Marriott Signs Four Autograph Collection Hotels in Europe

One of the newest hotel brands of Marriott International, the Autograph Collection, is to debut in Europe with the addition of four new hotels in Spain. The first four Autograph Collection hotels in Europe are:

• AC Santo Mauro, Madrid, Spain
• AC Palacio del Retiro, Madrid, Spain
• AC Palacio de Santa Paula, Granada, Spain
• AC Baqueira Hotel & Spa, Baqueira, Spain

By May 2011, these four hotels will join the company’s Autograph Collection as part of a recently announced joint venture with AC Hotels and its portfolio of 9,100 hotel rooms in Europe. The joint venture also includes the launch of a new brand, AC Hotels by Marriott, which will initially be comprised of up to 86 rebranded AC Hotels in Spain, Italy and Portugal, plus the four hotels joining the Autograph Collection.

With the addition of these Autograph Collection properties, the AC Hotels by Marriott portfolio, and a strong pipeline in Europe, Marriott is over a quarter of the way to doubling the number of rooms open or signed in Europe by 2015, a goal announced last year.

“We are thrilled to expand our relationship with AC Hotels and to launch the Autograph Collection in Europe with such a dynamic and distinguished group of hotels,” said Amy McPherson, president and managing director of Marriott International in Europe. “Each of these properties offers a truly unique guest experience and fits perfectly within the positioning of the Autograph Collection. As we continue our ambitious growth, we expect the Autograph Collection will be a very popular conversion brand in Europe given the region’s variety of iconic and independent hotel groups.”

The Autograph Collection launched in January of 2010, and has grown to include 14 hotels in four unique categories: Boutique Arts, Iconic Historic, Boutique Chic and Luxury Redefined. The hotels include the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, one of the newest hotels on the famed Las Vegas strip, the Algonquin Hotel in New York (a New York City Historic Landmark) and the Kessler Collection hotels, including the art-filled Bohemian hotels in Orlando, Florida and Savannah, Georgia. Marriott anticipates it will end 2011 with close to 40 hotels in the Autograph Collection worldwide.

The Four Hotels in Spain

AC Santo Mauro in Madrid occupies the premises of an elegant late nineteenth-century building, which was once the residence of the Duke de Santo Mauro. Housing 50 luxurious guestrooms, the hotel is located a stone’s throw from Paseo Recoletos and Buen Retiro Park.

Madrid’s 50-room AC Palacio del Retiro is housed in a twentieth century building and preserves the original mouldings, woodwork and stained-glass windows of the original noble residence.

The luxurious 75-room AC Palacio de Santa Paula is a true restoration masterpiece, located in the historic center of Granada and is housed in the premises of what used to be the Santa Paula Convent, a Moorish house and a Spanish noble house, all fused into one magnificent building within walking distance of La Alhambra.

The charming 102-room AC Baqueira Hotel & Spa will be the first ski resort in Marriott International’s portfolio in Europe, located in Baqueira-Beret ski station looking over the impressive landscape of the Pyrenees.

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