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Top country house hotel sold to von Essen group September  2007

One of the UK’s top country house hotels has become the 25th property in the expanding von Essen group. Amberley Castle, located near Arundel in West Sussex, is ranked among the world's 10 best hotels and is a popular venue for small corporate gatherings.

Located one-and-a-half hours from London, it has 19 bedrooms and suites, many with four-poster beds and all featuring Jacuzzi bathrooms.

Facilities include two restaurants, lounge areas, a tennis court, croquet lawn, gardens and lakes, an 18-hole professional putting course and a thatched-roof tree house complete with ropebridge.

Historic fabrics and upholstery, and antique suits of armour all contribute to the atmosphere. It is the third castle property within the von Essen collection, alongside Thornbury Castle in Gloucestershire, and Dalhousie Castle in Edinburgh. Other properties in the group include Cliveden, at Taplow in Berkshire, Sharrow Bay in the Lake District, Royal Crescent in Bath and Château Bagnols in France.

Commenting on the acquisition, Andrew Davis, chairman, von Essen hotels, says: “Amberley Castle is a magnificent historic treasure that offers a truly unique experience, expanding the collection to cover this important part of the UK.”

Night watch...
Hotel rates in Mumbai continue to soar, with a 30% increase in the past six months – and that was on top of a 49% rise in 2006. However, with an average rate of £147.55 (€218.30) a night, it still lags behind Bangalore, which is the world’s fifth most expensive city in terms of accommodation, with average room rates of £162.04 (€239.73).

According to HRG UK’s latest half-yearly hotel survey, Moscow continues to have the highest rates, averaging £236.06 (€349.24) a night, followed by New York (£180.29/€266.73), Dubai (£166.73/€246.67) and Paris (£165.84/€245.35). Of the key European cities, Barcelona grew by 18%, rates in Berlin were up by 17% and Stockholm increased by 10% between January and June this year. London's rates rose a comparatively modest 5% during the same period, compared to 7% in 2006. Of all the regions worldwide, only Africa saw a decline in average rates.

Outside of Europe and North America, of the top 10 most costly destinations, both Hong Kong and Bangalore saw average room rates fall. The Indian city witnessed a decrease of 7% as the economy experienced a slowdown due to a plateau in its growth as a base for corporate outsourcing and international call centres.

The lack of availability in key destinations continues to be an issue in the current strong market and the evidence suggests that corporate travellers remain unable to make significant changes to their booking patterns and timescales.

In the first six months of 2007, almost 10% of all bookings were made on the day of arrival. “A key finding of our latest survey is the evergrowing importance of booking in advance, particularly for travellers looking to secure the best rates,” says Margaret Bowler, director of Global Hotel Relations at HRG UK. “Last minute bookers are increasingly suffering from inflated rates in the most popular locations, and clients need to ensure
that they have negotiated last room availability in their corporate rates to avoid this.”

News in brief
The latest hotel in the expanding Rocco Forte Collection – the Charles – opens in Munich on October 4. The 160-room property is the group's third hotel in Germany, joining the Villa Kennedy, in Frankfurt, and the Hotel de Rome, in Berlin, both of which opened last year.

The Mandarin Oriental Group as changed the name of its Singapore hotel from The Oriental to the Mandarin Oriental. It is part of a repositioning of the 527-room property following a two-year refurbishment programme.

Next month sees the opening of the first Ritz-Carlton in Ireland. The 200-room hotel, located in the grounds of the historic Powerscourt Estate, 45 minutes from Dublin, will feature some of the country’s most spacious guest rooms.