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Dive Overview:
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts will open a 700-room hotel in Orlando, Florida, in 2028, parent company IHG Hotels & Resorts announced Tuesday. The property, located on International Drive, will feature five restaurants and bars, a 15,000-square-foot spa and wellness facility and 106,000 square feet of meeting and event space. Long a leading leisure travel destination, Orlando has in recent years also become a popular destination for meetings and group travel. As part of IHG’s ongoing luxury and lifestyle push, InterContinental Orlando will cater to both leisure and business travelers.
Dive Insights:
The Orlando property’s owner, New York-based real estate developer Flag Luxury Group, is developing the hotel in partnership with Florida’s Unicorp National Development.
The hotel has 700 rooms, including 84 suites. Dining options include a full-service restaurant, a specialty restaurant, a lobby bar and lounge, a coffee shop, and a pool bar and grill.
In addition to 106,000 square feet of meeting and event space, the hotel will also feature a business center and the brand’s signature Club InterContinental Lounge.
Jolyon Bly, IHG’s CEO for the Americas, said the hotel will be “a fantastic addition to our luxury and lifestyle portfolio.”
IHG has been expanding its range of luxury and lifestyle hotels across its six brands to meet growing demand in this sector.
In particular, the company’s luxury brand, InterContinental, has played a major role in that push: In October, IHG launched a “brand evolution” of InterContinental aimed at meeting the needs of modern luxury travelers seeking more culturally enriching experiences. Earlier this summer, IHG opened another InterContinental hotel in San Antonio.
The Orlando market has seen an upswing in hotel activity recently as companies look to capitalize on the increase in leisure and group travel to the city.
In May, Cvent ranked Orlando as the top meetings destination among 50 North American markets. And earlier this week, Hyatt Hotels Corp. announced it was selling the Hyatt Regency Orlando for $1 billion. The hotel’s new owners plan to develop a Grand Hyatt next door to the Hyatt Regency Orlando, hoping to capitalize on meetings and event travel.
In January, Hilton’s luxury brand, Conrad, made its debut in Orlando with the opening of a 433-room hotel at the newly constructed Evermore Orlando Resort.
