PREFERRED HOTELS ADDS SIX PROPERTIES: Preferred Hotels & Resorts added six new member properties to its global portfolio between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2022. The 49-room Borgobrufa Spa Resort in Umbria, Italy; the 106-room Castlemartyr Resort in Cork, Ireland; the 222-room Virgin Hotels Edinburgh in Scotland, the U.K.; the 196-room Galeria Plaza Monterrey in Nuevo León, Mexico; the 50-room sly Berlin in Berlin, Germany; and the 646-key The Elser Hotel & Residences in Florida. The Borgobrufa Spa Resort and Virgin Hotels Edinburgh are part of the L.V.X. Collection, while Castlemartyr Resort is an L.V.X. Collection and Preferred Residences-branded property. Galeria Plaza Monterrey, sly Berlin and The Elser Hotel & Residences are Lifestyle Collection-branded hotels.
IHG SIGNS RESORT IN DOMINICA: IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a new InterContinental Hotels & Resorts hotel in Dominica. The InterContinental Dominica Cabrits Resort & Spa will open this spring after a conversion and renovation of an existing resort. This will be the brand’s third Caribbean resort hotel. Located along Douglas Bay, the 151-room property will include four outdoor pools, a spa, a fitness center, four restaurants and beach access. The hotel will also feature 8,500 square feet of meeting space and an onsite business center. IHG will lead the property’s renovations, along with the owner, Range Developments, which is also developing two IHG-branded resorts in Grenada.
LVMH HOSPITALITY SIGNS IN ITALY: Sardegna Resorts S.r.l., a Smeralda Holding Co. wholly owned by Qatar Investment Authority, has signed agreements with LVMH Hospitality Excellence to manage two hotels in Costa Smeralda, the consortium in Sardinia in Italy. Sardegna Resorts will keep ownership of the hotels and their business. LVMH Hospitality Excellence is part of the LVMH Mot Hennessy — Louis Vuitton luxury group. The Hotel Romazzino will be managed by Belmond and open in 2024 as the Romazzino, A Belmond Hotel, Costa Smeralda. Cheval Blanc will operate Hotel Pitrizza, which will continue to operate under the same name until 2026. After the renovations are completed, the hotel will be renamed Cheval Blanc Pitrizza, Costa Smeralda. These agreements are part of the Smeralda Holding Group’s strategy to improve Costa Smeralda, launched in 2017. Architects Luigi Vietti and Michele Busiri Vici designed both hotels in the 1960s.
CHARLESTOWNE HOTELS ACHIEVES MILESTONE: Charleston, S.C.-based Charlestowne Hotels closed 2022 with several additions to its portfolio and a new leadership structure. The company grew its presence to three new markets — Connecticut, California and Maine. Charlestowne achieved a milestone in its 40-year history and recorded its second consecutive banner year. Improving against 2021, Charlestowne posted a RevPAR increase of 20% across its portfolio. Its RevPAR is up 26% to 2019, more than double the national average (8.1%) over the same time. Through 2022, the company opened or took over six hotels and five corresponding dining venues and has announced two new developments for this year. Charlestowne completed the last phase of its corporate team’s realignment plan, hiring 19 people and creating a new leadership structure.
IHCL ADDS GINGER IN INDIA: Mumbai-based Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. (IHCL) has signed its fourth hotel under the Ginger brand in Kochi, Kerala. With this, IHCL now has six hotels under its brands in the city. IHCL has partnered with Hotel Pearl Dunes Pvt. Ltd for the hotel, a fully fitted lease. The 73-room hotel includes an all-day dinner, a banquet hall, a pool and a fitness center. With the addition of this property, IHCL will have 16 hotels in Kerala, with four under development.