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Design Hotels, an international hotel marketing company, announces 36 new member hotels, increasing its membership to 184 hotels worldwide. In 2009, less than 10% of the hotels applying for membership were accepted.
“Design and architecture are important features of our member hotels, but they must be components of a larger whole,” says Claus Sendlinger, founder and CEO of Design Hotels. “We place great value on a holistic approach to hospitality and always consider the entire concept.”
Throughout 2009 and 2010, Design Hotels welcomed new member properties into the collection: Crosby Street Hotel, the first venture by Tim and Kit Kemp outside London, opened in New York, bringing British flair and eclectic elegance to the Big Apple. In Milan, Maison Moschino, a fairytale-like hotel evoking Moschino’s quirky love for surrealism, opens in March. Conceived by hotelier Stefano Ugolini, the property is a fusion of fashion and hotel design. In June 2010 the charismatic duo behind Hotel Sezz in Paris, hotelier Shahe Kalaidjian and designer Christophe Pillet, will open the Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez. Although different in look and feel, the Mediterranean resort will share the Parisian hotel’s emphasis on personal interaction and bespoke services. The Waterhouse at South Bund, a new project by Loh Lik Peng, the man behind Singapore’s New Majestic Hotel, is a 19-room property set to open in Shanghai’s Pudong neighbourhood. It will be a modern take on the traditional Shanghai courtyard houses of the 1920s. In Italy, visionary entrepreneur, hotelier and philanthropist Daniele Kihlgren invites guests to step into another culture and time at Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita. As part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the ancient cave dwellings were transformed into hotel rooms which retain evidence of their use over the centuries.
“Our member portfolio continues to evolve, offering guests one-of-a-kind hotel experiences throughout the world,” continues Sendlinger. “These experiences reflect a shift in values and services, in which luxury is being redefined. Luxury nowadays has less to do with physical materials and more to do with intangible qualities; this means anticipating and fulfilling guests’ emotional needs rather than only providing brand-name amenities.”
The complete list of 36 new members with opening dates is below.
TravelDailyNews Asia-Pacific editorial team has an experience of over 35 years in B2B travel journalism as well as in tourism & hospitality marketing and communications.
