IHG Hong Kong to Rerebrand to the Regent
Mar 16, 2018, 5:39 am
#16
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia, USA
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As the linked document above explains, Regent was a recognized luxury brand for quite awhile, acquired at one time by Four Seasons and then by Carlson as a hotel adjunct of its luxury Regent cruise line. Unfortunately the latest owners have allowed the brand to stagnate and it is good news that IHG intends to restore it to its former glory (hopefully).
Mar 16, 2018, 6:02 am
#17
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: BKK
Posts: 6,741
As the linked document above explains, Regent was a recognized luxury brand for quite awhile, acquired at one time by Four Seasons and then by Carlson as a hotel adjunct of its luxury Regent cruise line. Unfortunately the latest owners have allowed the brand to stagnate and it is good news that IHG intends to restore it to its former glory (hopefully).
Last edited by MikeFromTokyo; Mar 16, 2018 at 6:18 am
Mar 16, 2018, 1:03 pm
#18
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Under Regent, HK was often recognised as the best hotel in the world. Then IHG bought it ......
Anyone who thinks that buying 6 management contracts will buy IHG the experience to return HK to best hotel in the world is bonkers.
The words The Ritz-Carlton and Marriott spring to mind. RC was the equal of FS and MO pre Marriott.
Anyone who thinks that buying 6 management contracts will buy IHG the experience to return HK to best hotel in the world is bonkers.
The words The Ritz-Carlton and Marriott spring to mind. RC was the equal of FS and MO pre Marriott.
Mar 16, 2018, 3:13 pm
#20
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I love the view from this hotel. I've stayed on very high floors elsewhere (Ritz) and prefer being much closer to the water. The hotel has junior suites at the midpoint of the hotel where it Vs out to either side. I was enthralled by the panoramic view of the harbor from this room the one time I stayed here. I plan to return late this year, even knowing that the property is in need of renovation. I love a good view.
Mar 17, 2018, 9:33 am
#21
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Under Regent, HK was often recognised as the best hotel in the world. Then IHG bought it ......
Anyone who thinks that buying 6 management contracts will buy IHG the experience to return HK to best hotel in the world is bonkers.
The words The Ritz-Carlton and Marriott spring to mind. RC was the equal of FS and MO pre Marriott.
Anyone who thinks that buying 6 management contracts will buy IHG the experience to return HK to best hotel in the world is bonkers.
The words The Ritz-Carlton and Marriott spring to mind. RC was the equal of FS and MO pre Marriott.
The IHG acquisition of Regent is a good move by IHG to move into the luxury space. Rebranding the IC Hong Kong is a good move by IHG to better position the soon-to-be-renovated Hong Kong property in the luxury space in which it belongs. In time, IHG can open and renovate and rebrand other top IC and other properties and move them into the luxury space with Regent branding.
St Regis was a single New York City property until the 1999 acquisition by Starwood of the DC property and concomitant rebrand into the StR Washington, DC. In less than 20 years, the St Regis brand has become one of the best luxury brands in the world, now with over 40 properties worldwide and with another 2 dozen in the pipeline. And many St Regis properties compete head to head with FS, including in Bora Bora, San Francisco, Punta Mita, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Florence, Mexico City, Beijing, Bangkok, etc. There’s no reason that IHG can’t accomplish the same with Regent.
I also don't believe that anyone thinks the new Regent Hong Kong will be the best in the world. But it may have one of the best views in the world.
Last edited by bhrubin; Mar 17, 2018 at 11:36 am
Mar 17, 2018, 11:32 am
#22
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,298
The Regent Hotels were in many ways the precursor to Amanresorts .
The aura , the style , the understated , effortless grace of Regent , to be precise , The Regent Hong Kong , really was , for me , the definitive modern day Luxury hotel. The “minimalist” design and the wow factor of the HK Regent resonates with me still - a Dale Keller masterpiece with his “young” design team of Chada Siembeda ,Ed Tuttle , HL Lim etc .
It wasn’t expensively fitted out throughout ,but it was good where it mattered. The detail , the clarity of the space esp the lobby, was overwhelming and breathtaking. The tall expanse of frameless glass that framed HK island opposite was a master stroke of design and architectural masterpiece.
My biggest gripe was that the floor to ceiling of the rooms were too low .
The service was second to none esp at the coffee house downstairs with top notch service yet to be matched.
The Chinese restaurant was almost perfect in every way . Steakhouse. Ok .
Good Memories indeed.
Regent expanded furiously in the late 70s/80s , in addition to those on the list - see above link , I remember there were Regents in Manila , Okinawa, Tokyo Bay ,Beijing Diaoyutai , no less , Jakarta. - Sydney Auckland Melbourne . Alberquerque , Puerto Rico dorado beach ,Washington DC and if I am not mistaken , Guam also Istanbul , Milan but opened as FS instead
My biggest question for a while now - was the Regent in Hawaii the Hawaiian Regent or the Halekulani ?
i collected many Regent brochures but can’t remember where I kept them !
of course the original Regent HK was owned by New World group , now owners of Rosewood Hotels. And the new Rosewood Hotel HK , on site of the old New World , will tower over the new Regent .
iHC has bought itself something like the Ritz Hotels ( ie original Ritz ) in Regent , with all its history and DNA , hope they can revive Regent without going the obvious commercial route - am looking forward to the old Regent Aura being brought back.
The aura , the style , the understated , effortless grace of Regent , to be precise , The Regent Hong Kong , really was , for me , the definitive modern day Luxury hotel. The “minimalist” design and the wow factor of the HK Regent resonates with me still - a Dale Keller masterpiece with his “young” design team of Chada Siembeda ,Ed Tuttle , HL Lim etc .
It wasn’t expensively fitted out throughout ,but it was good where it mattered. The detail , the clarity of the space esp the lobby, was overwhelming and breathtaking. The tall expanse of frameless glass that framed HK island opposite was a master stroke of design and architectural masterpiece.
My biggest gripe was that the floor to ceiling of the rooms were too low .
The service was second to none esp at the coffee house downstairs with top notch service yet to be matched.
The Chinese restaurant was almost perfect in every way . Steakhouse. Ok .
Good Memories indeed.
Regent expanded furiously in the late 70s/80s , in addition to those on the list - see above link , I remember there were Regents in Manila , Okinawa, Tokyo Bay ,Beijing Diaoyutai , no less , Jakarta. - Sydney Auckland Melbourne . Alberquerque , Puerto Rico dorado beach ,Washington DC and if I am not mistaken , Guam also Istanbul , Milan but opened as FS instead
My biggest question for a while now - was the Regent in Hawaii the Hawaiian Regent or the Halekulani ?
i collected many Regent brochures but can’t remember where I kept them !
of course the original Regent HK was owned by New World group , now owners of Rosewood Hotels. And the new Rosewood Hotel HK , on site of the old New World , will tower over the new Regent .
iHC has bought itself something like the Ritz Hotels ( ie original Ritz ) in Regent , with all its history and DNA , hope they can revive Regent without going the obvious commercial route - am looking forward to the old Regent Aura being brought back.
Last edited by bearbrick; Mar 17, 2018 at 1:55 pm
Mar 17, 2018, 10:35 pm
#23
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Location: New York, NY
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I think your historical perspective is a bit skewed and inaccurate. I never thought of RC as the equal of FS or MO before Marriott acquired RC. In fact, RC properties and styles were almost always too old, too traditional, too Old World in comparison...until Marriott acquired RC. The Marriott acquisition brought fresh perspective and new and modern design and style approach to RC that now has its newer properties much more competitive with the best of FS and the like.
I agree more recently - since the new HKG property, Ritz-Carlton is coming out with a lot of very nice new hotels - however there was a point where RCs in SIN, SYD, HKG (the 1st one), Pasadena, SFO, TXL, DPS, Battery Park, PSP and a number of others were really top of the market.
On the other hand, MO always had top properties in HKG and BKK - but it wasn't until the last 15 years with their second NY hotel - Time Warner Center, TYO, PAR, MXP, etc they have really gone to the top of the market. SIN, GVA (although it has been renovated), CGK, MFM (the old one), SFO (now a Loews) all were more near 5 star - nothing to write home about - and in the case of MFM possibly 4 star. The Excelsior is definitely 4 stars or less although I don't think they considered it part of the group although they offer it on their website.
The Regent Hotels were in many ways the precursor to Amanresorts .
The aura , the style , the understated , effortless grace of Regent , to be precise , The Regent Hong Kong , really was , for me , the definitive modern day Luxury hotel. The “minimalist” design and the wow factor of the HK Regent resonates with me still - a Dale Keller masterpiece with his “young” design team of Chada Siembeda ,Ed Tuttle , HL Lim etc .
It wasn’t expensively fitted out throughout ,but it was good where it mattered. The detail , the clarity of the space esp the lobby, was overwhelming and breathtaking. The tall expanse of frameless glass that framed HK island opposite was a master stroke of design and architectural masterpiece.
My biggest gripe was that the floor to ceiling of the rooms were too low .
The service was second to none esp at the coffee house downstairs with top notch service yet to be matched.
The Chinese restaurant was almost perfect in every way . Steakhouse. Ok .
Good Memories indeed.
Regent expanded furiously in the late 70s/80s , in addition to those on the list - see above link , I remember there were Regents in Manila , Okinawa, Tokyo Bay ,Beijing Diaoyutai , no less , Jakarta. - Sydney Auckland Melbourne . Alberquerque , Puerto Rico dorado beach ,Washington DC and if I am not mistaken , Guam also Istanbul , Milan but opened as FS instead
My biggest question for a while now - was the Regent in Hawaii the Hawaiian Regent or the Halekulani ?
i collected many Regent brochures but can’t remember where I kept them !
of course the original Regent HK was owned by New World group , now owners of Rosewood Hotels. And the new Rosewood Hotel HK , on site of the old New World , will tower over the new Regent .
iHC has bought itself something like the Ritz Hotels ( ie original Ritz ) in Regent , with all its history and DNA , hope they can revive Regent without going the obvious commercial route - am looking forward to the old Regent Aura being brought back.
The aura , the style , the understated , effortless grace of Regent , to be precise , The Regent Hong Kong , really was , for me , the definitive modern day Luxury hotel. The “minimalist” design and the wow factor of the HK Regent resonates with me still - a Dale Keller masterpiece with his “young” design team of Chada Siembeda ,Ed Tuttle , HL Lim etc .
It wasn’t expensively fitted out throughout ,but it was good where it mattered. The detail , the clarity of the space esp the lobby, was overwhelming and breathtaking. The tall expanse of frameless glass that framed HK island opposite was a master stroke of design and architectural masterpiece.
My biggest gripe was that the floor to ceiling of the rooms were too low .
The service was second to none esp at the coffee house downstairs with top notch service yet to be matched.
The Chinese restaurant was almost perfect in every way . Steakhouse. Ok .
Good Memories indeed.
Regent expanded furiously in the late 70s/80s , in addition to those on the list - see above link , I remember there were Regents in Manila , Okinawa, Tokyo Bay ,Beijing Diaoyutai , no less , Jakarta. - Sydney Auckland Melbourne . Alberquerque , Puerto Rico dorado beach ,Washington DC and if I am not mistaken , Guam also Istanbul , Milan but opened as FS instead
My biggest question for a while now - was the Regent in Hawaii the Hawaiian Regent or the Halekulani ?
i collected many Regent brochures but can’t remember where I kept them !
of course the original Regent HK was owned by New World group , now owners of Rosewood Hotels. And the new Rosewood Hotel HK , on site of the old New World , will tower over the new Regent .
iHC has bought itself something like the Ritz Hotels ( ie original Ritz ) in Regent , with all its history and DNA , hope they can revive Regent without going the obvious commercial route - am looking forward to the old Regent Aura being brought back.
Marriott Waikiki is the former Regent I believe
FS on 57th street was also supposed to be a Regent per Forbes -- also some more Regent history in the article.
Of the three Regent founders - one started Aman and another started a luxury hotel group that Mandarin bought.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/douggol.../#7ecdf31e63c8
Mar 19, 2018, 4:26 pm
#28
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: MEL
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Posts: 689
I totally agree. I stayed there in a fabulous Harbour View Room back in 1991 en route to Koror in Palau. The lobby was incredibly buzzy, the view from the glass wall was possibly the best of any city hotel anywhere in the world. Food was wonderful, service telepathic. Only the pool let the side down a bit as it never got the sun. We went back to dine there a few years ago and it seemed to be full of tour groups. Glad to hear about the renovation and upgrade.
Regent was a class act and somehow morphed into Four Seasons. I also stayed at the Regent hotels in Bangkok, Singapore and Sydney.
Regent was a class act and somehow morphed into Four Seasons. I also stayed at the Regent hotels in Bangkok, Singapore and Sydney.
Mar 26, 2018, 8:43 am
#29
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Here there and everywhere
Posts: 6,303
The Regent Hong Kong was incredible. I still think it has the best views in Hong Kong - at least IMHO and for me personally. . It's not up high like the Pen, but it is " in your face" gorgeous harbor views. Although I prefer staying on Hong Kong island - a hangover from going there so often for business for years - I do think the harbor views from Kowloon back to Hong Kong island are the best. The Pen views are terrific but for me personally I really really love the views from the ex and soon to be again Regent. I stayed there once when it switched to the Intercontinental and it was quite a notch lower in terms of service and the lobby was full of tour groups checking in. I have great memories staying at the old "Regent" branded hotel and if and when they make the transition and it goes back to the way it was, I'd stay there again. Still love the Chinese restaurant there and always make the trip across the harbor to eat lunch or dinner there when in Hong Kong!
Thank you for sharing this good news! Glad they are renovating!
As I recall the Regent in Bangkok was what became the Four Seasons and now is the Anatara? I think? Always stayed at the MO but remember having dinner there and I think it was originally the Regent. Please correct me if wrong!
Thank you for sharing this good news! Glad they are renovating!
As I recall the Regent in Bangkok was what became the Four Seasons and now is the Anatara? I think? Always stayed at the MO but remember having dinner there and I think it was originally the Regent. Please correct me if wrong!
