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The UK-based multinational hotel group has announced the signing of a franchise agreement with Westmont Hospitality Group and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., for a luxury hotel in the heart of Rome.
IHG has invested several million euros in the opening of L’InterContinental Rome, scheduled to open in 2022. This venture is encouraging for the Italian tourism sector in this difficult context. The luxury hotel will be located in the emblematic Via Veneto near Villa Borghese. The pre-existing establishment, which will be completely restored to become a must-see address in the luxury hotel sector, will include 160 rooms and suites, a restaurant, a bar and a spa.
Designed in the early 1900s by architect Carlo Busiri Vici in a neo-Renaissance style, the palace building was originally the residence of ambassadors staying in Rome, opening as a hotel in 1993.
Although the location is exceptional, its surroundings enhance its attractiveness. Located less than a kilometre from the Borghese Gallery, the Trinità dei Monti staircase and the Trevi Fountain, it offers a prime location. Moreover, it is easily accessible from the international airports of Ciampino and Fiumicino, and is less than ten minutes from the city’s main railway station.
IHG joins a strong consortium comprising the American Oaktree Fund, Westmont Hospitality Group, a strategic investment partner and operator, and UniCredit S.p.A., the project’s main lending bank. The project is owned by a new real estate investment fund managed by Milan-based Castello SGR, one of Italy’s leading property management companies.
“The confirmation by major international investors of their commitment to Italy, even in these difficult times, is a strong signal of the country’s continuing attractiveness as a cultural, tourist and business destination. UniCredit is a strategic partner for the development of large real estate projects and we are pleased to support this important initiative in a sector such as luxury hotels, which can be a driving force for the revival of tourism in Italy. “said Alfredo Maria De Falco, Deputy Director of CIB Italy at UniCredit.
Already present in Rome with its hotel chains, the group is setting up for the first time in the Eternal City with an InterContinental establishment as it did previously with InterContinental London – Park Lane, InterContinental Paris Le Grand and InterContinental Berlin.
This signature also marks an important step in the growth of InterContinental Hotels & Resort, which is already the world’s largest luxury hotel chain with 213 exceptional hotels, including 44 luxury establishments in Europe.
The group currently plans to open 17 new luxury establishments in Europe over the next 3-5 years.
Read also > HOW THE LUXURY HOTEL INDUSTRY IS ACCELERATING ITS DIGITAL REVOLUTION IN THE POST-COVID ERA ?
Featured photo : © Unsplash / Mauricio Artieda[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
