As InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) celebrated the InterContinental brand’s return to Russia with an opening ceremony at the InterContinental Moscow Tverskaya, the company also signed a second InterContinental hotel in Russia.
The 173-room InterContinental St Petersburg, in the prestigious Europe Embankment scheme, will mean the InterContinental brand has a presence in Russia’s two capital cities, after a decade away. The management contract with Petersburg City, a subsidiary of VTB Development, sees the new build hotel set to open in 2016.
The striking trapezoid-shaped hotel will have 159 rooms, 13 suites and a presidential suite. The restaurant will seat 140 diners, and the cafes and bars will be on the ground floor and the rooftop. The large spa and gym will include an indoor pool and
the club lounge will be on the top floor of the building with views over the city. There will be indoor and outdoor parking available for guests.
With nearly 1,000 square metres of function space, including seven meeting rooms and a ballroom that spans over 300 square metres, and with its location near the major business centres, the hotel will be ideal for meetings and conferences.
Aron Libinson, IHG’s associate vice president for development in Russia and CIS, said: “This is a seminal moment for InterContinental. To sign a hotel in St Petersburg on the day we officially open the InterContinental Moscow Tverskaya, after a decade away, is testament to the strength of the InterContinental brand. As a luxury hotel brand with 66 years heritage, the InterContinental St Petersburg will provide guests with a memorable experience. We look forward to a successful partnership with VTB Development.”
The hotel will form an important part of the 10 hectare Europe Embankment development. The high profile scheme, in the oldest part of the city between the Tuchkov and Birzhevoi bridges, close to Yubileiny Sports Palace will also house high end residential properties, businesses, shops and restaurants and the Eifman Dance Palace.
The 24,000 square metres Eifman Dance Palace is home to Russia’s foremost choreographer Boris Eifman and the world famous Eifman Ballet. The Eifman Dance Palace will have capacity for an audience of 1,300 theatregoers.
The development is close to the Winter Palace and the Peteropavlovskaya Fortress, five minutes walk from the metro station Sportivnaya, 30 minutes away from Pulkovo airport.
Nadezhda Vinnik, Deputy Director of VTB Development said: “The InterContinental brand is ideally suited to the scheme. People will visit the Europe Embankment complex from other areas of St Petersburg, Russia and from around the world. We chose InterContinental because of their brand, their marketing programmes, and their reputation for operational excellence.”
The Europe Embankment complex will open in 2016 when the developers complete the first building, the Eifman Ballet Theatre. Construction of the hotel is due to begin in 2013.
IHG has made no secret of its commitment to growth in Russia, announcing its plans to have 100 hotels across Russia and the CIS open and in the pipeline by 2020.
IHG is expanding into St Petersburg, regional centres and new fast-growing cities with well-established business communities and tourist attractions such as Samara, Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Novgorod and others.
The company said it would continue to grow in Moscow and St. Petersburg and work with local investors to introduce managed and franchised hotels across the country, where there is a need for internationally branded hotels.
Last year IHG opened the Crowne Plaza St Petersburg Airport and Crowne Plaza St Petersburg Ligovsky. The company has 13 hotels (3,894 rooms) in Russia and five hotels (1,125 rooms) in the CIS and a further five hotels (1,907 rooms) in the development pipeline in Russia, and two hotels (433 rooms) in the pipeline in the CIS.
