IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hospitality companies, has announced the European debut of its newest luxury brand Vignette Collection, in a landmark multi-property deal with JJW Hotels & Resorts. All three Vignette Collection properties are expected to open this year.
Grand Hotel Wien, Vienna, Austria, first opened in 1870, is located just minutes from the Vienna State Opera. Penina Resort & Golf, Algarve, Portugal, coined the ‘Grandfather of Golf Courses’ in the Algarve, is due to undergo refurbishment. Dona Filipa Hotel, Algarve, Portugal was first opened on Valentine’s Day 1968, the same day as the wedding between Dona Filipa and John I of Portugal. It will also undergo refurbishment and is due to open as a Vignette Collection property this year.
The brand Vignette Collection was announced by IHG at the end of August last year (2021). “It is our Covid baby that we delivered this year,” Jane Mackie, SVP, Luxury & Premium Brands at IHG, said at a briefing at ITLM Cannes. “We are so proud that within months of its announcement, the first hotel is already trading under the Vignette Collection brand. Hotel X, a five-star hotel, dining and lifestyle destination in the centre of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, Australia, is the first Vignette Collection property to come online.”
Tom Rowntree, Vice President, Global Luxury Brands at IHG, took us on a quick trip from the group’s youngest brand to an icon that just celebrated its 75th anniversary. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts will be debuting InterContinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace this year (alongside Six Senses Rome, also opening this year), InterContinental Sorrento Mornington Peninsula in Australia and InterContinental Ras Al Khaimah Resort & Spa in the UAE.
“Regent Hotels and Resorts, a brand acquired in 2018 by IHG, opened its first reflagged property Regent Shanghai in China right in the middle of the pandemic. In the first quarter of 2022, Regent Phu Quoc will open in the southern highlands of Vietnam, followed by Regent Bali well into the future,” said Rowntree.
Neil Jacobs, CEO, Six Senses Hotels, Resorts & Spas, an iconic luxury hospitality brand acquired by IHG Hotels & Resorts in early 2019, was also on hand to share development updates.
“In September 2022, we anticipate the opening of Six Senses Rome in the centre of ancient Rome, blocks away from the Fontana di Trevi and Pantheon. With Via del Corso converted to a semi-pedestrian area, Six Senses Rome will welcome guests on Piazza di San Marcello.
“Right at the end of the year, we will be opening in Switzerland – Six Senses Crans-Montana – one of the most prominent areas in the canton of Valais and just two hours from Geneva. This will have 47 guestrooms but also some Six Senses Residences for sale.
“We have a second property coming up in the Maldives. We have taken it over already and embarked on a yearlong transformation and upgrade on Kanuhura. When it adopts the Six Senses brand and opens in late 2022, the resort will offer 80 private overwater, beach and spacious family villas offering sunset or sunrise views.
“We will be opening one of a few projects in Saudi Arabia this year: Six Senses Southern Dunes, The Red Sea.
“The last project for 2022 is Morocco. We have restored two kasbahs (fortified residences) and soon to start on a third one in the southern part of the country, south of Ouarzazate. We're now looking for a property in Marrakech to act as a hub,” said Jacobs.
Further down the line, Six Senses plans to open in New York in 2023, Kyoto in 2024, Lisbon in 2024-2025 and Belize in 2025.