Hotel Granduca Completes Makeover, Market briefs

In Houston, A grand-scale renovation of Hotel Granduca Houston has wrapped up the transformation of the luxury property’s first level spaces.

The hotel, which occupies 3.57 acres of land in uptown Houston, was developed in 2006 by Giorgio Borlenghi, a prolific developer who moved to Houston from Milano, Italy in 1978. His real estate firm, Interfin, developed a number of high-rise properties in the Uptown area near Houston’s Galleria.

Transwestern Hospitality Group, part of the Houston-based Transwestern real estate organization, purchased the Italian-themed Granduca hotel in the first quarter of 2024.

BLENDING VIBES

The six-story hotel’s new design draws inspiration from the property’s European roots and Houston’s vibrant energy, the project announcement indicated. Renovations affected the lobby, library, restaurant and bar area, and garden courtyard. It also added event space for a total of 5,000 sq ft.

“Our goal was to create a refined yet inviting atmosphere where guests feel at home,” said Bernardo Santiago, the hotel’s general manager. “We’re excited to welcome guests into this new chapter.”

Interior designer Kara Childress of Interior Atelier sought to create “a space the embodies timeless beauty and the comfort of history.” Toward, that the new look features reclaimed architectural elements, antique Italian tiles, intricately carved wood ceilings and textured plaster walls.

In Transwestern Hospitality Group, part of the Houston, based Transwestern real estate organization, purchased the Italian-themed Granduca hotel in the first quarter of 2024. A renovation has been completed. Photo credit: Julie Soefer

She cited the property’s “beautiful bones” as a backdrop to the guest experience within a boutique hotel of 121 suites.

Transwestern’s project announcement introduced:

• The new lobby, washed in a soft color palette with terracotta accents, sets the tone for immersive elegance. The space also features a collection of artwork by photographer David Yarrow, whose evocative black and white pieces add a cinematic quality to the seating area.
• The library “embodies the essence of Houston’s living room.” Its marble fireplace, surrounded by rare books and heirloom decorative pieces, is the room’s centerpiece. Walls in a deep Mediterranean blue add depth to the glow from brass fixtures.
• The debut of Remi restaurant and Bar Remi. The dining room combines burnt orange accents and gold finishes, with more of Yarrow’s artwork displayed. The room extends into an indoor greenhouse. The bar, meanwhile, offers morphs from coffee venue by day to cocktail lounge by night.
• The garden courtyard’s signature feature is an 18th Tuscan villa horse trough, repurposed as a water feature surrounded by lush landscaping.

Houston’s hotel market has been amping up. Houston First reported that 2024 saw a citywide average occupancy gain of 7.7 percent and 6.8 percent rate increase, in part due to more luxury travelers and more meeting and convention travelers.