Originally Posted by
khabah
I live in Muscat, and we've got two Crowne Plazas here - one perched atop a cliff with possibly the best views over the city.
CP MCT deserves to carry a much better brand, especially given its location - why it isn't a Kimpton, Le Méridien or Sofitel is beyond me.
I completely agree with the analysis.
When I was in Muscat, I stayed at the InterContinental but had a walk to the Crowne Plaza, ... and took advantage of the pool.
It is clear that this hotel, after renovation, could become a superb Kimpton.
Still, it should be remembered on the one hand that IHG, like most of large hotel groups, has an asset light strategy: also, the renovation of hotels depends on the owners of the buildings, and is in fact subject to their conservatism.
On the other hand this analysis could be carried out for many other properties, which benefit from a prime location but a dated design : the old Crowne Plaza Shoreditch which has been transformed into the ACE hotel (which has unfortunately since closed), the former Holiday Inn San Francisco-Fishermans Wharf transformed into the Kimpton Alton Hotel Fisherman's Wharf.
The Crowne Plaza Paris République would, by its location, have been more judiciously transformed into a Kimpton.
The fact remains that we should not have a vision centered on the United States (as we can often observe it on Flyertalk), and in a certain way Europe or the Middle East: growth is currently taking place in Asia, and many properties opened in this region are definitely very good level, and certainly at the level of a JW Marriott and its direct competitors: