Luxury Park Hyatt hotel to launch at Nine Elms

China’s R&F Properties is planning to open a new luxury Park Hyatt hotel at its Nine Elms scheme, SW8, in 2022. The developer has secured a management agreement with operator Hyatt Hotels at One Nine Elms, which it has rebranded Park Riverfront. The building is expected to open a decade after the operator launched its hunt for a location in the capital. The 203-bedroom, five-star hotel will occupy the lower floors of the 42-storey River Tower, up to the 19th floor. Features will include a luxury spa, wellness and health centre and ballroom, located above hotel room floors and below luxury riverfront flats. Stephen O’Driscoll, development director for R&F Properties, told EG: “Park Hyatt is a global brand and it has voted with its feet. We used the opportunity to listen to the operator and fine tune the product.” Michael Purefoy, global brand director at R&F Properties, added: “The fact that they have chosen this for their first Park Hyatt hotel in London, we see as a really strong affirmation that Nine Elms isn’t a place that is going to happen in the future, but is a place that is now mature. “It helps us to differentiate the homes at Park Riverfront that appeal to a different type of buyer – with access to the hotel there is the opportunity to leverage that.” R&F Properties acquired the £1bn development from Dalian Wanda in 2018, as the final purchase in a year-long investment drive. The scheme, designed by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox, comprises two towers: River Tower and City Tower, a 56-storey luxury residential building, rising to 200m at the gateway to the Nine Elms site. The developer was established in 1994, based in Guangzhou, China. In 2005, it listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and became the first Chinese property developer to be included as a constituent member of the Hang Seng China Properties Index. It is currently building a £4.5bn mixed-use development pipeline across 15 acres at Nine Elms and 5.5 acres at its first scheme Queen’s Square in Croydon. Hyatt Hotels has 500 hotels with around 101,000 hotel rooms globally. It has six operational hotels in London, with Hyatt Place, Hyatt Regency, Andaz and The Unbound Collection brands. The Park Hyatt brand features at 44 hotels in 24 counties. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette Image provided by PR