Rezidor set to finally open first Missoni-branded hotel
Rezidor Hotel Group will finally open the doors on the first hotel under its tie-up with fashion house Missoni, which has been four years in the planning, on June 8th.
The 136-room Edinburgh hotel, located on the corner of George IV Bridge and the Royal Mile near Edinburgh Castle, will be followed by a Missoni in Kuwait City in autumn this year, with other properties in Oman, Cape Town and Salvador in Brazil next year. The company is also in negotiations for hotels in Stockholm and Oslo.
Speaking to Caterersearch from Edinburgh, Rezidor chief executive Kurt Ritter proclaimed Missoni as "a totally new breed of hotel".
"I've seen so many of these hotels with grey, black and brown and minimalist- this is distinctive and colourful," he said. "As soon as you walk through the doors you know it's Missoni. I think it's fantastic."
Ritter, who first revealed the Missoni tie-up in 2005, admitted he had "miscalculated" the amount of time it would take to develop, but suggested that the fashion industry was a different beast to the hotel industry, with slower timescales. He also conceded that now was "not the right time" to be launching a luxury brand but that Rezidor wanted to see the project through.
Some observers have raised eyebrows at launching a fashion based hotel in Edinburgh rather than somewhere like Milan, but Ritter said economic realities prevailed.
"If we had waited for Milan or Paris to open up as a potential site we would still be waiting," he said. "If you look at Bulgari in Milan and Indonesia they opened five years ago and they haven't built any more since. I wanted to expand quickly- it's a contemporary brand."
Rezidor names managers for first Missoni hotels >>
Fashion House reveals hotel deal >>
Interview: Rezidor's Kurt Ritter >>
Rezidor plans launch of budget hotel brand >>
By Gemma Sharkey
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