Adding more than 100 new hotel members last year was a milestone for the collection, bringing it to more than 700 across 100 countries. With growth on track to surpass last year’s, SLH is continuing its mission to seek out distinctive, independent properties in both established favourites and lesser-explored corners of the world, he says.
Wong was in Auckland last week to meet with media and partners and spoke about destinations rapidly growing in popularity, such as Vietnam and Sri Lanka, as well as properties in places still off the mainstream tourist trail, including Ladakh in India.
‘There’s an appetite for beautiful properties that feel connected to the land and the people around it. We are hearing more and more about our guests wanting to find ways to have authentic experiences. They want to connect with the people who have lived in those places and know it intimately – to live like a local rather than a tourist.’
Close to home, five Australian hotels joined the collection last month through a new partnership with Salter Brothers Hospitality. They include Ardour Milton Park Bowral and Ardour Lilianfels Blue Mountains, both recently transformed through multi-million-dollar restorations, as well as Spicers Potts Point, Spicers Balfour Brisbane and Spicers Peak Lodge.
At this stage, SLH has six properties in New Zealand, including Bay of Many Coves, Eichardt’s Private Hotel, Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat, The George, The Spire Hotel and Fiordland Lodge (currently under redevelopment).
Further afield, recent international signings include Broadwick Soho in London, UK; Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel, Peru; The Grace Hotel in County Mayo, Ireland; Casa Caprile in Anacapri, Italy; Eight Venezia in Venice; and Casa Simona in Panama’s El Valle de Antón, a town nestled within the crater of an extinct volcano.
Also joining the portfolio are Hotel MOHI by Appellation in California, the newly opened Rhino and River Wildlife Retreat & Spa in Pobitora, Assam, India, and Le 3 by Champagne Thiénot in Reims, the heart of France’s Champagne region.
