It was. There's some funny history between Four Seasons and Regent since Four Seasons owned Regent between 1992 and 1998, and the hotels that were under development in the 90s and due to open as The Regent New York, The Regent Milan, The Regent Istanbul and The Regent Bali respectively became Four Seasons Hotel New York, Four Seasons Hotel Milan, Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet and Four Seasons Hotel Bali at Jimbaran Bay under FS's ownership. Carlson's hospitality division [now Radisson Hotel Group] acquired the rights to the Regent brand in 1998, but FS maintained their existing management of existing Regent properties. There's a bit more history thereafter but Regent was eventually sold to Formosa International Hotels [which owns the Regent Taipei], who owned the brand until IHG acquired it in 2018.

I remember reading that IHG will be very selective about developing Regent going forward, and aim to grow the brand to 40 hotels in the medium term. The possibility of converting high-end InterContinental properties to Regent hotels has been discussed, but they've only identified "three or four" properties that could make the cut - and that there are no plans to convert them at this point in time. I wonder if we'll see existing luxury hotels under Four Seasons, Belmond, Accor or Marriott make the switch over to Regent in the near future; I really hope that IHG nurtures Regent and is able to give it the gravitas and attention it deserves to flourish.

khabah