LONDON — Rosewood has every reason to celebrate.
Last week its Hong Kong flagship by Victoria Harbour landed the top spot on this year’s The World’s 50 Best Hotels ranking for the first time.
But the Hong Kong-based luxury hotel group is already thinking ahead, having revealed its ambition to rebrand, shifting from a hospitality provider to a purpose-led cultural lifestyle brand at the beginning of October.
The rebrand involved a new font for the Rosewood wordmark, a new signature color shade called discovery green, and a new RW monogram logo. A range of sleepwear, bedding and bathrobes — which could be called “hotel merch” — with the new visual identities is also available to purchase online.
In an exclusive interview, Joanna Gunn, chief brand officer of Rosewood Hotel Group, detailed the thinking behind the rebrand and the steps required to make the transformation happen.
“Our brand evolution is reflective of the fundamental shift in luxury. We have witnessed consumer patterns evolve from personal collectibles toward experience collectibles,” said Gunn, who had a high-profile career in the fashion industry with luxury retailer Lane Crawford before joining Rosewood in 2020.
She added that the rebrand has also been an internal journey for the teams and has required a complete rewiring and rethinking of the ecosystem across marketing, digital, talent and culture, operations, design, commercial, retail and clienteling.
“Together we have been creating a collective vision: to imagine together the Rosewood experience. We see our opportunity in hospitality to become the gateway to culture, curiosity, and connection with purpose,” Gunn said.
Rosewood’s new logo following the rebrand.
Courtesy of Rosewood
Strategically, the brand elevation is about future-proofing: appealing to the next generation of global luxury travelers by investing in emotional resonance, cultural relevance and social consciousness.
Gunn pointed out that within the growing experience economy, with experience being today’s social language, Rosewood’s brand refresh is about amplifying its strategic shift from conventional hospitality to “curators of discovery.” This requires key differentiators such as being thoughtful with where it shows up, activating within the cultural fabric of its destinations, deepening customer relationships and viewing sustainability as stewardship.
“We are building a comprehensive lifestyle proposition where we follow our guests into the realms they value most — sincerity and cultural connection,” said Gunn, adding that Rosewood has an advantage in knowing what truly resonates with its core audience thanks to decades of relationships with the customers dating back to 1979, when American oil heiress Caroline Rose Hunt opened the first Rosewood hotel in Dallas.
Now a member of the Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, Rosewood operates around 40 hotels and resorts worldwide.
Many of them are considered the benchmark of luxury hospitality in their respective cities, such as Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, The Carlyle in New York and the newly unveiled Chancery Rosewood in London, which used to be the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square.
A respect for history has been a recurring theme in Rosewood’s recent projects, especially in Europe. Its Amsterdam location, for example, opened this year, occupies the city’s former Palace of Justice, originally built in 1665.
Rosewood Schloss Fuschl, meanwhile, is located in the former hunting lodge of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg, and its Munich branch sits at the former Bavarian State Bank headquarters and the adjacent Palais Neuhaus-Preysing, originally an aristocratic residence from the 1700s.
As part of the rebrand, Rosewood has launched a range of logo sleepwear, bedding and bathrobes.
Courtesy of Rosewood
Gunn emphasized that while the industry norm is to scale and focus on gateway cities, the team at Rosewood looks at where the audience’s curiosity leads them.
“Lifestyle is the truest expression of what the new generation of consumers seeks. We have always been more than a collection of properties. We are selective with our development opportunities because we are not simply building hotels: we are creating postcards for the brand, each one a story of our brand and an interpretation of its destination and culture,” she touted.
“We go where others wait, creating a curated journey that extends beyond our walls, making our guests’ experiences more enriching by deeply understanding the destination, culture and place,” Gunn added.
But just having hotels in great locations is not enough, Gunn said. As a lifestyle brand, Rosewood has to curate a complete ecosystem of discovery around its properties.
Rosewood Amsterdam, for example, is an art gallery in its own right, with an expansive collection of more than 1,000 artworks that spotlight both new-generation talent and Dutch masters. Rosewood Mandarina in Mexico is dedicated to celebrating the artistry of the Indigenous Wixárika and Cora peoples.
A look at the art-filled Rosewood Amsterdam.
Photographer: Daniëlle Siobhán
Forthcoming Rosewood properties are being crafted to deepen their commitment to local sensibilities and purpose as well, according to Gunn.
Both opening in the coming weeks, Rosewood Amaala in Saudi Arabia will explore regenerative experiences through wellbeing and sustainability, while being powered by renewable energy, and its Courchevel location in the French Alps will be Rosewood’s first dedicated winter sports property.
Rosewood Calistogain Napa Valley, Northern California, opening in 2027, will put a major focus on food, wine and regenerative living, spanning 118 acres of land.
Existing Rosewood properties, both offline and online, are also being finetuned to better integrate with the local community and places.
The Art Library concept in Rosewood São Paolo, for instance, is being reworked as a retail platform for local craft. There is also more content being created around retail, gastronomy and well-being for Rosewood’s digital channels to better inform and connect with its audience.
Joanna Gunn, chief brand officer of Rosewood
Courtesy
To conclude, Gunn said the brand refresh provides a unified vision that amplifies what makes each of its destinations remarkable.
“For Rosewood, this is about ensuring each destination acts as a profound enrichment of people and place, and requires everyone in our team to be part of this journey together,” she added.