IHG Hotels & Resorts is joining its international hotel brand group peers, and growing its portfolio of hotel and resort properties across Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. Combined, these locations have a broad appeal, attracting not only nearby US leisure travellers, but also European consumers who are happy to take a longer flight to enjoy the Caribbean’s great beaches and temperate waters.
For IHG, the push is on growing its luxury and lifestyle brands. The group has already opened five new properties in the region in 2024, and has a further 32 hotels and resorts in its pipeline in the region. It is also broadening its brand offering, and recently opened its first Six Senses branded property in the region, Six Senses La Sagesse in Grenada. The luxury brand has a strong wellness and sustainability thread, providing guests with experiences that include a spa, and farm to table cooking from a menu designed around locally produced ingredients.
Development with responsibility
Upcoming developments that will extend the Six Senses offer are Six Senses Grand Bahama, and Six Senses Xala, on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, both expected to launch in 2026. The Grand Bahama project will feature 45 waterfront and canal villas with access to over 700 metres of beach. Designed by architects 3XN around sustainability principles, construction will be prefabricated to minimise impacts on the site. The development will feature a marine research and dive centre.
In Xala, the Six Senses hotel will feature a mix of accommodation from single rooms to three bedroom villas. All 51 units will have their own private pools, while the project will also feature larger branded residences nearby. Despite being surrounded by nature, and having a curve of white sandy beach for guests to enjoy, the resort will be just ten minutes from the new Chalacatepec International Airport.
The group’s other luxury brand, InterContinental, is also expanding in the region. The 293 room InterContinental Presidente Monterrey will launch in Mexico in the second half of 2024, followed by the InterContinental Grenada Resort with a planned opening in 2025.
Adding lifestyle resorts
IHG’s lifestyle brands are also blooming in the region. Kimpton has already seen two openings in 2024, in Mexico and these will shortly be followed by the launch of Kimpton Las Mercedes in the Dominican Republic’s bustling Santo Domingo. This 130 room hotel is being delivered in partnership with Iberostar Group. And before the year end Kimpton Tres Ríos Riviera Maya will also be open for reservations, on Mexico’s Caribbean coast.
Looking further ahead, IHG recently signed three new hotels in Turks & Caicos. The InterContinental, Kimpton and Indigo properties are all being developed by partners Molo Hotel Group and Lighthouse Hotel Management, and are expected to be open by 2027.
