Principal London to relaunch as Kimpton Fitzroy London

The London property within the recently sold Principal hotel portfolio is to rebranded as the Kimpton Fitzroy London next month.

The 334-bedroom Principal London, which only opened in April following an £85m refurbishment, will be the first hotel within the 13-strong Principal collection to be re-badged following the group's acquisition by French investor Covivio from US-based Starwood Capital Group in May.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), who was appointed to manage the hotels, will eventually re-brand each property under one of four brands: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, InterContinental, Hotel Indigo and new to the market Voco.

Becoming the first UK property for the luxury, boutique Kimpton brand, the London hotel on Russell Square will be named after Charles Fitzroy Doll, the architect of the building, which originally opened as a hotel in 1898. The hotel already honours the name with its cocktail bar, Fitz's.

Founded in the US in 1981 by Bill Kimpton, Kimpton Hotels & Resorts was bought by IHG in 2015 and currently operates 67 hotels and 82 restaurants, bars and lounges in the US, Caribbean and Europe. Its first European hotel opened last year in Amsterdam, with future properties set to launch in Paris and Frankfurt.

Details of rebranding of Principal hotel portfolio revealed >>

Principal hotels to split between three brands following sale by Starwood Capital >>

The Principal London: a hotel for the new Bloomsbury Set >>

How Starwood's new Principal brand will shake up city centres nationwide >>

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