IHG is set to debut its Vignette Collection in Japan with the introduction of a flagship 1000+ room hotel in Osaka in 2025, which will be its largest hotel in the country.

As part of a long-term agreement with The Royal Hotel Limited and BentallGreenOak (BGO), IHG intends to add the iconic RIHGA Royal Hotel Osaka to its system in 2023 before relaunching it as RIHGA Royal Hotel Osaka – Vignette Collection following an extensive refurbishment and repositioning.

The property, which is over 87 years old, is located on an island in the Dojima river in central Osaka and is popular with VIP guests from royalty and foreign dignitaries to celebrities.

Its impressive offering includes 1,039 guest rooms, 18 restaurants and bars, 56 ballrooms, banquet halls and meeting spaces, wedding facilities, pools, fitness centres and retail outlets.

IHG’s Managing Director – Japan and Micronesia for IHG, and CEO of IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan, Abhijay Sandilya, said the hotel is a major coup for the business.

“It is arguably the most famous hotel in West Japan, and we are extremely grateful to The Royal Hotel Limited and BGO for putting their faith in IHG and providing this wonderful platform to launch Vignette Collection in Japan,” Sandilya said.

“This will be IHG’s largest hotel in Japan, and our seventh, and largest, hotel in Osaka, complementing our existing portfolio. We look forward to working closely with The Royal Hotel Limited and welcoming guests to Japan’s first Vignette Collection hotel.”

IHG said it all elements of the RIGHA Royal brand will be retained with both parties working together to preserve RIHGA Royal Hotel Osaka’s legacy.

“We are extremely pleased that RIHGA Royal Hotel Osaka will join IHG’s collection brand, Vignette Collection, as its first hotel in Japan,” said The Royal Hotel Ltd. President, Shuichi Kageyama.

“Vignette Collection is a luxury brand that values the originality and identity of member hotels. The hotel will thus maintain its historical origins and the brand and identity that it has cultivated as an Osaka landmark.

“As a global luxury hotel, we welcome visitors to MICE events, and we will utilize IHG’s world-wide network and know-how to welcome new guests via IHG alongside our existing guests. We are looking forward to welcoming you again.”

The luxury lifestyle brand is the latest in a series of recent IHG brands to enter the market including  voco, Kimpton, Regent and Holiday Express.