Hotel St Moritz, has announced a major brand shift within the luxury accommodation market in Queenstown, by joining the Sofitel brand universe.
This charming and singular property is now positioned within the newly badged MGallery by Sofitel collection by parent company AccorHotels. As a result of the repositioning, Hotel St Moritz will commence a three million dollar investment in its room inventory for renovation.
Having launched its stunning new bathrooms in 2015, Hotel St Moritz is embarking on further transformation this year to completely redecorate all 134 rooms and suites in the property, which overlooks Lake Wakatipu and surrounding mountains.
The distinguished design for the rooms retains the hotel’s charming alpine character while incorporating a modern interpretation of luxury, through locally inspired and immersive features filled with heritage, stories and richness.
Renowned interior designer Stewart Harris, who has worked with the hotel since its development, coins the design as “elegant, residential, handsome and enviable, with firm landscape references”.
Hotel St Moritz General Manager, Jo Finnigan, says she is “extremely excited” to see the new interpretation of luxury come to life throughout the property.
“Hotel St Moritz’s unique personality is perfectly matched with the open-minded character of the MGallery by Sofitel brand, and I’m excited to see Stewart bring this to life,” she says.
“The ‘new look’ will be timeless with a whimsical twist to perfectly bring “charming” together with “luxury”. This next wave of investment for Hotel St Moritz demonstrates our commitment to continuously raise standards for our guest experience.
“As newly-appointed General Manager of the hotel, I’m very excited to be driving this next chapter of our story and look forward to unveiling the stunning new rooms and suites to our guests.”
Hotel St Moritz was developed by owner and original developer Graham Wilkinson in 1998. The property was selected as founding member of the MGallery Collection in 2008, which now has 75 hotels around the world under the MGallery by Sofitel brand.
Hotel St Moritz and Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa property owner Graham Wilkinson said the brand transition was the “key driver” behind commitment to invest further into Hotel St Moritz.
“The Sofitel brand is now represented in two extraordinary hotels in downtown Queenstown, offering 216 hotel rooms and suites in total, and by far the largest inventory of five star rooms in the CBD” he said.
“The owners are also investing in two key areas of Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa this year, meaning a total investment of over six million dollars into the local tourism market.
Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa is focussing on two key areas for refurbishment – its renovation of their luxury Penthouse, a brand-new event room and superior executive lounge and a new bar.
The new MGallery by Sofitel positioning strengthens the brand by leveraging the equity of the Sofitel core brand – which has experienced solid success since it was repositioned in the luxury segment in 2007. MGallery by Sofitel is grounded in a clear understanding of market expectations and offers a new interpretation of luxury, based on clear customer segmentation.
AccorHotels is evolving the brand architecture of its Luxury and Upscale brands hotel portfolio in order to better respond and surpass the expectations of its savvy and selective international guests.
AccorHotels Senior Vice President Operations New Zealand, Fiji and French Polynesia, Chris Sedgwick says today’s guests are looking for more “modern interpretations of luxury”.
“They are worldly travellers with global attitudes, but they still want locally inspired and immersive experiences. While some prefer recognisable and lavish luxury, others are swayed by luxury in more understated forms,” he said.
“AccorHotels’ new Luxury Upscale portfolio, which includes MGallery by Sofitel, addresses these travellers expectations, offering guests a portfolio of luxury options to choose from, and we’re delighted to enhance our luxury offering in Queenstown with Hotel St Moritz becoming part of the Sofitel brand universe.”
