This roundup features the latest hotel deals and developments in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
Yotel to open in Belfast
Yotel will open the Yotel Belfast in the Northern Ireland capital in late 2026. The hotel will have 165 rooms, and owner Andras Hotels said the development represents an investment of approximately £17 million (€20.4 million).
Accor opens Sofitel in Cotonou
Accor has opened the 198-room Sofitel Cotonou Marina Hotel & Spa in the West Africa country of Benin. The hotel is close to the city’s main attractions including the Esplanade des Amazones and Route des Pêches. The last of its four restaurants will open by December.
Highgate to rebrand two Algarve resorts
Investment, management and development firm Highgate will rebrand its two Mediterranean beachside hotels in Portugal’s Algarve region under flags from Marriott International umbrella in 2025. In the resort of Salgados Beach, the adjacent resorts will be renamed as the 137-room Westin Salgados Beach Resort, Algarve and 228-room Algarve Marriott Salgados Golf Resort & Conference Center and which includes a 1,598-seat auditorium. Both hotels also have residential components. This will be first time London-based Highgate has managed hotels in Portugal.
Accor's Rixos brand opens hotel in Istanbul
Rixos Hotels, part of Accor, has opened the Rixos Tersane Istanbul, its 13th hotel in Turkey. On the European side of the country, the 499-room hotel sits on the Golden Horn estuary of the Bosphorus River and includes 67 suites.
Madagascar gains island hotel
Travel and tourism consultant and author Philippe Kjellgren now has one foot in ownership and operations with the opening of his first hotel, the Voaara, on Sainte-Marie Island — also known as Nosy Boraha — in Madagascar. The resort has eight bungalows and one three-room villa.
World's tallest all-hotel tower coming to Dubai
IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a franchise agreement with Dubai-based owner The First Group and management group The First Group Hospitality to open the 1,000-room Ciel, Vignette Collection, which the hotel firm claims will be the “tallest all-hotel tower in the world” when it opens in the United Arab Emirates in 2025.
IHG's Vignette Collection coming to Mallorca
In an agreement with owner Prevario Banyols and management firm Hotel Collection International, IHG Hotels & Resorts will introduce its Vignette Collection soft brand to the Spanish isle of Mallorca with the 45-room Vignette Collection Mallorca-Finca Banyols.
Zannier hotel will be part of Saudi giga-project
Zannier Hotels will open the 100-room Zannier Zardun in the Saudi Arabian giga-project of NEOM. It will be in a 1.5-square-mile “semi-desertic landscape thriving with native fauna and flora” and feature a 360-degree observation deck.
Hotel Indigo brand debuts in Oman
In September, IHG debuted its Hotel Indigo brand in the Middle East with the opening of the 173-room Hotel Indigo Jabal Akhdar Resort & Spa in Jabal Akhdar, Oman. It sits 7,000 feet above sea levels and views canyons, terraced gardens and traditional villages.
Inwood Hotels acquires Cannes hotel
Paris-based Inwood Hotels has acquired the 45-room Five Seas Hotel Cannes in the French Mediterranean town of Cannes. It is the owner’s 13th hotel — all are in France — and is part of Marriott International soft brand Design Hotels.
Primestar Group opens Hilton hotel in Vienna
Owner Primestar Group and Hilton have opened the 355-room Hampton by Hilton Vienna City West, which both companies claim is the brand’s largest hotel by room count in mainland Europe.
IHG brings Garner brand to Turkey
IHG has signed the first hotel of its Garner hotel brand in Turkey, which will open in 2025. A franchise agreement with owner FRT Turizm will result in a 126-room hotel across four buildings close to Istanbul’s international airport.
Premier Hotels & Resorts opens South Africa hotel
Premier Hotels & Resorts has opened its 24th hotel, its latest in Thohoyandou in South Africa’s northeastern province of Limpopo. Owned by African Century Group and close to Kruger National Park, the hotel has 120 rooms and conference space for up to 450 persons.