Regent Hotels, the luxury brand of the hospitality company Rezidor SAS Hospitality, will open its first Regent hotel in the Middle East - The Regent Kuwait - by the end of next year. “Regent is a legend in the world of hospitality, offering traditional luxury with a contemporary touch. This move into the Middle East is part of the company’s robust growth strategy of developing 700 hotels across our different brands by 2015,” said Kurt Ritter, President & CEO, Rezidor SAS Hospitality.

Rezidor SAS currently operates three Regent hotels in Europe – Berlin, Almaty and Zagreb – and has announced a fourth in Budapest. This is part of a global deal with US-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide, one of the world’s leading hospitality, travel and marketing companies, to expand selected Carlson brands in Europe, the Middle East and Africa – Radisson, Park Inn, Regent and Country Inn.

Carlson Hotels Worldwide operates an additional five Regent Hotels including four in Asia - Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei - and one in Beverly Hills, USA. It recently announced an evolutionary step to merge Regent Hotels and Radisson Seven Seas Cruises under its global Regent brand, to form a unique luxury master brand that will set a milestone in the luxury travel segment. The merger is a significant step towards establishing Regent as one of the world’s leading luxury brands that offers timeless service and memorable experiences through its hotels, sea cruises, spas, real estates and resorts.

Further growth plans of the Regent hotels include four properties under construction in the Americas, out of which three are in Florida, and one in Boston. Asia will also see three spectacular new Regent properties in Bangkok, Beijing and Ningbo.