Biggest Holiday Inn in Moscow

The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has signed a deal with Crocus Group (a retail and leisure complex spread across 90 hectares) to build the world's biggest Holiday Inn hotel in Moscow, with an investment of more that $100 million (Dh367m) from Crocus Group, IHG said yesterday.

Under a 20-year management contract, the 1,000-room hotel's construction is scheduled to start in 2011 with the hotel set to open in 2014, to be located in Crocus City in the Krasnogorsk area of Moscow.

With seven IHG branded hotels already existing in Russia, a further 13 properties are in the pipeline making IHG the largest international hotel operator in Russia, the hotel company said in a statement.

The seven existing hotels include six Holiday Inn hotels and one Crowne Plaza hotel. And the planned 13 include seven Holiday Inn hotels, three Crowne Plaza hotels, two Staybridge Suites and an InterContinental Hotel in Moscow.

"The eighth Holiday Inn in Moscow will have meeting facilities occupying 2,500 square metres, three restaurants and a 1,200 square metre health club," it said.

Kirk Kinsell, President, IHG Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: "Ten years ago we opened our first Holiday Inn in Moscow. In five years we're going to open the world's biggest Holiday Inn in this wonderful city."

Meanwhile, the $1 billion Holiday Inn relaunch is on track for completion by the end of 2010, the company said, adding that close to 600 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels will be operating under the new standards by the end of March this year.

"The next biggest Holiday Inn in the world is the Holiday Inn Chengdu Century City in China with 965 rooms, followed by the Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum, with 910 rooms including four suites," it said.