Zara co-founder to open London Bulgari hotel

02-Feb-2011 - Last updated on 11-Mar-2024 at 12:04 GMT

The new hotel will offer another luxury alternative for the Olympics

The co-founder of the Spanish fashion empire that owns Zara is in final-stage talks to invest £350m in a “super-luxury” London hotel bearing the Bulgari name.

Rosalía Mera, the first wife of the Inditex founder Amancio Ortega, is considering diversifying her portfolio with an investment in a luxury hotel in Knightsbridge, according to a report in The Times.

Prime Investors Capital, the investment management company behind the project, is in advanced talks with Bulgari to name the hotel after the Italian luxury goods group.

The hotel is due to open in time for the 2012 Olympic Games. It has been under construction for some time and a topping-out ceremony is due to take place on 14 February.

Branding

According to a recent report by Fast Future Research, luxury branding of hotels could be one of the paths to success over the next decade.

The report, Hotels 2020 – Beyond Segmentation, forecast that hotels of the future may bring in more high street and luxury brands as a way to deliver a customised hotel environment and differentiate their offering.

This could mean branding amenities, bedding or furniture, or even branding the hotel itself.

Chris Druce is a contributor to BigHospitality sister publication M&C Report.