Danish hotel management group Core Hospitality has signed an agreement to take over management of the A Place To hotel in Esbjerg.
The company has signed a 15 year lease to operate the property with landlord and developer Heimstaden, which launched the hotel and apartments complex in 2021. Immediate plans for the asset include switching a block of apartments to create more hotel rooms, ahead of relaunching under an international hotel brand.
Converting to meet demand
The landmark building, on the North Sea coast of the port city, was designed by leading architects BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group. It comprises three striking blocks with the tallest featuring a 17th floor restaurant with commanding views. Originally, the property was built with a 117 room hotel and 97 apartments; thanks to strong demand from hotel guests, the apartments will now be converted to create more hotel accommodation, taking the property to a 214 room hotel.
“This is a big deal for us at Core Hospitality as we finally get a hotel in Esbjerg – the city has been on our wish list for a long time,” said CEO of Core Hospitality, Peter Haaber. “To take over an existing hotel that fits one of our partners’ brands makes it an ideal entry into the market.”
Core operates as a third party specialist hotel operator, currently managing 19 hotels across five brands. The group recently merged with the Scandinavian business of Zleep hotels, taking over its 14 properties in the region. It also operates Marriott branded hotels including two Moxy hotels in Norway, and a Fairfield by Marriott hotel and Residence Inn aparthotel, both located in Copenhagen. The group also operates the independently branded Kirk Suites aparthotel in Vejle.
Core has two pipeline projects, which include the launch of the Moxy hotel in Aarhus. The 181 room property is expected to open in 2026, and will be developed alongside Coal Bridge, Aarhus’s version of New York’s High Line. It will also bring another Zleep hotel online in Copenhagen, with a 133 room hotel in Glostrup becoming the brand’s seventh location in the city region.
A dynamic region
One further hotel project is in development in Esbjerg, and is launching in the coming months. The 209 room CABINN hotel joins the brand’s portfolio of ten other hotels and aparthotels across Denmark, including five in the Copenhagen area.
Other hotel projects planned in the region include the Hotel Hvalen, to be built on the eastern coast at Aabenraa. The 175 room hotel will form part of a 14 storey block which will also include apartments, senior living and restaurants, which is due to be completed in 2027. And in Haderslev, plans are under way to create a 200 room luxury hotel by converting the former Haderslev Hospital.
