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The lobby of The Carlyle , A Rosewood Hotel in New York ’ s Upper East SIde .
COMING UP ROSES Some 13 years later , Rosewood , under the stewardship of the Cheng family and its scion / CEO , Sonia Cheng , have grown the portfolio to 33 hotels operating and a slew more on the way , including a prospective seven more hotels in Greater China and seven more in Europe , which includes the The Chancery Rosewood in London , slated to open in 2025 , and housed in the former U . S . Embassy on Grosvenor Square . Arora calls it an emblem of the Rosewood brand .
Rosewood is also opening hotels in destinations beyond what would be considered the norm . This year , it will open Rosewood Miyakojima in Japan , “ a destination that our clients would not normally have ever dreamed of ,” Arora said .
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He ’ s been along for the entire ride . The Cheng family recognized greatness in Arora by his successes in the U . S .— including the Beverly Wilshire , he had eight other hotels under his purview . The idea around Rosewood — and qualified in the company statement when it acquired the company — was to scale it up , but in a manner that still allowed it to retain its almost provincial charm .
Back in 2011 , Sonia Cheng , Arora remembered , referred to Rosewood as a gentle giant that needed to be awakened , a diamond in the rough that just needed some buffing . Arora refers to the 43-year-old Cheng as his “ fountain of youth ” and his best friend .
With a startup company mentality , the idea was to expand the brand globally , but
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in a manner where the culture was not bastardized . “ Each one of our properties is unique , distinct to its culture . That ’ s what Rosewood is ,” Arora said . Consider The Carlyle , one of New York ’ s famed hotels that shares the neighborhood with other celebrated hotels . Talk about unique : the hotel ’ s
Rosewood Munich is housed in two restored historic buildings — the former State Bank of Bavaria headquarters and the adjacent Palais Neuhaus-Preysing aristocratic residence .
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Bemelmans Bar features wall murals by Ludwig Bemelmans , the creator of the classic Madeline children ’ s books , while Woody Allen used to play clarinet with his jazz band on Monday nights in Café Carlyle . It ’ s even appeared in HBO ’ s “ Sex & The City .” Of the hotel , Arora said , “ When you create a property where you go to a city to the hotel versus for the city itself , you know you have a winner . It ’ s one of those properties where when you walk in you get goosebumps .”
The hotel recently finished off a decade-in-themaking renovation that was painstakingly deliberate and meticulous to preserve the hotel ’ s patina and continue its legacy . Arora said the older Rosewood properties , from The Caryle to Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas , act as signposts for the newer Rosewood properties to come .
Rosewood now has a handful of owned properties that Arora calls the linchpins , which , he says , act almost as showrooms . Now , the idea is to expand
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24 hotelsmag . com Mar / Apr 2024 |