Brookfield to List The Leela Palaces

Accor said they are expanding their network of Brisbane hotels with the addition of Mercure Brisbane Spring Hill in the heart of the River City. Accor now operates the former Pacific Hotel Brisbane, under a hotel management agreement. The 179-room Mercure Brisbane Spring Hill will undergo a makeover to bring it in line with Mercure’s global brand standards with the new look property set to be unveiled later this year. The hotel is owned by the Singh family and features a restaurant, bar, meeting facilities, swimming pool and bedrooms that include one and two-bedroom suites, many with balconies. This is Accor’s 19th hotel in Brisbane, Australia and the third hotel in the capital.

Accor also said Hotel Woolstore 1888 is joining the portfolio of Handwritten Collection hotels this month under a hotel management agreement with the hotel’s new owners, Shakespeare Property Group. The hotel is located in what was the fourth oldest of 21 surviving wool stores in Sydney. It first opened as a hotel in 2013 and includes 90 guestrooms, a neighborhood restaurant and wine bar, private dining room and meeting space. Hotel Woolstore 1888 is the fifth hotel that Shakespeare Property Group has partnered with Accor on in Australia. The hotel is located in Darling Harbour, just behind the Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour and soon to be redeveloped Harbourside Shopping Center.

Trilogy Hotels and Panthers Group signed an agreement where Trilogy will oversee the operations for the five star Pullman Sydney Penrith. The newly built 153-room Pullman Sydney Penrith opened in August 2023, forming part of a $110 million investment from the Panthers Group. It was Penrith‘s first five-star hotel. The hotel has an existing franchise agreement with Accor.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced an agreement with international property developer Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited. The 274-room Hotel Indigo The Forestias Bangkok will open in 2026 at The Forestias, a new integrated 64-hectare mixed-use development on the eastern fringe of Bangkok. The hotel will be located alongside residential and office space, retail, dining and family entertainment options, expansive meeting spaces and a hospital. The Forestias will be home to another IHG property, Six Senses The Forestias, an 85-room hotel and 27 residences development attached to a five-hectare forest park. Hotel Indigo The Forestias Bangkok will be 15 minutes from Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Dining facilities will include a café, lounge and pool bar. Other amenities include a gym, swimming pool and over 6,500 square meters of meeting space for up to 400 people.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited announced a partnership with John Keells Holdings PLC. Melco will operate the casino and some of the hotel rooms at Keells Cinnamon Life Integrated Resort in Sri Lanka. The US$1 billion development will be rebranded as City of Dreams Sri Lanka. Keells will operate the non-gaming aspect of the resort including the 687 key Cinnamon Life hotel, expected to commence operations in the third quarter of 2024. Melco will invest US$125 million to fit out the casino area, and will operate it along with the top five floors of the hotel (113 rooms) under their Nuwa brand. Melco said it was awarded a 20-year casino license by the Government of Sri Lanka.

Kempinski Hotels is venturing into Vietnam with the Kempinski Saigon River, a waterfront hideaway nestled in the folds of the Saigon River. The hotel will have 100 guestrooms and suites. It’s expected to open by the end of 2026. The hotel is currently being developed in cooperation with Vietnamese property developer Ecopark Corporation. The 90 guestrooms will start from 65 square meters while the 10 suites include a Presidential Suite. Amenities will include the 1,500 square meter Resense Spa, an all-day dining and signature Vietnamese restaurant as well as a riverside bar and an Executive Lounge. Kempinski Saigon River is part of a broader 55-hectare development situated in Dong Nai on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City. The development will also be home to residences, schools, a sports club and retail areas along 700 meters of riverfront.

Oravel Stays Ltd., the parent company of OYO, announced the opening of a luxury hotel in Chandigarh, the third under the “SUNDAY” brand that they launched in May of last year. SUNDAY Hotels is a luxury chain under LuxAbode Hotels, which is a joint venture between the SoftBank Group and Oravel Stays. The other two properties are in Jaipur and Vadodara.

Brookfield Asset Management has plans to list its luxury hotel chain, The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts. The Economic Times reported Brookfield is in talks with bankers about the process. Brookfield initially invested Rs 4,500 crore in taking control of Leela and had committed to invest more than 1,500 crore additionally, the largest-ever foreign investment in the Indian hospitality sector. Leela’s portfolio includes 13 owned and managed hotels.

Stone Wood Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of its latest venture, Stone Wood Mountain Resort in Dharamshala. The group now has three properties in North India, encompassing popular tourist destinations such as Udaipur, Dharamshala and Rishikesh. The Dharamshala, Stone Wood Mountain Resort spans a total of 10,500 square feet and offers total room occupancy of 23. The resort includes an exclusive multi-cuisine rooftop restaurant.

ITC‘s Fortune Hotels unit has forayed into the international market with its debut in Nepal. The Fortune Resort & Wellness Spa Bhaktapur is nestled amid the hills of Bhaktapur and is the hotel chain’s maiden international venture outside of India. The resort features space rooms, cottages and suites, wellness facilities including a plus Spa with treatment rooms, sauna, steam rooms, a well-equipped gym and an outdoor swimming pool. The Rainbow restaurant, Neptune Bar and lounge and a pool bar are there for guests F&B needs. The resort has expansive banquet venues spanning over 8,000 square feet connected to the swimming pool area and deck, as well as meeting spaces. The resort is owned by Hilltake Health and Homes and is located just 20 km from Kathmandu and 18 km from Tribhuvan International Airport.