First managerial appointments for Dorsett City hotel announced

13 December 2016 by Janet Harmer

The £50m, 267-bedroom Dorsett City hotel, which is set to open in late April, has announced its first key managerial appointments.

Hilary Cross (pictured) has been appointed area general manager of the Dorsett City and sister property, the 317-bedroom Dorsett Shepherds Bush, having been the general manager of the latter hotel since its opening in 2014. Prior to joining the Hong Kong-based parent company, Dorsett Hospitality International, she was at the K West Hotel & Spa, London, as general manager, having previously been hotel manager at St Martin Lane, London.

Meanwhile, Declan Murphy and Mark Heyburn move on from Dorsett Shepherds Bush to become respectively area director of sales and marketing across the two hotels and hotel manager at Dorsett City. Prior to joining Dorsett, Murphy was sales and marketing director at Stoke Place in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, and Heyburn was rooms division manager at the Marylebone hotel, London.

Dorsett City, located in a 13-storey property formerly known as the Matrix next to Aldgate tube station, will feature two restaurants in partnership with Shikumen and Vingt-Quatre, a roof top bar and 1,600sqft of meeting space.

John Connolly, head of UK development for Dorsett Hospitality International, described the Matrix as a "landmark" building. "We are honoured and grateful to the local community and the City of London Corporation for granting us the approval to proceed with our re-development plan."

Winnie Chiu, president and executive director of Dorsett Hospitality International, added: "Major European countries, including the UK, are attracting an unprecedented number of Chinese arrivals and the opening of a second hotel in London will continue to capture this key market for Dorsett, in line with our ongoing business strategy."

Dorsett Hospitality International currently owns and manages 32 hotels in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and the United Kingdom, and has a further nine openings planned for the next two years. Room rates at the Dorsett City will start from £155.

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