LVMH to Open New Luxury Hotels

Luxury Goods conglomerate LVMH, owner of Louis Vuitton, plans to open a series of new luxury hotels starting in Oman and Egypt. The hotels will incorporate LVMH brands such as Vuitton and Dior boutiques and Givenchy spas. The company has created LVMH Hotel Management to "oversee the group's activities in the luxury hotel sector" and "maximize the value of its brands". The two new hotels, named Cheval Blanc after one of LVMH's famed Bordeaux vineyards, are slated to open in 2012. The move follows the successful 2006 opening of the LVMH-backed Cheval Blanc hotel in Courchevel, France (above). The Maison Cheval Blanc in Oman is sited on the 11 square- kilometer island of Al Sodah and will include 32 private villas. The development in Egypt is on the private island of Amoun in Aswan and will include about 40 suites overlooking the Nile. LVMH notes that "other projects are currently under study in exceptional destinations". The company won't own the real estate or finance construction, but will instead run the resorts under management contract.