Thistle Charing Cross joins the Guoman collection

The Thistle Hotel Charing Cross has been rebranded as a Guoman hotel, the premier brand of Guoman Hotels Ltd.

The hotel, now known simply as Charing Cross, joins the small luxury collection which also includes the Cumberland by Marble Arch and the Tower at Tower Bridge.
 
Guoman aims to highlight each property’s identity and style, hence the omission of the Guoman name in each new rebranding. This will no doubt be something of a relief to business travellers who for the last two years have struggled to pronounce the name.

Sanjay Nijhawan, chief operating officer for Guoman Hotels UK, says: “Guoman is a very contemporary brand. Our aim is to establish the brand in the UK as a collection of exceptional deluxe hotels.”

Guoman will rebrand three more Thistles over the next few years with an investment of £100 million. The Royal Horseguards is due to launch in September 2009, and Marble Arch and Victoria will follow by the end of that year.

So far £1 million has been spent on the Charing Cross, a Grade II Listed Victorian railway hotel, including a renovation of the bars, restaurants and public areas.

The 239 rooms (including 37 junior suites) have been updated with new 26-inch plasma screen TVs and a further £5 million will be spent renovating all the rooms, starting with 83 in the Buckingham Wing next year.

There are nine meeting rooms for up to 150 people theatre-style, including the spectacular Betjeman Room, which has an ornate domed ceiling and marble floor.

Nijhawan was keen to stress that Guoman is completely separate from Thistle and is an international brand rather than a national one.

The group will open its first international hotel  under the Guoman brand in Beijing in 2009.

For more information visit guoman.com.

Report by Felicity Cousins