Grace Leo
Consultancy
Development & Design
Grace Leo
Consultancy
Development & Design
“When I begin a new project, I draw inspirations from the future hotel’s locality to capture a sense of place, architecture, history, and energy …. this allows me to establish a theme, a concept, and a story board for the design and creative process.
Grace Leo
With a distinctive style all her own, Grace Leo stepped out front in Europe’s design hotel movement and made her name synonymous with visionary concepts and creative executions with refinement, artistic flair, and authenticity.
The daughter of a Hong Kong hotelier, Grace Leo has been involved in the hotel world all her life. After completing her education at Stanford and Cornell Universities in 1977, Grace Leo launched her career at Inter-Continental Hotels and Sheraton Group. In 1981, she moved to Paris to join Warwick International Hotels, as Vice President she was responsible for the group's expansion in North America and Europe that grew from 2 to 14 hotels in five years.
By 1988 Grace started her own company, identifying the small luxury independent hotel sector as an area of huge potential growth, she set up G.L.A. Hotels to offer professional consulting services to investors of this niche market, and have prospered by developing many lifestyle projects across the world. Her first major independent project, The Guanahani Hotel at St. Barthélémy was acclaimed as one of the world's great luxury hideaways, whilst the Hotel Montalembert, opened in late 1989, was one of the seminal properties in the design hotel movement of the current decade. The same inimitable combination of design flair and management expertise have also been applied to the chic Château de Noirieux in the Loire valley and, in conjunction with the rock band U2, to the stylish and quintessentially Irish Clarence hotel in Dublin. In January 1999, following the purchase of The Royal Riviera in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Hotel Montalembert in Paris, the Westmont/Alliance and Goldman Sachs’ hotel fund appointed Grace Leo as management consultant for these two properties, to strengthen their foothold in the luxury hotel sector.
Subsequently they purchased the 115 room Hotel Bel Ami in January 2000 which was sold in 2004 for a record price after being fully renovated and repositioned by G.L.A. Hotels.
Arguably one of Grace’s most exciting projects was the complete repositioning of Hotel Lancaster in Paris. An institution for over 50 years, this under-performing hotel was purchased from The Savoy Group in late 1995 by Grace and Stephane Andrieu, and reopened under G.L.A. management in September 1996 with an immediate return-on-investment to the owners. The result speaks volumes for Grace Leo's expertise, flair and perfectionism as well as the battalion of designers and crafts people she sought from around the world to undertake the work.
In 2007 Grace Leo collaborated again with Westmont Hospitality with the acquisition of 2 Parisian properties each with 100 rooms, in need of upgrade and positioning. One is located behind the Champs-Elysées rebranded as Hotel Beauchamps, while the second property located nearby the Opera was re-named Hotel Jules. Both hotels out-performed their competitive sets and have been sold in 2013.
In 2014, she was tapped to head up Reignwoods's hotel and hospitality development division, and has put her stamp on a complex and sophisticated £400 million conversion of the Ten Trinity square former Port of London Authority building, the capital's second Four Season hotel.
This landmark hotel that opened in 2017 as a residential development project that compromise of 100 hotel rooms, a private members' club and 41 apartments rise up inside the magnificent Grade-II listed building overlooking a garden square on the edge of the City of London.
Over her illustrious career as a contributing force in the hospitality industry, Grace has created and co-authored over 20 independent and memorable hotels all over the world.
Known for her singular ‘East Meets West” design and lifestyle concepts, in 2013 Grace launched a lifestyle and educational website featuring the beautiful things that distinguishes her ‘Boutique Hotels. Targeting the new middle-class in China, the online selection features only authentically European products, A Touch of Grace enable anyone to experience the riches of a European lifestyle, right at home, by surrounding themselves with those products that Grace personally endorses and enjoys herself.
Previous experience:
Board positions:
List of hotels that Grace has developed from 1987 to 2016:
Contact details:
Email: info@graceleo.com
2017
FOUR SEASONS HOTEL
LONDON
100 rooms, 41 apartments
Conversion of the landmark London Port Authority building into an epic hotel with a private member's club, spa and super-prime apartments.
2012
New York
435 rooms
Complete renovation and repositioning of the 154-room West Tower of this 1980's landmark hotel at One United Nations.
2013
Jakarta
88 units
Jakarta's foremost luxury boutique hotel is a conversion from a Dutch colonial mansion in upscale tree-lined Menteng district.
2013
Caracas
45 units
Creation of the first exclusive boutique hotel in tree-lined Castellana adjacent the buzzing business district in downtown Caracas.
The successful new lifestyle hotel should focus on providing a memorable experience to customers by fulfilling the need for individuality, staff recognition, and customized consistent delivery of service for each guest.
Grace Leo
2010
Portugal
Leading Hotels of the World | Owner: Unicer Group
2009
Bali
Tandem Bali
2009
Paris
Westbridge Fund
2008
Paris
Westbridge Fund
2004
Lisbon
Leading Hotels of the World | Owner: Emparque
2003
London
Leading Hotels of the World | Owner: LHW and private investors
2000
Paris
Design Hotels | Owner: Goldman Sachs
2000
Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat, France
Leading Hotels of the World | Owner: Westmont Hospitality Group
1998
Mustique, Grenadine Islands
Leading Hotels of the World | Owner: The Mustique Company
1996
Paris
Leading Hotels of the World | Owner: Private owner
1992
Saint Barthelemy, French West Indies
Relais & Châteaux | Owner: Private owner
1992
Dublin
Leading Hotels of the World | Owner: Bono and the Edge from U2
1991
Loire Valley, France
Relais & Châteaux | Owner: Private owner
1990
Paris Left Bank
Preferred Hotels | Owner: Goldman Sachs
1987
Saint Barthelemy, French West Indies
Leading Hotels of the World | Owner: Axa Insurance
2007
Leading Hotels of the World Executive Committee
Grace is the first woman to serve on this board since its creation 80 years ago.
2003
Harpers and Queen "Harpers Abroad" Travel Awards
2002
Prestigious Recognition
2002
The Lancaster, Paris
2004, 2002
The Cotton House, Mustique
2003
The European Hotel Design Awards and Conference
Travel + Leisure
Hospitality Design
Boutique Design
Introspective Magazine
Fuera de Serie
Lodging
Maison Française
Lux Residence
