FlyerTalker78341

For me, the new 7.5k bonus points promo seems like a good opportunity to book a few weekend breaks for the Spring. We do enjoy newish/recently updated hotels. So I'm wondering if you can recommend me some recently-opened or renovated Accor properties in Europe?

For the record, I did check the new hotel openings thread and it seems many hotels in there haven't opened just yet. I also check Accor's "Open yourself up to new horizons" promo (quadruple points for select new properties) semi-regularly. But from that, it seems the majority of Accor's recent openings in Europe are either ibis styles or Mercure hotels. But I'm more interested in Novotel and up.

tl;dr Looking for hotel recommendations for city/weekend trips in Europe. Newish properties from Novotel, Pullman, MGallery, Swissotel and Sofitel brands preferred. Destination-wise, we're open-minded.

Dav77

TPJ

My brother is Gold with Accor and was fairly impressed with Raffles in WAW. Was upgraded to junior suite. Great hard product. Soft product was OKsh. But as a brand new hotel employees are still in the learning process (I guess).

submonte

Sofitel Frankfurt Opera
(Frankfurt/Main, Germany)
Just stayed here two nights
Very chic new hotel, cool bar with good cocktails (Lili´s), restaurant with fine cuisine (Schönemann)
Hippest luxury hotel in Frankfurt, ultra centrally located
Gold: Room upgrade, one bar voucher per guest (e.g. glass of Veuve Clicquot), late check-out on request

Juntima

Going to Italy for 2 weeks, this would certainly come in handy. Thanks!

Dav77

Juntima

I certainly need advise regarding the trip. Thanks a lot for your offering. Might I pm you then?
Though Italy is definitely not a poor and bad country, otherwise I would not make an effort to fly to Europe only to visit this and only country

Dav77

JTCz

A new MGallery is set to open in Kraków, it should be a solid choice for luxury experience seekers. Raffles and Sofitel Warsaw have consistently been raking up good reviews, I actually believe the Sofitel is a better value for money, but the Raffles has a more exclusive air.

MGallery Budapest is another great value-for-money proposal, with exemplary service. Don't expect much in terms of views or gastronomy though, and forget the top-tier suite - the Blaha Lujza suite is much nicer.

Sofitel Vienna, recently upgraded to "SO", is a one-of-a-kind experience - even if you don't decide to splurge on staying there, go for lunch, dinner (reservations required with a solid headway!) or drinks at least. The Mercure Vienna Raphael has been completely refurbished recently and Platinum members can count on a terrace room of their choice, which is enough to put many Sofitels and Pullmans to shame both in terms of size, appointment and views (choose the theatre side!), and so is their breakfast. Prices are unexplicably low, so take advantage while you can. Not far away from Hauptbahnhof, so you can arrive by train from BUD and do a Habsburg tour (or from MUC, SZG or anyplace else in Central Europe), or take advantage of the new option of taking a long-distance train from the airport to Hbf if arriving by air.

Pullman Liverpool may be the last new Pullman added in Europe, and it is a solid conference hotel, and has a lounge, albeit a windowless one with very limited selection of complimentary foods or snacks. Rooms on Executive Floor are quite impressive and luxurious though, and the city itself is one of the "best-kept secret" destinations in Europe.

Pullman Brussels has had some recent renovations and still holds up well. It is a perfect base for weekend getaways - the Brussels one is literally AT the train station with trains departing to each and every destination in Belgium plus Paris and the big cities of Holland being within 2h on express trains.

I wouldn't necessarily consider Novotels to be above Mercures - the actual new ones (Mercures), not conversions, as well as majorly refurbishments to Accor-operated properties are a whole class above what you might expect. Apart from the abovementione Mercure Vienna Raphael, Mercure Kraków is a good example.

Goldorak

CanadaDH

The Fairmont in Istanbul is very new, which I think only opened just under 2 years ago. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the location, since it's more in the business/shopping district of the city and I prefer to be over on the Bosphorus, but the photos look very nice and it has gotten some very good reviews. Prices are very reasonable.

If you want to consider historic properties that have been renovated, but in a style that maintains their historic charm, my two favourites in Europe (that meet the criteria of being recently renovated) are the Savoy in London and Raffles Le Royal Monceau in Paris. Both offer fantastic locations. I stayed at the Savoy shortly after they reopened from their big renovation, and it was beautifully done, and I've been back a couple of times since. It's been a couple years since I stayed at Le Royal Monceau, but have been a number of times and never had a bad stay there. Both places are renovated, but they're certainly not modern.

wkndtraveler

Do have any experiences or recommendations on Accor hotels in Florence? Mercure and MGallery looks pretty fresh.

Dav77

lipsum

MGallery Florence is nice but not quite new or newly renovated. (The property is still in very good shape, though. I'd estimate the last renovation was 3-4 years ago.)

Novotel Wroclaw Centrum is freshly renovated. It's an above-average Novotel--I highly recommend it!

Dav77