The Hotel Collection (formerly Puma Hotels Collection until 2013, Barceló Hotels until 2012 and the Paramount Group of Hotels before that) is a group of mid market hotels operating in the United Kingdom. The company operates many 4-star hotels in locations across Scotland, England and Wales, including, The Carlton Hotel in Edinburgh, The Marine Hotel in Troon, The Majestic Hotel in Harrogate and The Imperial Hotel in Torquay and Blackpool (now The Imperial Hotel Blackpool). The group also includes 18 health & leisure clubs.
History
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The Hotel Collection started as Paramount Hotels in 1994 with four hotels: Shrigley Hall in Cheshire, the Angel Hotel in Cardiff, the Prince of Wales in Southport (since sold to Britannia Hotels) and the Palace Hotel in Buxton. It then purchased the Cheltenham Park Hotel in Cheltenham. In 1997 three further hotels were acquired from Forte Hotels: the Imperial Hotel in Blackpool, the Imperial Hotel in Torquay and the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate. In 1999 the Old Ship in Brighton was purchased, and then the group acquired four hotels from the Scottish Highland Group, comprising the Carlton Hotel in Edinburgh, Redworth Hall in County Durham, the Marine in Troon and the Stirling Highland Hotel in Stirling. In 2000 the group bought the Oxford Hotel, just outside Oxford city centre. Dawnay Day Hotel Management Limited was created in 2004 to manage the portfolio of hotels on behalf of the Dawnay Day Group. The previous management which have since set up QHotels with 3 former Paramount Hotels, the Queens in Leeds, the Midland Hotel in Manchester and Chesford Grange in the South East of England.
Under the new management, in January 2005 the group grew again with the acquisition of three Hanover Hotels at Basingstoke, Daventry and Hinckley. The Head Office was since moved from Morley in Leeds to Hinckley Island Hotel. These acquisitions were followed later that year by Walton Hall & Hotel. In December, a further two hotels were purchased from Furlong; the Billesley Manor Hotel, near Stratford-upon-Avon; and the Combe Grove Manor Hotel, near Bath. Under Paramount management the Lygon Arms ceased to be a member of the Small Leading Hotels of the World and the Imperial Hotel Torquay lost its five star rating, reducing the group to a mid market four star operator. In September 2007, the Spanish company Barceló Hotels & Resorts established a 45-year lease to manage the group from the previous owners Dawnay Day Shore Hotels, now Puma Hotels Ltd. Barceló, who operated in 16 other countries, took over 21 UK properties.
As of 25 April 2012, Barceló Hotels withdrew from the UK market, paying £20.25m to break their lease agreement with the owners of the hotels. Puma Hotels initially indicated it would revive the Paramount brand, but instead adopted its own name as the hotels brand.
As of 10 June 2014 Puma Hotels re-branded as 'the Hotel Collection' after being purchased by Lone Star, a US-based private equity group, for £323m. The group continued to run the then same 21 hotels.
In late 2014, the Hotel Collection announced it would dispose of 4 properties. The Palace Hotel (Buxton) (since sold to Britannia Hotels), the Marine Hotel (Troon), the Cheltenham Park Hotel and the Basingstoke Country Hotel (also since sold to Britannia Hotels). The previous CEO Fredrik Korallus was replaced with ex-Travelodge CEO, Grant Hearn as of November 2014.
As of 6 July 2015, Lone Star, owners of the Collection, announced that it would bring together 89 hotels after the further acquisition of 29 Jurys Inn Hotels, 21 Mercure Hotels, 19 Thistle Hotels along with three Hilton hotels under a new umbrella company running under the name of 'Amaris'. However it is yet to be made clear if a number of the Hotel Collection properties will remain outside the group and be run as individual provincial hotels. Grant Hearn, the former chief executive of Travelodge, and current CEO of the Hotel Collection will become non-executive chairman of Amaris with John Brennan operating as the company's CEO.
Awards
In December 2014 the Hotel Collection was announced as a runner-up and awarded silver in the ‘Best UK Upscale Hotel Brand’ award category, at the 2014 British Travel Awards.
The Imperial Hotel in Torquay, part of the collection, was presented with LateRooms.com's Best Kept Secret Award for Best View in Autumn 2014 for its views overlooking the coast of Torbay in South West England.
References
External links
- Official website
- www
.amarishospitality .co .uk
