Hilton launches new ski resort in Japan and other international hotel news

Hilton launches new ski resort in Japan
Hilton Hotels has launched a new mountain ski resort at Hilton Niseko Village in Japan. The 506-room hotel on the island of Hokkaido is on the doorstep of 48km of slopes with 61 ski runs, 38 lifts and gondolas and more than 30 km of off-piste backcountry. There are also seven food and beverage outlets and a futuristic cabin style bar overlooking a ski piste, as well as a four-room spa boasting massage treatments belonging to the traditional aboriginal people and a Japanese Onsen (hot spring bath) with mineral rich thermal waters and two 18-hole golf courses. Hilton currently operates 8 Hilton Family hotels in Japan.

Accor ups its stake in the Orbis Group Accor has raised its holding in the Orbis group to 50.1% as part of its hotel development strategy in Central Europe. Accor, which had held a 45.48% share in the company since August 2007, recently acquired an additional 4.53% stake at a price of PLN 55.4 per share, representing a total investment of approximately €35m. A formerly state-owned company that was eventually privatised in 2000, Orbis is Poland's historic leading hotel operator, with a portfolio of 62 hotels (12,000 rooms), including 42 operated under the Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, ibis and Etap Hotel brands. All of the properties enjoy outstanding locations in the country's 30 largest cities.

IHG to expand across India InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) said it will develop 20 properties across major Indian cities over the next two-three years to tap the growing demand for both luxury and comfort hotels in the country. The group also announced that its management contract with Grand InterContinental in the national capital's central business district and at Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir was not being renewed as its owners wanted to manage the properties on their own. The group, which has a portfolio of 13 hotels in India, will develop the new properties under three brands - InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels and resorts, and Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts. The hotels will be constructed by developers MGF-Emaar, Eros and Today.

Langham to open its first hotel in India
Langham Hotels International is to open its first hotel in India. The 180-room hotel - Langham Place, Koregaon Park, Pune — is scheduled to open in early 2010. Langham said it will appeal to travellers who are "adventurous, fun-seeking early adopters". The hotel will include an atrium with transparent walls and a DJ booth overlooking the lobby. It will also include a Spa, with treatments based on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine and with oriental hot tubs and "ice caves".

By Gemma Sharkey

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