Hotel de Crillon in Paris is rumored to be closing for two years at the end of 2012 for a total overhaul. The palace hotel was purchased by Saudi royalty in 2010 for $355 million. The renovation will add a spa and increase the event space. Noteworthy: The Hotel Ritz Paris is also shuttering for a makeover this year. With the arrival of several ultra-luxury Asian brands on the Parisian hotel scene, the established palace hotels are on a renovation spree.
The Ranch at Rock Creek in Montana named Maja Kilgore GM. She arrives after a four-year role as GM at Laucala Island in Fiji. Her career also includes tenures at several Relais & Chateaux properties, including Burg Schlitz, Alpenhof Murnau and Hotel Geiger in Germany, and the Matahari Beach Resort in Indonesia. She can be reached at [email protected].
Trump International Hotel & Tower, Chicago has tapped Thomas Lents as executive chef for Sixteen, where he plans a new culinary program that melds French technique with modern American cuisine. Lents, a protégé of Joël Robuchon, joins the hotel from Joël Robuchon at The Mansion in Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, where he served as chef de cuisine. He also worked at Quince Restaurant in San Francisco and the Thornton Restaurant in Dublin.
InterContinental London Westminster is said to be in the works. The scoop, according to a development trade publication, is that the five-star hotel would be at the site of the existing Queen Anne’s Chambers building in Westminster on Broadway, close to the Houses of Parliament. Construction is set for the end of this year. Luxe touches include a large presidential suite, along with an executive club bar and lounge area. The ground floor will house tea lounge, a winter garden and a bar.