Beyond champagne and caviar: One of IHG’s most luxurious brands is finally getting back into the US hospitality business.
Regent Hotels & Resorts plans to open Regent Santa Monica Beach in California later this year. The hotel, formerly a Loews property with 347 rooms, will undergo a significant renovation that will cut the number of rooms by at least half to bring the hotel up to the ultra-luxury standards of Regent, IHG leader told TPG this week ahead of the announcement.
Regent Santa Monica Beach was the overall brand’s return to the United States, launching in Hawaii in the 1970s and eventually expanding into Beverly Hills in California before Four Seasons absorbed a significant portion of the brand’s portfolio. brand in the 1990s. IHG sees the move as a US launch for a reimagined Regent brand.
It’s been a busy month for Regent, which opened the Carlton Cannes, a Regent hotel this week in the south of France, and plans to open in Regent Hong Kong in June. Both hotels were previously. are all InterContinental-branded hotels (although Regent Hong Kong was originally Regent, so it’s a throwback to that kind of hotel).
Wondering where exactly Regent fits in in the ultra-luxury sector, known for brands like Marriott’s St. Regis and Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria? IHG leaders reveal all the details.
“We’ve spent a lot of time and energy talking to our owner partners around the world about the properties and hotels that will make that happen and whether it’s important to have a a shared vision or not, which we absolutely do with this hotel in terms of vision and in terms of what we want to bring to the next generation of luxury,” said Tom Rowntree, vice president of operations IHG’s luxury brand, said in an interview with TPG this week amid the opening Carlton Cannes. “It’s kind of a non-negotiable, I would say.”
Regent Santa Monica Beach’s waterfront location is just steps from the Santa Monica Pier, and the oceanfront pool deck with multiple pools, destination spa and wellness center is part of the redevelopment. An upscale market, as well as a restaurant run by a celebrity chef, is also under construction, but no further details were provided.
Regent Santa Monica Beach will also be seen as the brand’s flagship in the Americas.
“Regent Santa Monica Beach is the beginning of a bright future for the brand in the Americas, underlining our strategic focus on growing lifestyle and luxury globally,” said Julienne Smith, director of development development of IHG in the Americas, said in a statement.
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Regent’s reincarnation around the world
While there are no further details on the upcoming California hotel, one could consider the Carlton Cannes renovation as to what might be available for Santa Monica. This 332-room French hotel has undergone a two-year renovation to transition from its InterContinental past to Regent style.
TPG toured the property in December while construction was still underway and although photography was not allowed at the time, it is clear that the team will go to great lengths to elevate the property to new glory.
Diggers dug underneath the property to add a parking garage, spa, wellness center and conference space while developers turned the rear parking lot into a year-round garden and pool. A team of 750 craftsmen carefully worked on details such as the art deco-inspired chandelier and hand-placed marble scales on the lobby floor. A team of chandelier restoration artists at the Palace of Versailles worked to restore the chandelier in the Grand Salon.
According to personal observation, 72 guest rooms and suites with Mediterranean views will be hot items in the Cannes hotel market. Each room has a clean, minimalist design with a large marble bathroom. How much does an overhaul like this cost?
Rowntree declined to provide a specific number, but that’s a high enough budget considering the exact angle a parking garage can tilt without risking scratching a car’s fenders. McLaren sports car sits low.
“It’s about restoring a monument, so it’s about working with true professionals in their craft on how they brought back its former glory to our hotel,” says Rowntree.
The Regent Hong Kong is expected to premiere this year, with similar anticipation of its own glorious return. The hotel operated as an InterContinental from 2001 to 2020, when it closed for renovations. While the two newest Regent properties were once InterContinental hotels, that doesn’t mean IHG travelers should expect a wave of this InterContinental to Regent transition to happen in the future.
“Rebranding for InterContinental is not our strategy. [hotels] for the Regents,” said Rowntree. “It’s just that these two owners fit perfectly with the direction we’re taking with the Regent brand.”
IHG’s super-luxury ambitions
The new hotel in the US is the latest in Regent’s rapid increase in total hotels. While Regent’s first hotel was in Hawaii, the brand had already expanded back into Asia and two hotels in Europe by the time IHG announced in 2018 that it was the brand’s new shareholder. IHG leaders indicated a long-term plan at the time of the acquisition to increase the Regent from six hotels to 40.
The regent is part of the IHG’s significant push into luxury hospitality and lifestyle. Until 2015, the company’s most luxurious brand was InterContinental. Company leaders recognize that more services are needed in this space to better compete. Marriott has seven luxury brands while Hyatt has eight, according to both companies’ most recent annual reports.
IHG now has six brands in the Luxury and Lifestyle Collection thanks to the acquisition kimpton, Six Senses and Regent, as well as the launch of the Vignette Collection. Hotel Indigo and InterContinental are also included in this cluster of brands.
“Until 2015, InterContinental Hotels and Resorts was our only luxury hotel brand and an incredible one. It was born in 1946 and was truly a pioneer in international luxury travel, and that continues to this day — but it was our only luxury brand,” said Rowntree. speak. “What we see a lot from our IHG One Rewards members is the need for more luxury and deeper offerings so they can then both earn and redeem their points.”
Six Senses is the corporate sustainability and health-focused ultra-luxury brand, originating in resort destinations but increasingly pushing into cities, with one hotel in Istanbul and another. scheduled to be in Rome later this year.
Regent is a traditional, ultra-luxury service; However, Rowntree notes that the resurgence of the brand is aimed at opening up more to younger travelers.
“What we realized with Regent is the growth of the luxury clientele and the younger mindset that they are having and that traditional boutique hotels need to evolve and really respond to their needs,” said Rowntree. needs of modern luxury customers. “That’s where Regent sits, and that’s a very clear ambition for the brand.”
Some specific strategies on how to appeal to young luxury travelers aren’t immediately obvious, but paying attention to McLaren’s car height when designing the garage in Cannes is clearly a starting point.
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