LONDON— Marriott International will open its latest London hotel in November, according to a report in Caterer & Hotelkeeper. The hotel is striving for five-star accreditation and will be competing with well-established properties such as the Dorchester and the Grosvenor House hotel. The 157-room hotel— formerly residential apartments— is owned by property developer Marylebone Warwick Balfour. It has spent £95 million (US$148.7 million) renovating the building. The hotel will be home to a 76-seat brasserie-style restaurant called 140 Park Lane, headed by executive chef David Ali, formerly sous chef at Marriotts Abu Dhabi Grand hotel. GM Theresa Maw indicated that occupancy for its first month was already projected to be 80% and that the hotel would “definitely” open on Nov. 11, 2002. Marriott also has plans to open two more hotels in London. In May 2003, it plans to open a 216-room hotel in Kensington, which will be run under a franchise agreement by Whitbread. The property, a former Swallow hotel, was bought by Whitbread in 2000 and is undergoing a £60 million (US$93.9 million) refurbishment program. In 2004 Marriott plans to open a 300-room hotel in Canary Wharf, which will be run by Marriott International. SOURCE: Caterer & Hotelkeeper
