Already handed back 25 % of the rooms it had “ reserved ” for the Olympics starting July 27 , new hotels are still popping up . Recent high-profile openings have included the Belgraves , a Thompson Hotel that was formerly the Sheraton Belgravia , and coming up is the long-awaited Bulgari London in Knightsbridge . |
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signed and projects are at various stages of development for Chengdu , Hainan Island ( two ), Quindao , Suzhou , Tianjin and a second hotel in Hangzhou . In Japan , Kyoto and Okinawa are on the books . Although other groups are now tentatively dipping their proverbial toes into Myanmar , this destination |
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There will , however , be opportunities for conversions long after the Olympics are over . The Admiralty Arch , on the market for £ 75 million ( US $ 119 million ), could be a hotel — though operating it with The Mall running through it would not be easy . Designed by Sir Aston Webb at the behest of King Edward VII as a memorial to his mother , Queen Victoria , the seven-floor building opened in 1912 . There is also speculation as to what will happen to the existing U . S . Embassy when the Americans move to their new base in Nine Elms Wandsworth in 2017 . The current Embassy , designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen , opened in 1960 . It occupies one of the best sites in the whole of London , the entire west end of Grosvenor Square , Mayfair .
Singapore-based Chris Hart , president of Asia Pacific for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts , has territory that ranges east from India to Australia ( he “ gave ” Mauritius and the Seychelles , which he says are both leaders in their respective markets , back to his Geneva-based counterpart Antoine Corinthios , as he thought they would be better supported from the Middle East ). Hart ’ s region does still retain part of the Indian Ocean in the form of the Maldives , where he already has two resorts , but he would be interested in adding a third . In China , Hart has additional hotels in Beijing , Guangzhou and Shanghai Pudong that will open in the next 12 months , with Shenzhen soon to follow . There is more to come . Letters of intent have been
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is not yet on Hart ’ s list .
Also based in Singapore , Epikurean is a new sales and marketing company that is going after the highest-end customer possible . Its founders are Chief Executive Officer Andrés Fernandez plus Sandro Paolino and long-time Six Senses Hotels and Resorts ’ marketing and management loyalist TJ Grundl-Hong . Unlike Six Senses , however , Epikurean exudes a message of Champagne and luxury cars , and the trio is seeking more clients that similarly want to go after top-end retail consumers . Epikurean is so far looking after four hotels in Vietnam . In New Zealand , it has Terrace Downs Resort , Christchurch , and in Portugal , Alba Villas in Albufeira , Algarve .
There is little going on in Australia , partly because of excess supply in areas such as Melbourne and Sydney , and also the high cost of the Australian dollar . Country director for Hyatt Hotels Corp . Robert Dawson , who is also general manager of the Park Hyatt Melbourne , cites the prohibitive cost of construction in the country . However , one opportunity appears to be the growth of “ restaurants with rooms .” Jonah ’ s Restaurant and Boutique Hotel , high above Whale Beach and a 50- minute drive north of Sydney , is a case in point . Its high-profile chef and sommelier , El Bulli-trained Alfonso Alés and Christian Bäppler , attract business at both lunch and dinner and , partly because of Australia ’ s strict driving rules , the 11 bedrooms maintain near-full occupancy .
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