Hospitality Design - January/February 2012 - 75

Opposite page, from top: A rendering of the contemporary lobby of the Radisson Blu Bukovel, opening this year in Ukraine; a rendering of a villa of the Kempinski Chernomoritz Park Spa Hotel in Sochi. This photo: A rendering of the InterContinental Moscow Tverskaya’s lobby lounge. Left: The Atrium Lounge at the Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv.
codes.” That, and a penchant for cutting construction corners, can interfere with the needs of brands to adhere to the design and safety standards they’ve developed, adds Gospodinov. Understanding this very competitive market from within, then, is essential, says London-based designer Alex Kravetz, who handled InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) new Moscow Tverskaya hotel. “As time goes by, we are ﬁnding many local professionals with whom we can successfully collaborate,” he adds. “The [old] approach is giving way to professionalism, and [leading to] an ability to actually work in Russia.” Opened in December, the luxurious Moscow Tverskaya is IHG’s initial salvo in an ambitious effort to open 100 properties in the region before 2020. Kravetz calls the design a “bold statement with a boutique feel,” a ﬁtting introduction to IHG’s longterm plans. “Use of quality and expensive materials—like black onyx glass and a steel grand staircase— are upping the game in the luxury sector in Moscow,” he says. Other signiﬁcant upcoming projects from the group include bringing Hotel Indigo, its boutique brand, to Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as the construction of Europe’s largest Holiday Inn in Moscow. development for Eastern Europe and Russia. In November, Marriott announced that Courtyard’s European properties would now adhere to a new design prototype that emphasizes high style and high-tech touches, like ﬂexible furniture layouts, spa-like bathrooms, and updated public spaces. Other Marriott projects currently under construction in the region include the group’s ninth hotel in Moscow (a Marriott), and a 243-room JW Marriott in Baku that opens this spring. The group will also beef up its presence in Sochi, with several new entries readied in time for the 2014 Olympics. Although Hyatt maintains a much smaller presence in the region, with just two hotels in Moscow and two in Baku, it recently announced new projects, both in Vladivostok, Russia, that are pegged to the upcoming Asia-Paciﬁc Economic Summit. Additionally, it too has a Sochi property, a Hyatt Regency, in the works.

Lap of Luxury
Several new entries from smaller luxury brands are also forthcoming. Fairmont is scheduled to open two properties in the region in the ﬁrst quarter of 2012: the Grand Hotel Kyiv and a Baku property, part of a mixed-use development called Flame Towers. It has also acquired the Pekin Hotel in Moscow, but an extensive renovation plan isn’t scheduled to get underway until sometime in 2013. Meanwhile, as with almost every other brand, Kempinski Hotels has set its eye on Sochi because of the Olympics. The Chernomoritz Park Spa Hotel, with 200 guestrooms, plus a variety of villas and apartments (all to be used as hotel rooms during the main event), “set out from day one to be the most signiﬁcant 5-Star offering for the games,” according to designer Jeremy Heyes of the London ofﬁce of WATG, which is handling architecture, interiors, and landscaping. The project, while deﬁnitely contemporary, takes its design cue from the almost Balkan feel of the setting and the area’s history as a late 19thcentury spa destination. Heyes says an example is a decorative pattern— to be etched into the main building’s signature glass walled exterior—that alludes to Russian Art Nouveau motifs. Like others, Heyes says that working in the region has not been one of his easiest projects. But, he adds, “Everything is changing so fast and that shows. I’ve had some of the most interesting and provocative design discussions of my career there. They know the heritage, they take the time to do their homework.”

Brand Boom
Rezidor Hotel Group, with its Radisson Blu and Park Inn brands, also foresees growth. Currently offering about 50 hotels in Russia and the CIS, the group has about 15 more in the pipeline in Russia alone, such as the recently announced Radisson Blu Resort and Congress Hotel in Sochi, scheduled for 2013. “There are more than ﬁfty cities just in Russia that have populations of more than three hundred thousand,” says Arild Hovland, senior vice president of development. “In most of them, there is not a decent hotel of quality.” Other brands with established presences in the area are also continuing their commitment to expansion. Hilton, for example, has named Russia as its largest European growth market, with 21 hotels—across all brands—in the development pipeline over the next four years. The group entered its 31st country with upscale Hiltons in Baku, while a Kiev property, coming this year, will mark the group’s entry into Ukraine. The two cities will host signiﬁcant international events in 2012: Kiev is gearing up for a major soccer tournament, UEFA Euro, that typically draws a half million tourists, while Baku’s hotel scene is receiving a major boost as the city prepares for 40,000 expected attendees of the Eurovision song contest. Meanwhile, Marriott sees most of the growth coming from the Courtyard segment, according to John Litzenberger, vice president of

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