FEATURE: HILTON WORLDWIDE
WALDORF ASTORIA AMSTERDAM
The legendary Waldorf Astoria in New York is currently undergoing a major renovation that promises to reassert its iconic status as the flag- ship for the brand. In Europe, Hilton Worldwide is working with Dijkhuis Vastgoed Management B.V, the owner of Hilton Amsterdam, and interior designers GA Design on a new Waldorf Astoria in the heart of central Amsterdam. The Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam will be created by combining six historic canal-side buildings, nestled amongst 17th and 18th century row houses, alongside one of Amsterdam’s best known canals, Herengracht. John Vanderslice, Global Head of Luxury and Lifestyle Brands at Hilton Worldwide, comments: “The Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand has become a touchstone for defining luxury experi- ences and its growth is one of the strongest in its hospitality segment with more than 20 hotels in operation and 10 hotels currently in our global pipeline. Our hotels are destinations of elegant style and comfort, reflecting great de- sign and architecture in thoughtful details and Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam will be an exquisite
asset to our brand when it opens in 2013.” The 94-guestroom hotel will feature a range of elegant food and beverage experiences includ- ing a destination restaurant and bar. A stunning 500m2
health club and spa will see guests of
Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam enjoy a luxurious experience offering true Waldorf service in one of the world’s most magical locations. It will also offer 400m2
of state-of-the-art meet-
ing and conference space including a courtyard garden.
Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts now includes more than 20 landmark destinations around the globe. Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam will be the luxury brand’s seventh hotel to open in Europe, reflecting its continued international expansion, joining Rome Cavalieri, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Trianon Palace Versailles, A Waldorf As- toria Hotel, London Syon Park, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and The Caledonian, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel. New properties are also due to open in Berlin and Jerusalem.
understand our processes. That’s where
we’re spending a lot of time right now.” The brand narratives have been a
significant step in the right direction: “Owners see us putting money, hard work and thought into the brands. They are investing in them as well so if we were changing our mind on a weekly or monthly basis about what the brands stand for and what it is that we’re trying to achieve, the owners would see that as a lack of discipline. But we’ve put a stake in the ground by putting this down on paper and communicating it. I’m spending a good deal of my time this year going around the world, communicating the brand narratives to our owners, to our future development partners, and to consultants.” “This has been a really exciting time. We’ve come in at the right time. It’s been exciting to
work on re-envisioning Waldorf-Astoria and trying to establish from a design perspective and an operational perspective what a luxury property is, what the differences between Waldorf Astoria and Conrad are. We’re re- envisioning the flagship brand Hilton Hotels & Resorts. We’re rethinking DoubleTree by Hilton as it expands globally and starts to take on incredible momentum outside of the US. We’ve also been working closely with the Focused Service brands to revision their internal North America presence but also what it will take to make them become palatable within China, within South America, within Central America, within India. We’re completely giving new structure and a new face to those brands outside of the US as they become global roll-outs.” According to Celia Geyer, in Europe, the effects are already being felt. “I don’t think
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we expected to see the change as quickly. It’s been phenomenal to watch the process, to see the change. It’s been very rewarding.” “The company goal from a design,
architecture and construction perspective is that we are determined to be widely seen as the easiest and most collaborative team for owners and our internal customers to work with, whilst being one of the best design-led hotel companies out there,” says Gordon Coles. “It was a very clear message that as a group of brands we had to start pushing the needle in terms of design. The recruitment of Chris and Celia was the start of this process, our recent re-structure of the Global Design Team in Europe has continued this process and strengthened this team further, and we will continue to strengthen the team as our pipeline of new hotels and renovation projects continues to grow.”
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