Pestana Hotels and Resorts set to make UK debut

Portuguese hotel group Pestana Hotels and Resorts is set to make its UK debut this year.

The company will launch its first UK hotel in London in March.

The four-star Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel and Spa will offer 216 bedrooms and 1,500sq m of banqueting and meeting space spread over two levels.

Pestana first acquired the property, located near Battersea Park in south west London, for €45m (£40.2m) in 2006.

The hotel, which was initially scheduledto open in 2008, will feature four meeting rooms, accommodating between 18-160 delegates, as well as banquet facilities catering for up to 600 guests.

Leisure facilities will include a spa with treatments room and a fitness centre with heated indoor swimming pool, as well as restaurants and a bar.

Dr Dionisio Pestana, founder and owner of the Pestana Group, said: “Our goal in London is to combine the requirement of world-class business efficiency with a leisure and lifestyle component. 

“Combined with an excellent London location we aim to provide a truly unique option for our future guests.”

The Pestana group is the biggest hotel group in Portugal with more than 30 four- and five-star owned and managed hotels. It also has properties in Argentina, Brazil, Mozambique, South Africa, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe.

The hotel is the third to launch in the Battersea area, after Von Essen’s Verta and the eco-friendly Hotel Raffayel.

By Kerstin Kühn

E-mail your comments to Kerstin Kühn here.

If you have something to say on this story or anything else join the debate at Table Talk - Caterer's new networking forum. Go to www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk

Caterersearch.com jobs
Looking for a new job? Find your next hotel job here with Caterersearch.com jobs