A quick roundup of global hospitality news.
MARRIOTT’S SECOND LUXURY SAFARI LODGE IN AFRICA: Marriott International has signed an agreement with Delaware Investment Ltd. to launch the JW Marriott luxury safari lodge in Serengeti, Tanzania. Scheduled to open in 2026, the lodge will be located within the Serengeti National Park, a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site. JW Marriott Serengeti Lodge will feature 30 private suites, including two presidential suites, each with their own swimming pool and a deck area. The property will also include dining venues and meeting areas. The property will mark the brand’s second luxury safari lodge in Africa, following the opening of the JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya earlier this year. Currently, Marriott operates more than 120 properties across Africa.
THE PENINSULA LONDON TO OPEN: The Peninsula has announced that its new hotel, The Peninsula London, will open on September 12. The newly-built hotel is located at the Hyde Park Corner-Wellington Arch junction. The hotel is owned and operated by The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd., the parent company of The Peninsula brand. The luxury hotel features 190 rooms and 25 luxury residences. The residential units center around an off-street courtyard with valet parking and an underground garage. The hotel includes several meeting and event areas, multiple dining options, a spa and wellness center and a retail arcade on the ground floor with nine luxury boutiques. The hotel’s interiors have been designed by Peter Marino.
HILTON SIGNS CURIO COLLECTION HOTEL IN NIGERIA:Â Hilton has signed Koko Beach Resort Ilashe Lagos, Curio Collection by Hilton. The resort will be developed in partnership with Outposts Investment Ltd. The resort will be located close to Snake Island. Expected to open in 2025, the resort will feature 60 rooms, including suites and three- to four-bedroom private villas with sea views and access to a private beach. The property will feature three dining venues, a lounge, a lobby coffee shop, an outdoor pool, a spa, a gym, meeting and event areas and horse stables with a 630-meter coastline. This will be the third Curio Collection property in Africa. Hilton presently operates two hotels in Nigeria and 43 across Africa, with 65 more in the pipeline.
APOLLO PALM OPENS IN ATHENS: Apollo Palm, a new boutique hotel, has opened in Athens. The 48-room hotel has a view of the Acropolis and is located in the Psyrri district of the city. The hotel’s architecture and interiors have been designed by Mariette Sans-Rival Studio, a Parisian design company led by Mariette Sans-Rival. Two 20th-century buildings were reimagined into the hotel. The hotel features public spaces, a patio wine bar and a rooftop cocktail bar with views of the Acropolis. A music venue and sound bar is expected to open soon.