IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement with Nepal-based Shangri-La Hotel & Resort Group to develop the properties, bringing 500 new rooms to the country. 

Currently under construction, the hotels are scheduled to open over the next four years. 

In the capital, InterContinental Kathmandu Lazimpat will be redeveloped on the same site as the iconic Shangri-la Kathmandu hotel, with 225 rooms and multiple meeting facilities including include a ballroom. 

In adventure sports hub Pokhara, a base for trekkers, parasailing, bungee jumping and micro flights, Hotel Indigo Pokhara will open with 100 rooms in the Gharipatan area.

The waterside InterContinental Pokhara Begnas Lake and the InterContinental Resort Chitwan, which will sit in Mehgauli Village close to Chitwan National Park, will have 80 rooms apiece. 

All the hotels will feature spa/fitness facilities and club lounges. 

Meanwhile, in Europe, IHG will open the InterContinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace in May in a building originally built in 1900 to host ambassadors.

Besides 160 rooms and suites it will feature an Italian-American restaurant and a year-round rooftop bar. 

The group recently debuted its wellness and sustainability brand Six Senses in Italy with a 16 March opening in Rome.

The 96-room hotel has a design layering classicism with contemporary Italian art and furnishings. 12 different room types include three individually designed suites.

Speaking of the Nepal openings, Sudeep Jain, managing director, south-west Asia for IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: “We are delighted to introduce two of our leading brands from the luxury and lifestyle portfolio, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and Hotel Indigo, to Nepal…

"We are proud to grow our footprint in the south-west Asia region to bring our offering to new markets.”

Prasidha B Panday, chairman of Shangri-La Hotel & Resort Group, added: “We are confident that our partnership with IHG to open four new hotels will help us offer world-class hospitality to guests, at a time when travel to Nepal has increased exponentially. 

“All [the] new hotels will be located in top tourism hubs, and we expect to benefit from the strength and scale of IHG’s global systems, technology and a strong loyalty programme.”