Orient Express hotels to expand in the Americas and other international hotel news

Orient Express hotels to expand in the Americas
Orient Express Hotels has signed a partnership deal with a US property company to develop hotels in Miami, Colombia and Panama. The deal includes a hotel with 28 luxury residences in South Beach Miami, an oceanfront hotel in Cartagena, Colombia, and a hotel in Panama City as part of a waterfront development. Each of the hotels will be managed by Orient Express Hotels, in partnership with The Related Group.

Langham Hotels goes outside Asia for first time
Langham Hotels International (LHI) has signed a new management agreement which takes its sister brand Langham Place outside of Asia. The luxury hotel operator will manage the five-star boutique Vineyard Resort and Spa on Waiheke Island, off New Zealand under a deal with Isola Estate. Set to opening 2010, the resort will feature 78 rooms and suites, a spa, gym, tennis courts, a restaurant and meeting and banqueting facilities. LHI is the subsidiary of the Hong Kong based Great Eagle Holdings and features 15 properties across 11 cities worldwide.

Waldorf Astoria to build hotel in Canada
The Waldorf Astoria Collection, a luxury brand of Hilton Hotels, has signed an agreement to build a hotel in Montreal, Canada. The £100m project with Monit Investments is to include a 250-room hotel and 76 condominiums. The 32-storey Waldorf Astoria Montreal will feature signature restaurants, bars, luxury spa and a fitness centre. The project will be in addition to a proposed hotel in Sarosota, the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando and Beverley Hills.

Launch of the Four Seasons hotel in Bangalore, India
Goldman Sachs is investing £80m in a joint venture with Dubai developer ETA to launch a Four Seasons hotel in Bangalore. The investment firm is expected to hold a majority stake of up to 76% and will be financing the bulk of the project through a combination of equity and debt. Four Seasons recently opened the 202-bedroom hotel in South Mumbai and is working on projects in Guragon, Hyderabad and Kerala. It is also looking to set up a resort in Goa.

By Gemma Sharkey

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