Hotel Openings

🍕 Ambassadors Clubhouse, a 140-cover Punjab restaurant, opens in Mayfair’s Heddon Street where Momo once stood. JKS Restaurants, known for Gymkhana and Brigadiers, is behind the venture with sibling founders Jyotin, Karam, and Sunaina Sethi. Menu highlights include rare Punjab recipes and sections like ‘papads and chaat,’ with feast menus at £85 (non-vegetarian) and £80 (vegetarian), and a lunch menu ranging from £35 to £40. The wine list starts at £45, with reds reaching £600. The location is 25 Heddon Street, London, W1B 4BH.

🍕 The Restaurant Group (TRG) saw its revenue increase to £824m in 2023, up from £717m in 2022. Pre-tax losses narrowed to £19.6m from £29.1m previously. TRG disposed of its leisure division, comprised of 75 sites, to Big Table Group and was subsequently acquired by Apollo Funds for £506m. Operating profit for continuing operations jumped to £29.8m in 2023 from £4.6m. Wagamama, part of TRG, experienced an 11% growth, while TRG plans to open 10 new Wagamama restaurants and grow its UK presence to 200-220 sites, with 20-30 in the US by December 2027.

🍕 Pizza Pilgrims, a Neapolitan pizza group with B Corp status, is set to open a new 2,200sq ft, 80-cover restaurant in mid-November on 219 King's Road, Chelsea. The venue will feature indoor and al fresco dining, a basement 'Cinema Paradiso,' and a Capri-inspired 1950s Italian La Dolce Vita theme. Co-founders Thom Elliot has a personal connection to King’s Road through their father. The Chelsea restaurant will join the Sloane Stanley Estate, alongside other recent openings, and is part of the group's expansion, which includes recent launches in Euston and Cardiff, and an upcoming site in Edinburgh scheduled before year's end.

🏠 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts launched The Mining Exchange, a Registry Collection Hotel, in downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado as the first in the U.S. This 128-room hotel was once a stock exchange for gold and silver. The collection, started in 2021, has expanded to over 20 hotels globally. The property features amenities like a full-service spa, on-site art gallery, and 15,000 square feet of conference space. BLK MGK, a full-service coffee bar, offers locally sourced products.

🏦 In Austin, Texas, Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin is set to debut two new venues on September 27, 2024: The Tradition, an American Kitchen, and Heydey Social Club. The full-service restaurant and rooftop bar aim to reflect Austin's spirit, under Executive Chef Iain Reddick. The Tradition offers classic dishes with global twists, while Heydey presents a European-inspired bar experience with a Southwest design influence. Both establishments emphasize local beers, Texas spirits, and diverse wines.

???? Four Seasons opens in Hangzhou, China, with 188 rooms, 26 suites, three restaurants, a rooftop bar, spa, and gym, plus 2,900 square meters of event space. Mandarin Oriental launches its second Beijing property, featuring 42 courtyard houses and four dining venues. Accor's Pullman brand to debut in Varanasi, India by January 2029 with 180 rooms and over 1,500 square meters of banqueting space. Handwritten Collection by Accor starts in Bali, Indonesia, offering 381 rooms and suites, three pools, direct beach access, and extensive meeting facilities.

🍴 François O'Neill opens Café François in Borough Market on 11 September—a modern-day French canteen influenced by Paris, California, and Montreal. Executive chef Matthew Ryle and front of house Ed Wyand lead the team. The menu offers affordable French classics and global flavors, with in-house baked bread and patisserie. Located at 14-16 Stoney St, London SE1 9AD (cafefrancois.london). Chef Greg Clarke launches El Bolillo, a Mexican restaurant in Hove with sharing tacos and small plates like Porthilly oysters and lamb belly skewers. Expect to spend £55-£60 per head on food at 60 Church Rd, Brighton and Hove, Hove BN3 2FP (elbolillo.co.uk). Jason Atherton's Sael, a British brasserie, replaces Aquavit in St James's Market, London, celebrating British ingredients and furnishings, led by chef Dale Bainbridge. Located at 1 St James's Market, St. James's, London SW1Y 4QQ (saellondon.com). Selin Kiazim returns with Leydi, an all-day Turkish restaurant in Farringdon, inspired by Istanbul's lokantas and meyhanes, situated at 15 Old Bailey, London EC4M 7EF (hydehotels.com/london-city/restaurants-bars). Aaron Potter and Laura Hart unveil Wildflowers, a Mediterranean restaurant in

🍕 Big Mamma to open ‘La Bellezza’, a 150-cover trattoria with a 25-cover terrace in Birmingham’s Chamberlain Square, joining five London venues. The site previously housed Vinoteca, which closed in May due to energy prices and train strikes. Co-founders Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux aim to emulate the warmth of Italian trattorias. Big Mamma also plans a Manchester site and another London location in Canary Wharf.

🏖 IHG Hotels & Resorts, in partnership with Roxy-Pacific Holdings Pte Ltd, is set to introduce the Vignette Collection brand to the Maldives with Noku Maldives, Vignette Collection, a 50-key villa resort on Kudafunafaru Island, opening in December 2024 after refurbishment. The Maldives aims for a two million arrival target in 2024, a 10% increase from 2023. The resort, a 45-minute seaplane ride from Male International Airport, features 30 overwater and 20 beachfront villas, two restaurants, a pool, and a fitness center. Vignette Collection has expanded to 18 open hotels since its launch in August 2021.

🏨 My Place Hotels of America opened its first Vermont property, My Place Hotel-Randolph, as the 74th operating location in the U.S. Owned by Randolph Hospitality LLC and developed by Realty Development Services LLC, the hotel is managed by Cornerstone Hospitality. The 64-key hotel offers amenities like full kitchens in each room and is located near Vermont State University and Norwich University, within an hour of six ski resorts, and offers access to outdoor trails.