Ascott Serviced Residence in Paris opened

World's largest international serviced residence owner-operator The Ascott Limited has opened has opened Citadines Suites Louvre Paris, its first property under the Suites label in the heart of Paris. Citadines Suites is a new label under Singapore-based Ascott’s Citadines brand that complements its existing Citadines Prestige and Citadines Apart’hotel labels. These properties are designed as a boutique-style luxury residence. Citadines Suites provides an exceptional location and intimate ambience, personalised services, quality facilities, and optimum comfort for guests away from home.

Ascott has spent €5.9 million and nine-months to transform the property into a stunning serviced residence with 51 luxurious apartment suites, while preserving the historic building’s unique European features.

Mr Tan Choon Kwang, Ascott’s Managing Director for Europe, said: “We are proud and excited to open our first property under the Citadines Suites label. Our Citadines brand pioneered the serviced residence industry in France in 1984 and has established a strong reputation. The creation of Citadines Suites complements our Ascott brand and Citadines Apart’hotel and Prestige labels in Europe, giving travellers more options. Citadines Suites offers luxurious accommodation for discerning business and leisure travellers by providing a unique environment and memorable experience through personalised and seamless services.”

Citadines Suites Louvre Paris

Citadines Suites Louvre Paris is located in one of the most elegant areas of Paris that is ideal for business and leisure trips. The serviced residence adjoins the Palais Royal and Comédie Française Theatre and is just a stone’s throw away from the Louvre museum and Opéra Garnier House. It is within walking distance from many of the city’s leading attractions, a wide variety of restaurants, top-end boutiques and antique shops, and is equally close to the business district, Paris Stock Exchange and government offices.

The seven-storey building with a striking Art Nouveau stone façade a dorned with classic Parisian balconies, sculptures and colonnades dates back to 1908. The stylish and exquisite interior décor, which is meticulously designed to perfection by leading British designer BuckleyGrayYeoman, is enhanced by fine quality furnishings and amenities. There are four suite categories: Première, Exclusive, Grande and Royale. All Exclusive and Royale suites have a balcony that offers unsurpassed views of the Comédie Française Theatre or Louvre museum.

Facade of Citadines Suites Louvre Paris

The fully-equipped kitchen in every suite comes with bone china dinnerware, a Nespresso® coffee machine, washing machine and dryer. There is also a special welcome set which includes coffee and tea capsules, mineral water, L’Occitane® bath and shower products, bathrobes and bedroom slippers. Each apartment has an iPad® / iPod® / iPhone® docking station and complimentary WiFi is available throughout the serviced residence.

Besides an extensive range of services, guests are welcomed on arrival by a dedicated team of Citadines Suites Hosts who will be on hand 24-hours a day to assist with their requests. Guests can also enjoy extensive facilities including a gymnasium, chic lounge, avant-garde breakfast room that comes with sofas and low tables, and a high-tech business corner with a 27” iMac® and an AirPrint® printer.

As with all new properties in Ascott’s global portfolio, Citadines Suites Louvre Paris has been built to be a sustainable residence that is both comfortable and resource and energy efficient. The property’s environment-friendly features include low-consumption air-conditioning and heating, energy-saving / motion-detecting LED lighting, regulating valves to limit water consumption, and waste-sorting facilities for recycling in every kitchen.

To celebrate the opening of Citadines Suites Louvre Paris, Ascott is offering a launch rate from €295 for a Première Suite until 31 May 2013. The promotional daily rate includes breakfast and one limousine transfer from the airport or railway station for bookings of three nights and more.

In addition, guests can choose from a variety of exclusive packages to customise their experience. These range from “Chef at Home”, a meal cooked in the guest’s apartment by a French chef, to “Louvre Museum”, a private tour of the world-famous museum with an English-speaking guide, and “Honeymoon”, which consists of welcome treats for honeymooners and a romantic tour of Paris.

Ascott Opens First Citadines Serviced Residences In Indonesia And Malaysia

World's largest international serviced residence owner-operator The Ascott Limited has opened 153-unit Citadines Rasuna in Jakarta and 215-unit Citadines Uplands in Kuching Malaysia. These are the first Citadines-branded serviced residences of Ascott in Indonesia and Malaysia. With the addition of these 2 properties, Ascott now has a total of 59 Citadines properties in operation across 31 cities in Asia Pacific and Europe.

Citadines Apart'Hotel allows guests to choose only the services they require and are mainly located in metropolitan cities. Citadines offer apartment types ranging from studio to two-bedroom with living room and kitchen. Most of Citadines apart'hotels can be found in Europe like Belgium, France, Georgia, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom. Ascott has acquired the Citadines chain of apart'hotels in Europe in 2012 and now brought the brand to Asia Pacific in 2006. According to Ascott’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Chong Kee Hiong Ascott is  increasingly getting requests from property owners for the brand, due to its popularity amongst savvy independent travellers. These travellers value urban living in prime locations and the flexibility to choose the services they require to personalise their stay experience. To cater to the demand, Ascott is planning to open 13 more Citadines in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Germany by 2015.

Citadines Rasuna Jakarta and Citadines Uplands Kuching complements Ascott's existing Ascott and Somerset serviced residences in Indonesia and Malaysia and allows the operator to reach out to a wider segment of customers.

To celebrate the opening of Citadines Rasuna Jakarta, Ascott is offering special introductory rates from IDR 750,000+ per night from now till 29 April 2013. At Citadines Uplands Kuching, special promotional rates start from MYR168++ per night from now to 31 March 2013. For reservations or more information, please visit www.citadines.com.

Citadines Rasuna Jakarta

Citadines Rasuna Jakarta is a serviced apartment in Jakarta located  in the Jakarta’s central business district, next to the Metropolitan Medical Centre and within walking distance to embassies and office towers housing multinational companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Rabobank and Petrochina. It caters to expatriates, business and medical travellers.

The serviced residence is also near retail and entertainment centres including Plaza Festival, Rasuna Epicentrum, Kota Kasablanka and Kuningan City Mall, offering residents a host of conveniences. Citadines Rasuna Jakarta is part of a stylish 30-storey integrated development known as The H Tower that comprises offices, specialist clinics and premier medical care facilities. Residents can enjoy privacy as the serviced residence maintains its own distinct lobby and facilities.

Citadines Rasuna Jakarta

Each of the studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments in Citadines Rasuna Jakarta provides a comfortable and homely environment with a fully-equipped kitchen, separate dining and living areas as well as modern amenities such as complimentary Internet access, home entertainment system with DVD player and flat-screen television with cable channels. The apartments are also designed to reflect a local touch, with artworks, carpets and fabrics influenced by traditional Indonesian batik designs.

Residents of Citadines Rasuna Jakarta can workout at the fitness corner or swim at the pool while overlooking the Jakarta skyline from the 21st floor of the property. Other facilities include a jacuzzi and sauna room, business corner, launderette, café and restaurant serving French and Indonesian cuisines. The serviced residence also offers 24-hour reception and security, housekeeping and business centre services as well as residents’ programmes to help guests settle comfortably into their new home.

Citadines Uplands Kuching

Located at  prime location in Jalan Simpang Tiga - a hub for education and local federal government administration, Citadines Uplands Kuching is a 15-minute drive from the Kuching International Airport, Borneo Convention Centre and Samajaya Free Industrial Zone housing many multinational and local companies. It is also opposite one of the largest shopping malls in East Malaysia, The Spring Shopping Centre. Furthermore, Citadines Uplands Kuching is part of an integrated development known as ST3, which encompasses a shopping mall that will have over 200 retail outlets.

Citadines Uplands Kuching caters to the city’s growing Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions groups, executives on project assignments from the nearby companies and government offices, as well as student groups and visiting professors from universities located around the property.

Citadines Uplands Kuching

The serviced residence offers a range of studios to two-bedroom units. Residents have ample space to live, work and entertain as each apartment comes with a fully-equipped kitchen, separate dining and living areas complete with home entertainment system and Internet access. The property also offers a suite of facilities including a swimming pool, children’s wading pool, gymnasium, residents’ lounge, launderette and meeting room.

Besides round-the-clock reception and security, housekeeping service and residents’ programmes, residents can personalise their stay at Citadines Uplands Kuching with the flexible menu of optional services including courier, babysitting, laundry and dry cleaning.

The Ascott Limited voted as Best Serviced Apartment/Residence Operator

World's largest international serviced residence owner-operator The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has won the annual DestinAsian Readers’ Choice Awards 2013 for Best Serviced Apartment/Residence Operator for the sixth time. Organised by the prestigious DestinAsian travel and lifestyle magazine, the awards recognise brands and destinations that provide unsurpassed standards in excellence and service. Ascott has won the awards every year since DestinAsian introduced the serviced apartment/residence category in 2008.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong, Ascott’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Ascott takes great pride in making our guests feel at home whenever they stay with us. From creating the feeling of home at our properties to our signature style of warm, discreet and personalised service, we strive to provide our guests a truly memorable experience at every touch point. We thank our customers for their continued vote of confidence since we opened our first property The Ascott Singapore in 1984. As we continue to grow to achieve our target of 40,000 apartment units globally by 2015, we hope that more travellers will be able to experience our award-winning hospitality.”

Each year, DestinAsian polls its readers to determine the best brands and destinations that travellers return to time and again. Readers have selected the winner for each category based on their personal experiences with, amongst others, serviced residences, hotels, airlines, airports and destinations that impressed them in terms of luxury, service, style and comfort. For the first time, the survey also included questions that go beyond Asia Pacific in scope so that readers can vote for their favourite brands and destinations in the world.

Singapore-based Ascott operates three brands of serviced residences catering to the different lifestyle needs of expatriates and travellers. The premier Ascott The Residence brand provides top business executives luxurious living in elegant apartments. Citadines Apart’hotel offers independent travellers the flexibility to choose the services they require. For those travelling with children, Somerset Serviced Residence is ideal as the properties come with amenities such as playground, indoor playroom and children’s swimming pool. Besides spacious apartments with separate living and dining areas and a fully-equipped kitchen, residents will enjoy privacy, comfort of a home and top quality services.

Ascott Raffles Place Singapore residence located in the Singapore CBD area
is one of many properties managed by Ascott.

The Ascott Limited is a Singapore company that has grown to be the world's largest international serviced residence owner-operator. It has more than 22,000 operating serviced residence units in key cities of Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region, as well as over 8,000 units which are under development, making a total of more than 31,000 units in over 200 properties.

The company operates three brands – Ascott, Citadines and Somerset. Its portfolio spans over 70 cities across more than 20 countries, 14 of which are new cities in Ascott’s portfolio where its serviced residences are being developed.

Ascott, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, pioneered Asia Pacific's first international-class serviced residence with the opening of The Ascott Singapore in 1984. In 2006, it established the world's first Pan-Asian serviced residence real estate investment trust, Ascott Residence Trust. Today, the company boasts a 29-year industry track record and award-winning serviced residence brands that enjoy recognition worldwide.

Ascott's achievements have been recognised internationally. Recent awards include DestinAsian Readers’ Choice Awards 2013 for ‘Best Serviced Apartment/Residence Operator’, TTG Travel Awards 2012 for ‘Best Serviced Residence Operator’, TTG China Travel Awards 2012 for ‘Best Serviced Residence Operator in China’, Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2012 for ‘Best Serviced Residence Brand’ and ‘Best Serviced Residence in Asia-Pacific’, and Business Traveller UK Awards 2012 for ‘Best Serviced Apartment Company’.

Source : Ascott Voted Best Serviced Residence Operator For Sixth Consecutive Year By DestinAsian's Readers