Concorde Hotels and Resorts has added a seventh property to its Paris portfolio with the opening of the Hotel Concorde Montparnasse.
Previously the Bleu Marine Montparnasse, the Concorde Montparnasse is now under the ownership of investment firm Starwood Capital Group, which bought the property in 2004 under its Louvre Hotels group.
The hotel is located in the 14th district of the city, on the Left Bank, close to Montparnasse railway station. It has 354 modern, air-conditioned rooms, a fitness area, and a bar and restaurant. The meeting and conference facilities can hold up to 160 people, and wifi access is available on the ground and first floors.
Hotel Concorde Montparnasse joins six other Parisian hotels in the Concorde collection, including the famous luxury Hotel de Crillon, on Place de la Concorde. The other Paris properties are: Hotel Lutetia, Hotel du Louvre, Hotel Concorde Saint-Lazare, Hotel Ambassador and Hotel Concorde La Fayette.
Concorde Hotels and Resorts has also recently opened the Hotel Lyon Metropole (a new-build), on November 6, and Hotel de la Paix, Geneva (in March).The next planned opening is another new-build, the Villa Massalia, Marseille, in July 2007.
Starwood Capital Group has also announced plans to create a new luxury brand called Crillon by 2010, which will have Hotel de Crillon as its flagship property.
Barry Sternlicht, Starwood Capital Group's chairman and CEO says: "This is the right time to launch a new, premium luxury hotel brand like the Crillon." He adds: "None of the existing luxury hotel brands is offering the style and class that we have envisioned, and that Hotel de Crillon in Paris has been providing for nearly a century."
The Crillon brand will feature small luxury hotels of around 150 rooms and will offer top-class dining options with the likes of Jean-Francois Piege (of Les Ambassadeurs in Hotel de Crillon) and three Michelin-starred chef, Guy Martin, of the Grand Vefour.
The Crillon properties will be located in major cities worldwide, such as: London, Rome, Barcelona, Vienna, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai and Doha. Resort destinations may also follow.
With the rapid expansion of the Concorde chain, and plans for the Crillon brand in the pipeline, Starwood Capital Group will have brands for all budgets in its Louvre Hotels portfolio. These start from hotel chains such as Kyriad, Campanile and Premiere Classe to the higher-end option of Concorde Hotels and Resorts and the top-end Crillon brand.
For a full report on the Hotel Concorde Montparnasse see the December-January issue of Business Traveller.
Visit concorde-hotels.com, louvre-hotels.fr and starwoodcapitalgroup.com.
Report by Felicity Cousins
