The European subsidiary of the Israeli group Fattal Hotels has just announced it will open in Venice, with its first upscale property in Italy. More than just a new episode, this opening demonstrates the steady development of the chain in Europe with five openings in 2019.
Inauguration of the Leonardo Royal Hotel Venice Mestre (2019)
Located within the Mestre Venezia station, the four-star hotel has just opened 12 minutes away from the Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia, the railway point of entry to Venice's city centre.
It has 244 rooms, a restaurant (Vitruv), a fitness room and a 225m² conference space that can accommodate 200 participants. The rooms are divided into several classes: comfort (20m²), superior (20m²), deluxe (35m²) and "Women-friendly" (20m²), an offer geared towards women with additional security, a collection of magazines and feminine touches.
The next Leonardo Hotel will be near Zurich Airport (2020)
The new hotel is expected to open early next year (2020) and will launch the brand's entry into the Swiss financial centre. Located next to the airport, it will join the ranks of Leonardo Hotels' other Swiss addresses, including Alden Suite Hotel Splügenschloss and Leonardo Boutique Hotel Rigihof Zurich. Built by Burgring AG Immobilien, the hotel will have 116 rooms, a restaurant, a bar, several meeting rooms, a fitness area, a terrace and a private car park.
Yoram Biton, Managing Director of Leonardo Hotels Central Europe, explains the location: "Zurich is very important for our group of companies, but it is above all a lucrative economic location, as well as an attractive holiday destination." The choice of location, close to the airport, was particularly strategic as "Customers will benefit in particular from fast connections to the airport terminals and Zurich city centre. The excellent location attracts both business and leisure travelers."
The Leonardo Frankfurt Europaallee scheduled (2021)
The Leonardo Frankfurt Europaallee, the fourth Leonardo hotel in Frankfurt am Main, will be located in the heart of the German financial center. Located near Frankfurt's main station, the hotel will be housed in a 66-meter high office tower, alongside the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, which is expected to move there. The three-star hotel will have 348 rooms on 8 floors, a restaurant, a bar, a terrace on the second floor and two large meeting rooms for a combined area of 500 m².
Yoram Biton, Managing Director of Leonardo Hotels Central Europe, explains that "Frankfurt is a very interesting and important location for our group given the banking sector, trade fairs and the airport." The Leonardo group, which does not own its own walls, leases the premises under a long-term lease. The design of the complex has been entrusted to the architectural firm Berliner Büro Eike Becker_Architekten, and the interior to Andreas Neudahm.
Two more hotels will open in Offenbach and Eschborn in 2020, bringing the number of Leonardo hotels available in the Rhine-Main metropolitan region to six.
A chain with a strong presence in Anglo-Saxon markets
Leonardo Hotels Central Europe is a subsidiary of the Israeli group Fattal Hotels, founded in 1998 and present in Europe since 2005. Based in Berlin, the European branch is now established in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain and Italy. It has four distinct brands: Leonardo Hotels, Leonardo Royal Hotels, Leonardo Boutique Hotels and NYX Hotels by Leonardo Hotels. Hotels are mainly located in strategic locations, in city centres or near transport hubs, whether by air or rail. They target first and foremost business travelers, but also leisure travelers with a quality and affordable offer, based on the slogan "Feeling good".
The group is particularly developed in Germany since 2007, where it is present in no fewer than 20 cities with 50 hotels, eleven of which are in Munich alone where a NYX hotel was added last year. Another NYX property with 151 rooms recently opened in February 2019. Its second European market is Great Britain where it has 7 properties, to which one was recently added in Scotland. In addition, the acquisition in 2018 of four Grange hotels in London will increase the chain's fleet in Great Britain in the coming years. This purchase also marks the chain's entry into the British capital with an additional 1,300 rooms divided between Grange Tower Bridge Hotel, Grange St Paul's Hotel, Grange City Hotel and Grange Holborn Hotel. The four hotels will be completely transformed before joining the group's portfolio.
The latter is also expanding in Southern Europe, namely in Spain (a 109-room NYX hotel opened in Bilbao last April) and in Italy, as well as in Eastern, Central and Northern Europe. It has thus grown at a steady pace in recent years. Its fleet increased by +1.74% in 2019, with five additional properties, adding 196 new keys. Today, the chain operates a total of 72 hotels on the European market, ranging from mid-range to high-end. With the Jurys Inn brand, the number of properties has grown to 108 with 19,470 rooms.
