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The Hotel Formerly Known as the Chedi Will Become a Radisson Blu

Where: Via Villapizzone 24, Milan, Italy, 20156

This decor may not change

Rezidor is on fashionable fire at the moment. Having spent the last six months launching Hotel Missoni in Edinburgh and announcing plans to open up branches in Oman, South Africa, Kuwait and Brazil, it announced last week that it would be taking over one of the Milan fashpack’s old haunts: the Chedi, which is currently closed after a name change (to the Virtus) earlier this year failed to bring in the punters.

But this isn’t for another Missoni (a fashion hotel in the fashion capital of the world? Perish the thought). They’re going to turn it into a Radisson Blu – their second Italian property (there’s one in Rome).

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Hotel Missoni is Headed to Brazil

Good lord. It appears Hotel Missoni is expanding with an Aloft-like zeal, with the announcement of their fifth hotel now in Brazil.

Rezidor released a statement trumpeting the debut of the (well, the plans for) Hotel Missoni Ilha de Cajaíba, Brazil, which will be added to the group of Missonis — currently open in Edinburgh, and on the way to Kuwait, Cape Town and Oman over the next few years.

The property will be a component "of a luxurious, eco-friendly resort development on the island of Cajaíba, within the Bahia de Todos os Santos (All Saints’ Bay)." It will be 40 km from the airport — on this island, you can expect plenty o' palm trees, "mangroves and idyllic beaches, a signature golf course, five other luxury hotels, a conference center, a sports center, a marina, spas, shopping, a yacht club, and a heliport, all of which Missoni guests will have access to.

The Hotel Missoni will have 118 rooms, 48 suites, two restaurants and 32 Missoni villas with golf and sea-views. Expected opening date: early 2012.

Missoni Hotels / Hotel Hype / Cape Town Hotels / Fashion Hotels / Rezidor Hotels / → All Tags

Hotel Missoni Goes For South Africa Next

Hotel Missoni wastes no time. On the crest of the wave of hype surrounding the very first Missoni Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland (it opened yesterday!), Rezidor Hotels has just announced that Missoni will bring its mutilcolored, dreamy lodging designs to Cape Town, South Africa in 2010.

Hotel Missoni Edinburgh opened its doors amidst a technicolored flurry of publicity, and as we wait on Missoni's second lodging outpost to open its doors next in Kuwait this fall followed by an Oman location later on, we've apparently got a fourth location to look forward to. The 157-room Hotel Missoni Cape Town will be, supposedly, opening "just in time" for the FIFA World Cup in 2010 "in the heart" of Cape Town — complete with a Missoni Cucina restaurant, a bar, a spa and a rooftop terrace "with a cantilevered swimming pool and views of Table Mountain."

No word on when the Missoni brand is planning on crossing over into the ol' US of A, but we're going to go ahead and assume it won't be for a good long while if Rezidor's got its eyes fixed on spots like Edinburgh, Kuwait and Cape Town — but we'll keep you posted; you can always somehow procure yourself one of those fly kilty-apron things and wear it around your house to achieve a similar effect.

WiFi Hell / Hotel WiFi / London Hotels / Rezidor Hotels / Park Inn Hotels / → All Tags

Park Inn London Charges £15 for WiFi

Where: 92 Southampton Row, London, United Kingdom, WC1B 4BH

Perhaps we have been spoiled by the mid-market hotel WiFi situations over here in the United States. See, when we score a room in a mid-priced chain hotel where the rates run in the $100 neighborhood, we've come to expect free WiFi to be thrown into the deal.

This isn't really an unfair expectation: after doing our Annual WiFi Report for several years now, we've found the most exorbitant WiFi charges to come at us from the luxe chains, while many of the mid-market brands 'round these parts let us climb onto the Internet for free.

And so naturally, we were stunned to see that the newly revamped Park Inn London, Russell Square (whose rooms start at a totally decent 69 GBP, or about $97 USD) charges these sorts of prices for WiFi.

This screenshot comes to us via Flickr user sofiaGK, who noted that the "charges seem a bit excessive" — and, um, we have to agree.

The hotel claims to be "celebrating functionality and fun" — and 15 GBP for 24 hours of WiFi is neither functional nor fun.

[Photo: sofiagk]

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Park Inn London Opening on February 1st

Where: 92 Southampton Row, London, United Kingdom, WC1B 4BH

The Rezidor Hotel Group is expanding their Park Inn brand, starting with the opening of a Park Inn in London next month.

The Park Inn London will be situated just south of Russell Square between the West End and financial district, taking over from the old Bonnington Hotel. The newly renovated space will comprise 214 rooms, a restaurant, bar, 14 meeting rooms and a fitness area.

Set to open on February 1st, the Russell Square Park Inn will be the group's 4th hotel in London other than the Radisson SAS Portman, Park Inn Hyde Park and Park Inn Heathrow and will be the 48th Rezidor hotel in the UK.

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