KIMPTON OPENS BOUTIQUE LUXURY HOTEL IN BUDAPEST: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, part of IHG Hotels & Resorts’ luxury and lifestyle portfolio, has opened Kimpton BEM Budapest in Budapest. Kimpton has transformed a historic, 19th century mansion to a boutique 127-key hotel. Located along the banks of the Danube River on the city’s Buda side near the Castle District, the luxury hotel has been designed by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders. The hotel offers three dining options, event space, a fitness center, hot tub, steam room and pet amenities. Kimpton BEM Budapest is the latest property to join Kimpton’s European collection of boutique luxury hotels, which includes properties in London, Barcelona and Paris.
MELIÁ ADDS TWO HOTELS IN THAILAND: Meliá Hotels International is strengthening its presence in Southeast Asia with two new hotels in Thailand, which includes the launch of the first Paradisus by Meliá-branded property in the region. These properties will be available online as Meliá hotels through an extended partnership with Thailand’s lifestyle real estate group, Asset World Corp. The addition of Meliá Pattaya City and Paradisus Jomtien Resort will bring Meliá’s number of hotels in the country to six. The former Grand Sole Pattaya will reopen as the 234-room Meliá Pattaya City in December following renovations. Slated to open in 2028, the new-build Paradisus Jomtien Resort will feature a 43-floor tower offering 698 rooms, with 44 of the units having outdoor plunge pools.
$72M FINANCING FOR NEWPORT’S HOTEL VIKING: Smith Hill Capital, the fully integrated commercial real estate debt investment management business of the Procaccianti Companies, and Bain Capital Special Situations have announced that the companies’ joint venture has originated and executed a $72 million first mortgage loan to KSL Capital Partners to refinance Hotel Viking in Newport, R.I. The 208-room hotel is located in the Historic Hill neighborhood inland of the Harbor and includes an indoor pool with a whirlpool, gym and more than 14,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space for events. In 2023, Smith Hill and Bain Capital formed a joint venture to serve the financing needs of hospitality companies and assets in the U.S.
CRESCENT TO MANAGE VIRGINIA’S FIRST JW MARRIOTT: Crescent Hotels & resorts has entered into a management agreement with an affiliate of Comstock Holding Companies for Virginia’s first JW Marriott hotel. The JW Marriott at Reston Station also marks the second in the Washington, D.C. area and will anchor the latest phase of development at Comstock’s Reston Station, the mixed-use and transit-oriented neighborhood in the Dulles Corridor. The 28-story hotel is located adjacent to the Wiehle-Reston East station. The building will include 94 ultra-luxury JW Marriott-branded condominiums, which recently opened for sale, above the 12-story, 243-key hotel. Comstock has appointed Marriott International as the condominium manager pursuant to a long-term brand management agreement. Scheduled to open in 2025, the hotel will feature a JW Club, fitness center, dining venues and 25,000 square feet of event space, including a 9,000-square-foot main ballroom and several meeting rooms. Crescent Hotels’ portfolio currently includes more than 120 properties in the U.S. and Canada.
