With 170 hotels and a total of 38,079 rooms across the continent, Radisson is now Europe's largest upscale hotel brand - unifying Radisson Blu and Radisson Edwardian hotels and leaving Hilton International with 146 hotels and 37,806 rooms as well as Marriott with 86 hotels and 20,806 rooms behind, according to Upscale Brands Top 10 in Europe by MKG Hospitality, Paris.
"We are proud to finally have reached this leading position which is a result of our strategic and ambitious business development, our creative marketing campaigns and our innovative service concepts at our hotels," said Olivier Jacquin, senior vice president marketing, sales and distribution at The Rezidor Hotel Group which manages Radisson Blu in Europe.
The first class- and full service-chain Radisson Blu (formerly Radisson SAS) is internationally known for contemporary architecture and modern design. In cooperation with stars like Adam D. Tihany, Matteo Thun and François Champsaur, Radisson Blu has created outstanding properties such as the Radisson Blu Hotel, Frankfurt with its round glass façade, the Radisson Blu Hotel, Zurich with a spectacular wine tower in the heart of the lobby or the Radisson Blu Le Metropolitan Hotel in Paris with a sleek and minimalist urban look.
Under the theme "Yes I Can!" Radisson Blu offers unique service concepts to its guests. Among these are business class rooms with Nespresso machines, three hours express laundry, "grab and run breakfast" for early birds, and free high speed internet access in all rooms and state-of-the-art conference areas which belong to Europe's best MICE offers.
Coming from a classic business hotel chain, Radisson Blu has diversified the portfolio during the last years. "At major European airports we redefine the concept of airport hotels, and in popular holiday destinations like Dubrovnik, Cesme, Monastir and Djerba we manage excellent new spa resorts," said Olivier Jacquin.
Radisson Blu is further growing the European portfolio. Recent highlights include the very first Radisson Blu hotel in Madrid, and the flagship of the year 2010 will be the Radisson Royal Hotel Moscow which is scheduled to open in May.
Also known as Hotel Ukraina, the building is part of Stalin's legendary Soviet skyscrapers Seven Sisters and will offer 506 luxurious rooms and suites as well as 38 apartments, world class restaurants, including dinner river cruise boats, and a unique art collection featuring 1,200 original paintings by leading Russian artists of the early 20th century.