In news of hotel openings and rebrandings this month, New Orleans adds two more properties to its lodging roster; a major Houston hotel changes brands; InterContinental opens in a prime area of Mexico City; three new hotels debut in London; and a five-star property opens in Istanbul.

In North America, New Orleans’ French Quarter is the site of the new Hotel Mazarin, a multi-million-dollar remake of the former Saint Louis Hotel; the Mazarin has 102 rooms and free amenities including breakfast, Wi-Fi and more … Also in the Big Easy, a former Ramada property known as the Inn on Bourbon has undergone a major renovation and has been reflagged as the 186-room Four Points by Sheraton French Quarter; it has an outdoor pool and 24-hour fitness room … The new owner of Sonesta Hotels – Hospitality Properties Trust – continues to rebrand some of the properties it owns with the flag of its latest acquisition. One is the InterContinental Hotel Houston, a 485-room, 23-story facility a few blocks from the Galleria; this month it becomes the Royal Sonesta Hotel Houston … InterContinental Hotels Group opened its second Hotel Indigo in Atlanta; this one is in the College Park district not far from the airport …Two former Crowne Plaza hotels have joined the Starwood group as part of its Sheraton brand – the Sheraton Tampa East Hotel in Florida, 20 minutes form the airport there; and the Sheraton Silver Spring (Md.) Hotel, in suburban Washington D.C. close to the WMATA Silver Spring station … The Ramada Hotel on International Drive in Orlando has opened a 131-suite tower; it’s now the Ramada Plaza Resort & Suites Orlando … Elsewhere in Florida, SBE Hotels has opened the SLS Hotel South Beach in Miami, a remaking of the former Ritz Plaza art deco hotel on Collins Avenue … Another InterContinental Group hotel owned by Hospitality Properties Trust – the Staybridge Suites in Parsippany, N.J. – is now the Sonesta ES Suites, a new extended-stay brand … There are two openings in the Dakotas this month: Choice Hotels International adds a Cambria Suites in Rapid City, S.D.; and Marriott cuts the ribbon on a Residence Inn property in Bismarck, N.D. … In California, Hyatt has opened a Hyatt Place hotel north of San Diego near Oceanside; the Hyatt Place San Diego/Vista-Carlsbad is near McClellan-Palomar Airport … The former Kyoto Grand Hotel and Gardens in downtown Los Angeles has been renovated and rebranded; it’s now the DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown … In Canada, Starwood cut the ribbon on the Four Points by Sheraton Edmonton Gateway, about nine miles from the airport … South of the border, InterContinental Hotels Group has opened its second InterContinental in Mexico City: The 111-room Presidente InterContinental Santa Fe, in the upscale Santa Fe neighborhood, has six restaurants and six meeting rooms.

As London gears up for the Summer Olympics, it welcomes three new hotels this month. The 157-room ME by Melia – part of the Spain’s Melia Hotels group – is a 157-room property in what used to be the BBC Marconi Building before it was remade into a hotel by Foster + Partners, the design firm of Sir Norman Foster … Also new in London this month is the 192-room citizenM, the first London hotel for the Dutch citizenM group; it’s in the Bankside district, close to the Tate Modern Museum and the Millennium Bridge; rates start at 99 pounds … And finally, Hilton is adding a new property next to Wembley Stadium in time for the Olympics; the 361-room Hilton London Wembley is also adjacent to the giant London Design Outlet due to open in 2013 … The newest member of France’s Novotel group of hotels is in Switzerland – the Novotel Lugano Paradiso; the four-star property is close to the town’s historic center … Turkey’s Marti Group this month cuts the ribbon on Istanbul’s newest five-star property: The 270-room Marti Istanbul Hotel is in the Taksim neighborhood, the cultural and commercial center of town … Azerbaijan’s capital city of Baku has another new international chain hotel – the 243-room JW Marriott, overlooking Azadiq Square; it has four restaurants and bars, a spa and a fitness center … In North Africa, a July opening is slated for the Hotel Sofitel Casablanca Tour Blanche in Casablanca, Morocco.

Dubai-based Jumeirah Group’s newest hotel is in its home base: The 292-room Jumeirah Creekside Hotel, in the heart of Old Dubai, is its ninth property there … Courtyard by Marriott has cut the ribbon on the 286-room Courtyard Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter in Saudi Arabia … Elsewhere in the kingdom, Swissotel has opened a huge (1,487 rooms) hotel in the holy city of Mecca, the Swissotel Makkah; it’s said to be the largest hotel in Saudi Arabia … The former Ramada in Doha, Qatar has been renovated and converted into the Radisson Blu Doha … Starwood has added its fourth Aloft hotel in India – the Aloft Chandigarh Zirakpur … India’s fourth most populous city, Hyderabad, is the site of the new Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Hyderabad Banjara Hills, close to the airport and the convention center … Starwood has brand-shifted the Shanghai hotel formerly known as the St. Regis Shanghai; it’s now The Hongta Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, and it will undergo a $20 million renovation over the next two years … Elsewhere in China, Starwood has opened the Sheraton Jiaozhou, in the new district of Jiaozhou near Qingdao in Shandong Province … In Guanzhou, Marriott has opened the Guangzhou Marriott Hotel Tianhe, in the middle of the Tianhe Business District, next to Pearl River New City … The new 300-room Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Siam has opened in downtown Bangkok … There’s a new Best Western Premier property in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – the 364-room Best Western Premier Dua Sentral, in the KL Sentral business hub … And in South America, Carlson Rezidor Group has opened a new Radisson hotel in Belem, Brazil.