Worldwide briefing
Essential news from around the world…
Mövenpick openings
Swiss hotel and restaurant group Mövenpick has annouced three new hotel developments. The first, with 240 bedrooms and three restaurants, will open in Morocco, Tangier, in the summer. The second, called the Mövenpick Ulysee Palace and Thalasso, in Djerba, Tunisia will open in the autumn with 264 bedrooms and three restaurants. The third will open in mid-2003 in Frankfurt with 250 bedrooms, 70 apartments for long-term guests, and two restaurants. Mövenpick currently has 41 hotels in eight countries.
SAS goes into Germany
Luxury hotel for Krakow
The Schlossle hotel group, the hotel subsidiary of the Ober-Haus Real Estate Company, is to open a 74-bedroom luxury hotel in Krakow, Poland. It has spent £1.26m on the purchase. Schlosse owns a portfolio of three luxury hotels in Eastern Europe and is planning a further two before the end of the year.
Hotel investment in Montenegro
The former Yugoslav region of Montenegro is looking for hotel operators to invest in its regeneration. Vladimir Mitrovic, the republic's minister of tourism, told the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin earlier this month that privitisation of the tourism industry is the key to its success. He said leading hotel brand operators will "create new, innovative resort and leisure offerings for visitors and citizens to enjoy through all four seasons."
Observatory sees stars
The Observatory hotel in Sydney, Australia, has been named as the country's best hotel in the latest international Zagat Survey. The book also named it as the 11th most luxurious in the world and the only Australian property in the top 100 hotels. The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences has also just made the Observatory the only Australian Hotel to receive its five star diamond award for the second time.