Orient-Express Steams Into Sicily

Orient-Express Hotels has put pen to paper and signed a binding agreement to acquire two hotels in the coastal resort of Taormina on the island of Sicily, Italy, from Sicily-based Framon Hotel Group. Orient-Express will purchase the hotels in question, the 83-room Grand Hotel Timeo and the 78-room Hotel Villa Sant’Andrea, for a combined total of €81 million, and the company then plans to invest a further €11 million in a refurbishment of both properties. The hotels are expected to be operating under Orient-Express standards by summer 2010. Subject to completion conditions, the deal is expected to be concluded at the end of this month. Orient-Express currently has four properties in Italy but these hotels will mark its entry into the Sicilian market.

The Munamar Hotel In Turkey Sold

Al-Maselah Construction and Industry Company, which is owned by the Qatari royal family, has acquired the Munamar Hotel in the resort of Içlemer, near Marmaris, in southwest Turkey, for a figure reported to be more than US$15 million. The company now plans to restore the 180-room hotel and the work is expected to start at the end of this month.

A Park Inn For Lipetsk

Rezidor Hotel Group has announced a new Park Inn property for Russia this week. The 237-room Park Inn Lipetsk, which is being developed by Russian company Kuznetsky Most Development and is currently under construction, is expected to open in the city of Lipetsk, western Russia, in 2012. Rezidor currently has six Park Inn hotels in operation in Russia and a further 11 (including the Park Inn Lipetsk) are planned to open over the next couple of years.

Rhodes To Receive Its First Sheraton

The Greek island of Rhodes, in the Aegean Sea, was once the home of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of The Ancient World. However, this spring will bring a modern-day wonder to the island in the form of its first Sheraton-branded hotel: the 401-room Sheraton Rhodes Resort, which is scheduled to open on 1 April 2010. This property will bring Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ total portfolio in Greece up to eight.

A New Hotel For Finland

Construction company SVR Group is developing a mixed-use resort complex, which will include the 222-room Holiday Club Saimaa spa hotel, in the town of Lappeenranta, on Lake Saimaa, in southeast Finland. The hotel, which is owned by Saimaan Kylpyläkiinteistöt Oy, is expected to open in summer 2011. Investment in the project amounts to €44 million so far and SVR is to invest a further €3 million.

Lebanon’s First Four Seasons Now Open

After ten years of planning and five years of construction, the Four Seasons Beirut is now open in Lebanon’s capital. The 230-room hotel was developed for approximately US$146 million and it is Canada-based Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts' first property in Lebanon. The hotel has been developed by Prince Al-Waleed's Kingdom Hotel Investments and is one of nine Four Seasons properties owned by Kingdom (eight are operational and one is under development).

Swiss-Belhotel Number Two For Oman

Hong Kong-based Swiss-Belhotel opened its second property in the sultanate of Oman this week. The Swiss-Belhotel Resort Masirah Island opened with 20 rooms on Masirah Island, off Oman’s east coast.

Two Coral Hotels Spring Up In Sudan

Coral Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement with Sudanese Kuwaiti Hotels Co. Ltd which will see the Dubai-based company make its debut in Sudan, northeast Africa. Coral is to manage two existing hotels which have been rebranded: the 285-room Coral Khartoum, in the country’s capital, and the 114-room Coral Port Sudan, in the northeast of Sudan on the Red Sea. These hotels will bring Coral’s African portfolio up to three alongside the 137-room Coral International Cape Town, in South Africa.

The Nile Hotel, Cairo On Its Way To Becoming A Ritz-Carlton

The Nile Hotel, Cairo, in Egypt, which is owned by Misr Hotels, has shut its doors this month for a 30-month renovation and refurbishment. When the hotel reopens in 2012 it will have 327 rooms and a new name: the Nile Ritz-Carlton, Cairo. This will be Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company’s second property in Egypt along with the 321-room Ritz-Carlton, Sharm El Sheikh.

Gladen’s Tidings

After the closure of the Crowne Plaza Madrid City Centre five years ago, InterContinental Hotels Group’s Crowne Plaza brand is to return to the Spanish capital with the opening of a 124-room Crowne Plaza at Barajas Airport. Spanish company Hotusa Hotels finished 2009 with 467 new establishments. December 2009 saw a total of 22 new hotels open and the company now has a catalogue of 2,350 properties worldwide.

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week 7-14 January 2010

Rezidor Hotel Group - Share prices hit a year-high for the third time in one month.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) - Credit Suisse lifted IHG's share price target to 1,074p from 910p.

Whitbread - Shares fell despite Credit Suisse lifting the price target to 1,580p from 1,450p.

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