Ouvertures d’hôtels

🌮 Big Mamma Group's Barbarella opens in June in Canary Wharf's YY Building, London. It's the group's sixth London restaurant, following Carlotta's opening two years prior. Barbarella offers a 1970s Italian cinema-themed dining experience, featuring mirrored ceilings, velvet walls, and an open golden kitchen. Chef Marco Rastelli leads the kitchen, with distinctive offerings like one-meter-long spaghettoni.

🏨 Meliá Hotels International and Summum Hotel Group partnered to transform Etuu Begur into the luxury Meliá Begur, set to open in 2026. Located in Begur’s old town, Girona, close to Mediterranean beaches, the renovated hotel will expand from 42 to 65 rooms. It will feature dining options, a pool, a spa, a gym, and meeting rooms, targeting leisure and business travelers. The project reflects Meliá's commitment to managing hotels in unique destinations.

🏦 MGallery expanded its Athens presence with the launch of Athens Capital Suites, adding an exclusive wing with 19 high-end suites and a presidential suite to the existing 177 rooms and suites of the Athens Capital Hotel – MGallery Collection. Located in a peaceful pedestrian street in the city center, these suites offer refined refuge close to the Hellenic Parliament and Syntagma Square, featuring modernist inspirations, local architectural references, high ceilings, large windows, white marble, contemporary furniture, and art. The suites come in eight unique configurations, some with kitchenettes, private balconies or terraces, including a two-story presidential suite with a rooftop offering panoramic city views. Guests enjoy in-room gourmet breakfast, personalized playlists, signature welcome cocktails, access to a fitness center, a wellness area with hammam, and an executive lounge.

🏨 Signo Hospitality GmbH inaugurated the new Hampton by Hilton hotel in Potsdam-Babelsberg, set to open in Q2 2025. Managed by Sascha Konter, the hotel features 168 rooms, a restaurant, bar, lounge, conference room, fitness area, and parking on a 7,000 sqm site. Located near BER airport and Berlin's central station, it's poised for both business and leisure travelers, aiming for high comfort at fair prices. The hotel is close to the world's oldest large-scale film studio and Europe's largest studio complex.

🏢 In 2024, Hyatt Hotels Corporation sealed deals for 21 new establishments in India and Southwest Asia, with plans for seven openings in 2025 across India (Ghaziabad, Kasauli, Kochi, Bhopal, Vithalapur, Jaipur) and Nepal (Butwal). The expansion targets dynamic business centers, emerging leisure destinations, and major pilgrimage sites. Sunjae Sharma, Managing Director India & Southwest Asia, highlighted the year as pivotal with growing demand for authentic, wellness, and lifestyle hotel experiences. Hyatt's growth includes entry into key economic hubs like GIFT City, Greater Noida, Mumbai, Bangalore, and cultural and natural locales such as Vrindavan, Kumbhalgarh, Katra, Jim Corbett National Park, Pushkar, plus the launch of the 'Destination by Hyatt' brand in India.

🏨 The Grand Hyatt Miami Beach, an 800-room hotel, secures $392 million in financing for construction near Miami Beach Convention Center. Developed by Terra and Turnberry, the 17-story project at 17th Street and Convention Center Drive is set for completion by end of 2027. TYKO Capital, with Elliott Investment Management support, funds the project which includes 12 floors of rooms with 52 suites, four event spaces, a signature restaurant, lounge bar, and rooftop pool terrace. A climate-controlled bridge will connect to the convention center, with architecture by Bernardo Fort-Brescia of Arquitectonica.

🏥 Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Tunisia's only Leading Hotels of the World, La Badira, inaugurated the Leïla Menchari suite today. Menchari, famous for her design work at Hermès' main store, received a dedicated exhibition at the Grand Palais in 2017. The 160 m² suite features a private pool, unique aesthetic with noble materials, vibrant colors, and Tunisian craftsmanship, reflecting Menchari's iconic style and Mediterranean views.

🏡 Accor and Sukhani Ventures are introducing the luxury brands Raffles Hotels & Resorts and Sofitel Legend to Rajasthan, India. Raffles Ranthambore, a 63-villa ultra-luxury resort, will open mid-2027 in Ranthambore National Park. Sofitel Legend Sukh Bagh Jaipur, with over 300 rooms, will welcome guests by the end of 2028 in Kukas Amer, Jaipur. These iconic destinations aim to attract families, adventurers, and wildlife enthusiasts.

🦛 In Spring 2023, the Zoo de La Boissière-du-Doré, near Nantes in Loire-Atlantique, reopened its eight lodges. Visitors can enjoy an immersive experience among giraffes, rhinoceroses, and zebras across the 5-hectare Rhino Plain and the 3-hectare Giraffe Plain. The zoo, spanning 28 hectares, welcomed two bear cubs in January and recently expanded the wolf habitat tenfold to 1.5 hectares for its nine Canadian and Alaskan wolves.

🏨 The Hôtel Saint-Christophe, an iconic Aix-en-Provence institution, is set to reopen in the summer of 2025. Located near Cours Mirabeau, the hotel is undergoing a complete transformation to offer a modern and inspiring new identity while preserving its Provençal soul. The renovated urban bastide is introducing a "countryside in the city" hospitality concept with natural materials, soothing light, and simple lines. The Groupe Dimacco is spearheading the project, focusing on reviving exceptional places and infusing the historic hotel with a new yet authentic spirit, as stated by General Manager Céline Germain.