Out of curiosity - which forthcoming luxury hotel opening are you most looking forward to?
In my case, it would probably have to be the Shangri-La London (http://www.shangri-la.com/london/shangri-la/en/) - they're taking over floors 34 to 52 of the new London Bridge Tower (a.k.a. the Shard). From what I've heard - and seen from their publicity materials - it looks like they're aiming to drop a top-end Asian (or, more specifically, Tokyo) hotel into the middle of London.
Even the faint possibility of a Park Hyatt Tokyo-ish property opening up just down the road ought to be enough to make a lot of London 'luxury' hotel managers lose a lot of sleep. I'm curious about the effect it will have on the local market - it's likely to inspire the competition to try rather harder (and might even persuade Four Seasons that yes, it really is time they renovated that - somewhat gruesome, to my taste, though I realize not to everyone's - Hymn To The Eighties property of theirs...).
My runner-up would have to be Amanresorts' Bankgkok property - just out of sheer curiosity, concerning how they plan to improve upon (and justify significantly higher rates than) the local competition of Oriental, Peninsula, Metropolitan etc...
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I am not sure if the opening of the RC and Pen Tokyo will shake things up too too much -- the bar is already high in Tokyo with service levels to match. It will be interesting though.....
For me, I am anxiously awaiting for a couple properties to open:
1. Four Seasons Florence -- from what I hear this will be one spectacular
property which might even overshadow its Milano
sister
2. Shangri-La Vancouver -- the arrival of the Shang, currently being built, will
likely shake things up in Vancouver. The FS is
supposed to renovate fairly soon (according to
Company insiders) which should spur some other
reno projects at the other top hotels.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luxury
.... The FS is supposed to renovate fairly soon ...
The FS YVR has been saying that for 20 years ... the physical plant is dismal and I was shocked to learn that FS owned this hotel for years (maybe still does; one of the very few properties that they actually own, how ironic that it is also the most run down ... I guess they know their business and what to invest in).
The (re) opening of the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. But I fear that the real design gems of the place are long gone... (for those with a diehard appreciation of such things, go to here and click on 'Nostalgic Photos'.)
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Hotel de Rome in Berlin just opened - and it rocks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Non-NonRev
I'm looking forward to the de Rome in Berlin, where I will be staying in a couple of weeks if my tentative plans hold. It will be good to have a secod Mitte property to ensure that Regent keeps their former FS property (only a couple of blocks away) at a top level. And it will be nice to be able to choose more modern decor.
Rocco Fortes Hotel de Rome in Berlin just opened.
Was there yesterday for some drinks in the bar and can say for sure:
Really, really impressive - by far better than the oldish Regent (Ex-Four Seasons) and the touristy Adlon!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by virtualtroy
The (re) opening of the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. But I fear that the real design gems of the place are long gone... (for those with a diehard appreciation of such things, go to here and click on 'Nostalgic Photos'.)
for sure the most anticipated must surely be
The revised Top 5
