Rezidor signs management agreement for Pribaltiyskaya hotel
Rezidor Hotel Group has signed a management agreement for the Pribaltiyskaya hotel in St. Petersburg in Russia. The 1200-room hotel will undergo extensive refurbishment and will be run under mid-market hotel brand Park Inn from January 2007. The property features meeting and conference facilities for up to 1,000 delegates as well as two restaurants, several bars and a wellness centre. It marks the third Rezidor property in St. Petersburg next to the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel and the Park Inn Pulkovskaya and brings the total number of rooms operated by the group in the city to more than 2,000.

Kimpton opens first Texan hotel
Boutique and lifestyle hotel group Kimpton Hotels has opened its first property in Dallas, Texas in the USA. The 198-room hotel Palomar, which was previously called Mockingbird Hilton, underwent a $100m (£50m) refurbishment and now features a new spa and restaurant. It also includes meeting facilities and features a range of original art work. Development plans include a new nine-storey tower south of the hotel with 72 residential units, luxury penthouse condominiums and 25,000sq ft of ground floor retail space due to be completed later this month.

Hilton and DLF in India to join forces
Hilton Hotels Corporation said it plans to launch a joint venture company with DLF in India to develop and own 75 hotels and serviced apartments over the next seven years. The jointly-owned hotels will represent several brands from Hilton Hotels Corporation's portfolio, including Hilton Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hilton Residences. While Hilton will manage these properties, the joint venture company will develop and build them. The initial stage of the joint venture will involve 20 hotels in a number of key locations such as Chandigarh, Chennai, and Kolkata, with the majority of them properties likely to be operated under the Hilton Garden Inns brand.

Virgin Holidays awards Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa
Virgin Holidays has given Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa a silver award in recognition of its high service standards. The resort took Silver in the Best Family Hotel category of the tour operator’s awards. Ian Kerr, managing director of Sunset Resorts the parent company that owns the 730-room Jamaican site said the company was thrilled to receive the accolade and thanked the resort’s staff for their efforts in making families welcome.

InterContinental and Lane Hospitality to collaborate
InterContinental Hotels Group and real estate and management company Lane Hospitality have revealed plans to collaborate on a new Crowne Plaza prototype. InterContinental helps the new design will be more attractive to developers – as it will offer greater flexibility in the physical size of the hotel required to house the four-star brand – as well as to its core business customers. One shift will be the move away from formal meeting spaces. Although retained for those that need them, the new look Crowne Plazas will be equipped to cater for informal meetings throughout the building, with Wi-Fi, soft seating and power outlets throughout its lounge and lobby. The first of the new breed of Crowne Plaza will open in Milwaukee in 2008.

By Kerstin Kühn

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