Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts has opened four new hotels in the first six months of this year in France, UK, Ireland and Poland. Another three contracts were signed for hotels in Birmingham, Ankara and Istanbul, bringing the international hotel chain's portfolio to a total of 149 hotels in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
In February Radisson SAS opened its first property in the heart of Paris. This intimate, boutique-style property, located on the site of the former headquarters of well-known designer Louis Vuitton, is situated on Avenue Marceau, just off the Champs Elysées.
The cosmopolitan, chic and vibrant city of Leeds saw the opening of the Radisson SAS Hotel in May. Leeds' new and refurbished theatres, shopping malls, galleries, and waterfront dining district have earned the city a designation as an up and coming entertainment capital of the UK.
The property has 147 guest rooms, including 40 business class rooms and one suite, with a choice of different room styles, such as Italian, art deco and hi-tech. Other facilities include eight first-class state-of-the-art technology conference rooms for up to 70 delegates.
Leeds is the fourth property in the UK after London, Manchester and Airth in Scotland, with additional hotels in Glasgow (250 rooms - opening in November this year), Liverpool (200 rooms - opening October 2003) and Birmingham (208 rooms - opening mid-2005) already under development.
With two hotels in Dublin and Galway, Radisson SAS strengthens its presence in Ireland with a third hotel in Limerick, that opened earlier this month. Formerly known as the Limerick Inn, one of the leading conference hotels in the area, the property has undergone a e22 million refurbishment and is now ready to welcome its first guests.
It offers 154 guest rooms, including 25 business class rooms and two suites, and continues its tradition of providing full service conference facilities with six fully refurbished meeting rooms, the largest accommodating up to 560 people, and a banqueting area seating up to 325 guests.
In addition, the company will open a 114-room hotel in Letterkenny late next year.
Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts targets the UK and Ireland as a major new market and aims to have 16 properties by 2005
On the way to becoming Poland's leading international hotel chain, in May, Radisson SAS opened its second hotel in Poland, in the city of Wroclaw, comprising 162 guest rooms, as well as various conference rooms, a banqueting hall and a fully equipped fitness centre with sauna.
This hotel is perfectly situated in a quiet area opposite the National Museum Panorama Raclawicka, beautifully surrounded by a park and within walking distance of most city highlights, like the Market Square - the tourist, cultural and business heart of Wroclaw.
The hotel also shares a stylish courtyard with the Academy of Art, which helped the hotel decorate its interiors with beautiful sculptures, paintings and examples of famous Wroclaw ceramics. Four more hotels - in Warsaw, Krakow, Katowice and Lublin - are planned to open between September 2002 and spring 2004.
Other cities where Radisson SAS will open hotels before the end of 2002 are Silkeborg, Denmark (August), Warsaw, Poland (September) and Glasgow, Scotland (November).