A quick roundup of global hospitality news.
KIMPTON TO OPEN IN MEXICO CITY: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, part of IHG Hotels & Resorts’ luxury & lifestyle portfolio, is set to open its first hotel in Mexico City. Slated to open this fall, Kimpton Virgilio will be located in Polanquito and will consist of 48 rooms, a signature restaurant and a rooftop bar with a pool. The rooms will feature yoga mats, bikes and a nightly social hour at the disposition. Erick Vargas has been appointed as the hotel’s general manager. The hotel is owned by ZKC, a real estate investment fund specializing in Mexico real estate developments. ZKC has partnered with VineTower Developments, LLC, Ambrosi Etchegaray and Arquitectura de Interiores to develop the hotel.
MOXY HOTELS LAUNCHES IN AUSTRALIA: Moxy Hotels has made its debut in Australia with the opening of Moxy Sydney Airport. Located in Mascot, a suburb in the Inner-South of Sydney, the new 301-room hotel is located 10 minutes from Sydney International Airport through Moxy’s pink airport shuttle bus. MAED. COLLECTIVE designed the hotel’s interiors, and local artist Elliott Routledge created a public art mural. The hotel’s lobby has been created as a multi-functional work and interactive social space and is centered around the bar. Amenities at the hotel include dining venues and five meeting studios for private events. Currently, Moxy Hotels has more than 125 properties open in 24 countries.
BOB W GROWS IN HELSINKI: Bob W, the tech-powered short-term rental operator, has expanded its footprint in Helsinki by adding the former Hotel Rivoli Jardin to its portfolio. The hotel will be rebranded to Bob W Kaarti. With this addition, Bob W will have 32 properties in 20 cities across nine European countries. The company already has three properties in Helsinki. Bob W Kaarti will cater to long-term and short-term stays and feature 55 rooms and kitchenettes, a social kitchen, a co-working space and a communal sauna. The hotel was acquired by real estate private equity partner Slatto and is now being leased to Bob W as its operator. Bob W has partnered with a local interior designer agency, Koko3 Helsinki, to work on the building’s refreshed interiors. The hotel is expected to open in 2024.
BOWIE HOUSE, AUBERGE RESORTS COLLECTION ACCEPTING RESERVATIONS: Bowie House, Auberge Resorts Collection, the new, luxury, urban hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, has started accepting reservations. The luxury resort will open on December 1. Architectural and interior company BOKA Powell has worked on the property’s design. The resort offers 88 studios, 12 lofts and six suites, with many rooms featuring open-air balconies. The resort includes multiple dining venues, a game room, a library, a spa and more than 10,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space for meetings and events. Auberge Resorts Collection’s portfolio includes 26 properties.
LWH ADDS FOUR MEMBER HOTELS: The Leading Hotels of the World has added four new member hotels to its collection of more than 400 independent luxury properties. The collection includes several recent hotel openings and major renovations. The newly added member hotels are The Adria in London (a 24-key 19th-century boutique townhouse in South Kensington); Azur Legacy Collection Hotel in Vancouver, Canada (a new, 104-room hotel in Art Deco styling); The Chedi Katara Hotel and Resort in Katara, Qatar (a 91-room beachfront hotel which opened in November 2022) and Aleenta Retreat in Chuang Mai, Thailand (a 44-room hotel which opened this April).