partnered with Erth Real Estate Co. to open three new hotels in Riyadh as part of a new mixed-use project. Erth Real Estate Co. is the developer and owner of the SAR4.2 billion ($1.11 billion) project in Al Yasmin District. The upcoming luxury hospitality community includes a 230-key Raffles hotel, a 60-villa MGallery resort and a 250-key Sofitel Serviced Residence. The properties are expected to open by 2027. The community will also include office and residential buildings and retail spaces built around a centrally-located garden space. Raffles Riyadh and Sofitel Extended Stay at Al Yasmin District will be housed within 34-story and 42-story glass towers. MGallery Resort Riyadh will be located in the Al Waseel district and consist of more luxury private resorts. Foster + Partners is the lead architect of the new luxury hotels. Currently, Accor operates 42 hotels totaling more than 16,000 rooms across Saudi Arabia, with a development pipeline of 34 properties which will add 7,000 rooms by 2027.
MAMA SHELTER TO OPEN IN FRANCE’S DIJON: Mama Shelter, part of Ennismore, will open its latest hotel in Dijon in France’s Burgundy region in July. The 120-room Mama Shelter Dijon is housed in a former health insurance office, a brutalist building from the 1960s, listed as a historic French building. The hotel includes a 202-seat restaurant on the ground floor, which opens onto two outdoor areas, a private 28-seat cinema, two karaoke bars, four meeting rooms and a petanque court. Available exclusively on property, Mama Shelter has produced its own mustard in partnership with Edmond Fallot, an independent, family-run company established in 1840.
INTERCONTINENTAL CHÂTEAU IN FRANCE: IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed InterContinental Chantilly – Château Mont Royal, the latest addition to its Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio in France. The historic 107-key château has been signed under a management agreement with Groupe BMF and Groupe PFH and it will be IHG’s third luxury property to open in France in the last five years, following InterContinental Lyon – Hotel Dieu in 2019 and Kimpton Paris St Honoré in 2021. Built-in the early 20th century, the hotel will feature two restaurants, a bar, a summer terrace, 11 meeting rooms, a gym, a sauna, an indoor pool, a tennis court, a jacuzzi and treatment rooms. Currently, InterContinental has 207 hotels open globally, with 90 in the pipeline. IHG has 64 hotels operating under nine brands across France and 19 more in the pipeline.