Malaysia's YTL Hotels to open second London hotel

Malaysia's YTL Hotels is on track to open the Academy Hotel in August in London's Bloomsbury district.

YTL Hotels—along with New York-based Champalimaud Design—converted five Georgian townhouses into the 50-room hotel, which is near the British Museum, several restaurants, cafes, galleries and boutiques. The property joined the Small Luxury Hotels of the World marketing consortium in April after a multimillion-pound renovation. 
  

This recent addition to YTL Hotel's UK portfolio follows the company's move to add the Monkey Island Estate as a member of SLH in July. The 27-room property in the village of Bray, Berkshire on the River Thames also will open next month after a complete renovation. The new hotel is in the white pavilion and temple buildings of the original hotel, which dates to 1840, and will feature a restaurant, bar, lounge and spa once renovations are complete. 

The hospitality division of YTL Corporation Berhad acquired the Monkey Island Estate, the Glasshouse hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland and the Academy Hotel in September 2016. YTL Hotels later purchased Marriott International's Autograph Collection property Threadneedles Hotel in London in February 2017, bringing its total number of UK hotels to five. The recent acquisitions expanded the group's portfolio, which now includes 29 hotels and resorts across Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, France, Spain and the UK.

YTL Hotels developed the 99-room Gainsborough Bath Spa in Bath, England with Wessex Water in 2013. The hotel opened in spring 2014 after becoming a Leading Hotels of the World member. The Gainsborough Bath Spa is within a Georgian building, which originally operated as the United Hospital. The site also includes Bath's final Elizabethan building, Bellots House, which is linked to the hotel via a tunnel. Champalimaud Design designed the interiors of this hotel as well as the other YTL hotels in the UK.