Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels sold, may rebrand

Starwood Capital Group has bought the 10 Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels in London from Edwardian Hotels for a reported £800 million.

Apart from the Heathrow hotel, the properties are all in Central London. Many are in prime tourist sites – there is one in Leicester Square, one in Covent Garden and one just north of Oxford Street for example – and are freehold, hence the high price.

Edwardian Group, which presumably will change its name now, will retain its three luxury hotels – The May Fair (part of Radisson Collection, image below), The Londoner in Leicester Square (independent) and The Edwardian Manchester (Radisson Collection).

It’s not clear what drove the sale, but The Londoner will have been a hugely expensive project (the hotel famously has more floors below ground than above it) and obviously the central London hotels will have struggled during the pandemic.

It is reported that “Edwardian Hotels will continue operating the sites on a transitional basis.” This implies that Starwood Capital will look to bring in new operators, potentially under new brands.

I don’t see any realistic possibility, unless Starwood wants to spend substantial sums, to rebrand any of them under its funky 1 Hotels, Baccarat Hotels or Treehouse Hotels brands. I suspect we will see some transition to Hilton, IHG, Marriott, Hyatt etc.

---

How to earn Radisson Rewards points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

Radisson Rewards does not have a dedicated UK credit card. However, you can earn Radisson Rewards points by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

These cards earn Membership Rewards points:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 60,000 Radisson Rewards points. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 120,000 Radisson Rewards points

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 30,000 Radisson Rewards points. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:3 into Radisson Rewards points which is a very attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 3 Radisson Rewards points.

Even better, holders of The Platinum Card receive free Radisson Rewards Premium status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Gold and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here.

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)