Park Inn by Radisson opening in Kigali

Carlson Rezidor has announced that it will be opening the Park Inn by Radisson Kigali in Rwanda.

The property will feature 161 rooms in the group’s second hotel project in Kigali - the Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre Kigali is already underway and is scheduled to open mid-2014. The plan is for the Park Inn by Radisson to open its doors a few months later.

The site of the Park Inn by Radisson Kigali is centrally located in the up-market Nyarugenge district of the city centre – less than 12 kilometres west of the international airport, Rwanda’s primary point of entry. Besides the guest rooms, the hotel will offer a 225m² all-day dining restaurant, a 80m² lobby bar, a club lounge, an outdoor swimming pool with a 110m² pool bar and terrace, 500m² meeting and conference facilities, as well as gym, spa, hair salon and nightclub.

Kigali is Rwanda’s most populated city with more than one million inhabitants, and is also the country’s most important business and convention destination. Tourism, minerals, coffee and tea are Rwanda's main sources of foreign exchange. Since joining the East African Economic Community, Rwanda is aligning its budget, trade, and immigration policies with its regional partners.

Carlson Rezidor Plans Big Expansion

The international hotel group held its annual business conference in Chicago recently, and at the event announced that it plans to open 77 new hotels in 2013. Those plans are part of the group’s ‘Ambition 2015’ growth strategy. Carlson Rezidor’s global portfolio currently stands at 1,305 hotels, both in operation and under development. This year’s openings are set to add 13,000 rooms to the group’s operational inventory. Carlson Rezidor’s growth in 2013 will mainly be driven by three brands: Park Inn by Radisson (23 openings in 2013), Radisson Blu (20) and Country Inns & Suites (20). This follows a similar pattern to 2012, when the Radisson Blu and Park Inn brands both added 21 hotels, and Country Inns & Suites added 16. The midscale Country Inns & Suites brand, which is mainly found in the US and India, will also embark on a major revamp this year, encompassing the brand’s identity, hotel architecture and interiors. Asia Pacific is a key region for Carlson Rezidor’s development. The company increased its regional portfolio by 17% last year, and now operates 13,400 rooms in Asia Pacific. And with almost 13,900 more rooms in the pipeline, Carlson Rezidor’s total Asian hotel inventory is set to more than double in the coming years.

Park Inn by Radisson for Newlands

Rezidor, a member of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, has announced that it will be opening a Park Inn by Radisson in the Cape Town suburb of Newlands. The mid-market property is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2014. It is Rezidor’s second Park Inn by Radisson hotel in Cape Town - the group also has two Radisson Blu hotels in Cape Town (one in operation and one under development). The new build Park Inn by Radisson Cape Town Newlands will be the first internationally-branded hotel in Claremont/Newlands, a key upmarket business and residential node, in the affluent southern suburbs of Cape Town. Besides 122 guest rooms, it will comprise a club lounge, business lounge, the RBG Restaurant & Bar, a breakfast restaurant, a kiosk and help desk, a gym, multi-purpose meeting and function facilities, an outdoor terrace with sculpture garden and an outdoor swimming pool. The hotel will be in close proximity to the Newlands Cricket Ground, Newlands Rugby Stadium, South African Rugby headquarters, the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, and the University of Cape Town.