Mandarin Oriental
Our History
We have a long and established history, and are proud of our Asian heritage.
The Beginning
For over 50 years, Mandarin Oriental has been established as a leader in luxury hospitality, and has a rich and proud history. Our mission, “to completely delight and satisfy our guests” began with the opening of our flagship property, The Mandarin, in 1963 in Hong Kong. The hotel, which was the tallest building on the island when it opened, soon built up an enviable reputation for service excellence, and instantly became a historic landmark – a status it still holds today.
The Mandarin
The Mandarin opened in Hong kong in 1963, and soon built an enviable reputation for service excellence.
In 1974 The Oriental in Bangkok, which was already acknowledged as one of the world’s most legendary hotels was partially acquired by the Group, giving the company two “flagship” hotels whose names represented the very best in hospitality.
These two famous hotels joined to create the brand Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group under the renowned fan logo.
Short Story
Over the next twenty years the Group opened further Mandarin Oriental hotels in Asia and became firmly established as one of the most elegant and luxurious hotel groups, renowned for offering comfortable and well-appointed accommodation, exceptional facilities and some of the finest restaurants and bars in the region. This was underpinned by impeccable service inspired by our Asian heritage, which made Mandarin Oriental the hotels of choice for residents and luxury travelers alike.
Global Brand Expansion
In order to bring our individual brand of acclaimed luxury hospitality to a wider market we began extending our reach, embarking on a growth trajectory to establish our award-winning brand in key city and resort destinations around the globe. In 1987 we launched our first US property in San Francisco, and in the mid-1990s, we purchased our London flagship.
2000 – 2005
Our expansion began in earnest in 2000 with the purchase of the prestigious Rafael Group of hotels which immediately increased our portfolio from 14 to 20 unique properties and gave us critical mass across three continents. During this year, we also completed an extensive renovation of Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London and successfully positioned the hotel as one of the finest in the city. We also opened a stylish urban resort in Miami and began the global implementation of our holistic spa concepts.
Today, our extensive collection of holistic spas, which combine Asian and western treatment techniques, achieve numerous individual awards. Mandarin Oriental currently has 13 Forbes “Five-Star” spas across our global portfolio – more than any other hotel brand in the world.
In late 2003, we opened the iconic Mandarin Oriental, New York. This exciting project, located on Columbus Circle firmly established the Group in the all-important US market. During this time, we also successfully launched the first of our Residences at Mandarin Oriental above our New York hotel, offering owners the chance to live a truly luxurious Mandarin Oriental lifestyle. Our expansion in the US continued in 2004 with the opening of Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC.
In 2005 we opened a second luxury hotel in Hong Kong – The Landmark Mandarin Oriental. This intimate and contemporary property offers spacious, modern facilities combined with Mandarin Oriental’s faultless service, and has proved a resounding success. It was clear by now that we were becoming increasingly renowned for spectacular design, and one of our core competencies has been to build established relationships with internationally acclaimed architects and designers, to create our collection of unique hotels. At the end of 2005 we opened another important milestone property in Tokyo, a hotel which is a fine example of striking design that truly reflects the individuality of its location
In 2011 we entered the Paris market to great acclaim, with a superb property situated in a prime location on the Rue St. Honoré and in 2013 we continued our China expansion with the launch of two hotels in Guangzhou and Shanghai. Both hotels received the Hurun ‘Hot Hotel’ award in their opening year, one of the most recognized awards in China. In 2013 we also celebrated “50 Fantastic Years”, with a grand celebration gala held at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, which was attended by many of the celebrities who are “fans” of Mandarin Oriental, as part of our award-winning advertising campaign.
2014 – 2019
In 2014 we opened a new luxury landmark hotel in Taipei and a beautiful resort in Bodrum, Turkey, and in 2015 we opened hotels in Milan and Marrakech and acquired the iconic Hotel Ritz, Madrid in a joint venture purchase. This historic hotel is currently closed for an extensive refurbishment and is scheduled to reopen in later in 2020. In 2017 we took over management of Hotel Santiago in Chile, which is open for business and is also currently undergoing a comprehensive renovation. We also extended our resort reach with the opening of Mandarin Oriental, Canouan, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (pictured). In 2018 we announced an intimate luxury resort on Lake Como, Italy. Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como has already proved to be a stunning complement to our Milan property.
Other openings in 2019 included our first Middle Eastern properties in Dubai and Doha, plus a boutique hotel in China’s capital, Beijing. Our London flagship Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, was fully relaunched in April 2019, following an extensive restoration. We also announced a number of new projects in 2019 including a new residential property in New York, hotels and residences in Istanbul, Dallas and Tel Aviv, a project in Nanjing in China and a hotel in Lake Lucerne, Switzerland. In January of 2020 we took over management of the iconic Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi. The hotel remains operational while undergoing a phased renovation after which it will be relaunched as a Mandarin Oriental property. Our growth strategy continues, with a strong pipeline of hotels and residences under development, and our development team continues to review opportunities globally.
Another important facet of our brand is The Residences at Mandarin Oriental. These luxurious private homes are attached to or are near our award-winning hotels and offer owners exclusive access to hotel services and facilities together with world class, trusted, management attention.
The Group Today
Today we are firmly established as a truly global luxury player, with a presence in major cities and resort destinations around the world. We now operate 33 hotels and seven residences in 23 countries and territories, with each property reflecting the Group’s oriental heritage.
As we grow, we continue to invest behind our 12,000 dedicated colleagues, who provide extraordinary service, based on our oriental heritage, and who remain our most valuable resource.
Looking to the future, while we continue to grow, our aim is not to be the biggest hotel group in the world, but to be recognized as providing the very best in luxury hospitality.
