The Australian group will expand its homegrown Adina and Vibe Hotels brands with fresh addresses in two gateway-Australian cities, and a third in Geneva signalling TFE’s debut in Switzerland.
Historic Melbourne
The first of the trilogy is Adina Apartment Hotel Pentridge Melbourne, opening in February 2023. This historic site is being developed by the Shayher Group in the Australian city’s Coburg precinct.
The 110-apartment hotel has a newly-built portion being added to a section of the former prison known as ‘Division B’ and will be adaptively reusing the site’s panopticon exercise yard as part of the hotel’s reception, modern glass hotel tower and porte cochere.
The project is blending contemporary architectural design with the building’s heritage, including adding a function centre to the prison’s former chapel with its high lead-light windows, to make it suitable for weddings or business events.
Adelaide addition
Simultaneously due to complete in South Australia, Vibe Hotel Adelaide will mark the brand’s debut in the Australian state and is being developed by GuavaLime.
The 18-storey upscale hotel will feature 123 guestrooms complete with open-plan bathrooms and floor to ceiling windows. Loucas Zahos Architects are behind the design, which incorporates an urban pool deck, spa and sauna. On the ground level will be the Storehouse Flinders East restaurant and bar.
Swiss debut
In Europe, TFE Hotels will debut in Switzerland with the opening of Adina Apartment Hotel Geneva in March.
The hotel will offer a choice of 140 one and two-bedroom or studio apartment-style hotel rooms and a variety of on-site leisure and service offerings. Amenities include a fitness and wellness facility, 24-hour reception, restaurant and a public multi-storey car park with more than 1,700 parking spaces.
Mixed-use progress
Set within an 11-hectare lifestyle precinct as a key part of the rapidly developing Quartier de L’Étang development, the hotel’s developer, PG Promotors SA, and owner Claude Berda, are committed to converting the area into a new, mixed-use district.
TFE Hotels’ group chief operating officer, Chris Sedgwick, said: “Overseas guests accounted for 82% of approximately 3 million overnight stays in Geneva in 2017, however, the city has a very low proportion of apartment hotels to best cater to this style of traveller. The fact that the market is not competitive in this space gives us an opportunity to position Adina Hotels as a long-term market leader in Switzerland, with Zurich, Basel and Lucerne other potential locations in the future.”
Growth plan
Sedgwick summed up the firm’s growth plan implementation: “In just 13 months, Adina – which is a proud, homegrown Australian brand – has launched the Vibe and Adina brands in Singapore and, with six new builds, expanded its portfolio in Europe to a total of 17 hotels. In Europe, this represents a growth of almost 50%, not least of all in Germany, where Adina Hotels is now represented in the eight largest German cities and all regions and is the market leader in the future serviced apartments sector.”
In 2023 and beyond, TFE’s focus remains on expanding its footprint in Australia and overseas with design-led and destination-focused properties. Other sites in the pipeline include: Collection by TFE Hotels Surry Hills Village, bringing 102 keys to a Sydney suburb in Q1 2024; the 142 room Adina Apartment Hotel Fremantle Perth appearing over in Western Australia in Q3 2024; and in Europe, Adina Vienna Danube will take up floors one to three with 108 apartments of what will be the highest residential tower in Austria when it completes in Q1 2025.
