IHG Hotels and Resorts will open its first property in the Americas under its Vignette Collection.
The lifestyle brand launched in August 2021 and comprises properties in “sought-after urban and resort locations” which offer “one-of-a-kind stays, with each hotel serving up a distinct service style and character”.
The 83-room El Gran Encomendero will be located in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and is scheduled to begin construction in early 2023. It will occupy a four-storey, upscale mixed-use development in the historic town of Valladolid, located nearly 25 miles west of the Chichen Itza ruins and in proximity of the Balam archeological site and multiple cenotes.
The property will include a restaurant and bar, rooftop pool, spa and fitness centre, along with 1,600 sq ft of meeting space.
IHG says that Valladolid is an “on-the-rise destination for international leisure travel, business events and weddings”, having recently received the ‘Magical Towns’ designation from the Mexican Ministry of Tourism for its measures to protect and preserve cultural wealth.
The city also expects to see more visitors following the construction of the government-funded Mayan train line, which will connect it directly to Merida and Cancun.
Paul Adan, senior regional VP, MLAC, IHG Hotels and Resorts, said:
“With nearly 200 hotels open or in the regional pipeline, Mexico remains a fast-growing priority market for IHG. El Gran Encomendero is a distinctive and ideal introduction to the Americas for our Vignette Collection brand, and the first of many we hope to bring to this market and the world in the coming years. We welcome the opportunity to lead this project forward alongside the fantastic team at Grupo Alves.”
The first hotels to join the Vignette Collection were Hotel X Brisbane Fortitude Valley in Australia and Sindhorn Midtown Hotel Bangkok in Thailand.
Last December it debuted in Europe with three hotels in Portugal and Austria,
IHG expects to add more than 100 new properties under the collection in the next ten years, including a recent signing near Victoria Falls in Zambia.
