Cycas Hospitality continues to drive forward its ambitious expansion programme, having this month signed its first Swiss hotel. The 119-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites Sion will be operated by the award-winning pan-European operator under its first lease agreement with an investment group of Credit Suisse Asset Management.
When it opens in autumn 2024, the new-build property will offer a combination of 95 classic Holiday Inn Express rooms and 24 suites with kitchenette by Sion’s railway station, plus an on-site ground floor restaurant to take advantage of its vibrant location within the new Cour de Gare district and by the new concert hall. Guests will also be able to take advantage of a 24/7 gym and meeting room.
The hotel will be at the heart of a major commercial development intended to capitalise on Sion’s position as the region’s economic and commercial hub and link the dynamic city centre with the old town.
The new Cour de Gare project, led by Comptoir Immobilier, will bring together over 10,300m² of offices, 300 apartments and 5,700m² of retail space. The complex will also incorporate one of the largest concert and conference halls in the Valais canton – attached to the hotel – plus underground car parking for 625 vehicles.
The hotel is also well placed for the EPFL Valais Wallis scientific research institute – a centre of excellence with over 400 staff – which includes its Energypolis School of Engineering campus.
As the capital of Valais – one of Switzerland’s most popular tourist regions – the new hotel is ideally located for taking advantage of Europe’s best-known ski resorts. The Four Valleys, Switzerland’s biggest ski area, is currently just a 30 minutes’ drive, but could be even more accessible within a few years of the hotel opening if a proposed new cable car project goes ahead providing a direct 20-minute connection from the neighbouring station to the slopes.
Sion is also within an hour’s reach of Zermatt, Verbier, Chamonix Mont-Blanc and Portes du Soleil; the largest interconnected ski area in the world.
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