Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, is among one of the luxury brand's hotels in Europe, the other being in Munich and Geneva. The Prague Mandarin is opening in 2006

Hong Kong-based luxury hotel operator, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, continues to expand its upmarket brand into Europe managing a stylish 144-room hotel in Barcelona, Spain.

Mandarin Oriental Barcelona is situated at Paseo de Gracia, Barcelona's most prestigious address, at the very centre of the city's commercial and entertainment address. The hotel will be housed in the re-development of an elegant mid-20th century building which will also incorporate luxury retail at street level. Internationally renowned interior design firm Yabu Pushelburg has been appointed to do the project.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group's Chief executive Edouard Ettedgui said the "pre-eminence of the site and the vibrancy of the surrounding neighbourhood" is ideal for the luxury brand.

The luxury brand is already in London, Munich and Geneva and soon will be opening in Prague in 2006. In the US, Mandarin Oriental is already present in New York, Miami, San Francisco and Washington DC and will be opening soon in Boston, Chicago and Las Vegas. In total, Mandarin Oriental now operates, or has under development, over 8,500 rooms in 16 countries with 14 hotels in Asia, 11 in the Americas and five in Europe.  

Besides the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, another Hong Kong hotel operator, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is also on an expansionist mode in Europe and the US. The group recently acquired the historic palais of Prince Roland Bonaparte in Paris with plans to convert into a hotel. It has also signed management agreements with hotels in Las Vegas and Chicago, marking its first forays into the US market.

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Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group