Luxury Hotels Atlas / The Maison / Kempinski

Kempinski hotels

Hosts dressed in red carry a European grand-hotel tradition into daily service and local advice.

Kempinski brings a European service tradition to hotels with very different architectural identities, from historic landmarks to destination resorts. The company’s roots reach into nineteenth-century Berlin, and its collection keeps the individual building and the surrounding place in view alongside a shared approach to attentive hosting.

72 Kempinski hotels in 35 countries on the Luxury Hotels Atlas (4 not open yet), each placed on the six LHA Tiers.

Majority-owned by a Bahraini investor group
Worldwide: 75 hotels and residences in 38 countries as of mid-2026 per the atlas footprint, with press coverage citing 79–82 active properties across 35–38 countries depending on timing; more than 26 projects under development globally
On the atlas: 1 Apex Luxury, 3 Grand Luxury, 43 High Luxury, 25 Core Luxury

History

Kempinski’s restaurant roots developed into a hotel tradition through family stewardship, wartime disruption, and postwar rebuilding. Grand buildings, substantial dining, and European service became recurring threads as the collection expanded beyond Germany. The announced Prague acquisition introduces a new ownership chapter alongside the group’s long experience of managing hotels.

Timeline

1862 — Berthold Kempinski establishes his first wine trading and restaurant business in Berlin, the founding date cited in Kempinski's institutional identity.
1897 — The wine restaurant operation becomes formally constituted as the Kempinski hotel and dining company; this year is used as the brand founding date on all Kempinski properties.
1907 — Kaiser Wilhelm II inaugurates the Hotel Adlon on Pariser Platz in a ceremony close to a state occasion, cementing the brand's association with European political and cultural power.
1909 — Hotel Atlantic Hamburg opens on 2 May on the Außenalster lake shore; it will remain a Kempinski address for over a century.
1928 — Haus Vaterland on Potsdamer Platz reinforces Kempinski's reputation as Berlin's premier entertainment and dining name.
1952 — Dr Friedrich Unger converts the Kurfürstendamm 27 restaurant site into Berlin's first new luxury hotel after the war, the Hotel Bristol.
1957 — Hotel Atlantic Hamburg is sold to the Kempinski chain, deepening the group's Hamburg presence.
1958 — Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski Munich, opened by royal decree in 1858, formally integrated into the Kempinski constellation.
1986 — Kempinski Hotels SA is formed on 17 March as a joint venture among Kempinski, Lufthansa, and Rolaco Holding SA, establishing the modern Geneva-based holding structure.
1991 — Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul opens on 15 January, converting a ruined Ottoman imperial palace on the Bosphorus into a luxury hotel.
1992 — Four major hotels open in a single year: Hotel Corvinus Budapest, Kempinski Hotel Beijing Yansha Center, Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow, and Çırağan Palace Istanbul. The Beijing opening marks the brand's China debut as the first European five-star hotel in the capital.
1994 — A Siam Commercial Bank–affiliated entity acquires majority ownership; the Bangkok–Bahrain dual-ownership structure that defines the group today takes shape.
1995 — Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden opens on 31 March as Saxony's first five-star hotel, three years after post-war reconstruction began on the ruins of the 1705 Baroque palace.
1997 — Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin reopens after being rebuilt to near-exact historical specifications, on the 90th anniversary of its original inauguration.
2002 — Grand Hotel des Bains Kempinski St. Moritz reopens under the Kempinski brand following full restoration by Viennese architect Franz Schnabel.
2019 — The Apurva Kempinski Bali opens and quickly becomes one of Kempinski's most-awarded resort designs.
2017 — Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana opens in May as the first true luxury hotel in Havana since the Revolution, occupying the restored Manzana de Gómez arcade.
2021 — Kempinski Palace Engelberg opens in June, the first and only five-star hotel in Engelberg, after a five-year restoration of the 1904 Grand Hotel Winterhaus.
2022 — Kempinski Hotel Cancún opens on 9 December, rebranded from the former Ritz-Carlton Cancún after 30 years under Marriott. The David Kempinski Tel Aviv opens as the brand's 80th property.
2024 — Kempinski acquires and rebrands two former Emaar properties in Dubai, Address Boulevard (now Kempinski The Boulevard) and Address Dubai Mall (now Kempinski Central Avenue Dubai), doubling its Dubai presence to four hotels. Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden completes a full renovation and formally reopens on 15 February 2024.
2025 — Barbara Muckermann appointed Group CEO. Kempinski signs landmark management agreement for Nymphenburg Palace The Royal Residence, Munich, in partnership with HRH Prince Luitpold von Bayern. Hotel Bristol Berlin departs the Kempinski portfolio and joins IHG Hotels & Resorts.
2026 — Kempinski acquires Augustine Hotel Prague, the first acquisition in over 50 years and a strategic signal of the brand's shift toward an ownership-led platform, with reflagging planned for late 2026.

The houses to know

Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey — The Ottoman imperial palace became a hotel on the Bosphorus.
Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin, Berlin, Germany — Opened with a Kaiser’s support, the hotel was later rebuilt beside the Brandenburg Gate.
Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand — The flagship Southeast Asian urban resort, directly connected to Siam Paragon and adjacent to a royal palace compound.
Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski Munich, Munich, Germany — Opened by royal decree in 1858, the hotel has a long history on Munich’s Ludwigstrasse.
Yanqi Hotel, Beijing - Managed by Kempinski, Beijing, China — The hotel is in Beijing, China.
Kempinski Palace Engelberg, Engelberg, Switzerland — The first five-star hotel in Engelberg, a restored 1904 Belle Époque palace crowned with an 880 sq m rooftop spa.
Kempinski Hotel Berchtesgaden, Berchtesgaden, Germany — The hotel is in Berchtesgaden, Germany.
Kempinski Hotel Cancún, Cancún, Mexico — The hotel is in Cancún, Mexico.
The Apurva Kempinski Bali, Nusa Dua, Indonesia — Fourteen storeys cascading down a clifftop, its terraces modelled on Bali's ancient subak rice-irrigation system.
Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden, Dresden, Germany — A Baroque Saxon palace beside the Zwinger, Semperoper, and Dresden Residenzschloss, reopened in 2024 after a comprehensive head-to-toe transformation.

Newest openings

Kempinski The Boulevard Dubai — Dubai, United Arab Emirates — rebranded January 2024 — A 73-storey, 370-metre Downtown Dubai tower (formerly The Address Boulevard, opened 2017); 198 rooms featuring 251 artworks by international artists and direct indoor pedestrian access to Dubai Mall
Kempinski Central Avenue Dubai — Dubai, United Arab Emirates — rebranded January 2024 — Formerly Address Dubai Mall; 393 rooms designed by Wilson Associates, directly connected to The Dubai Mall. Restaurants include Nai (modern Middle Eastern cuisine) and Zenon (Mediterranean and Asian fusion with AI-driven entertainment programming)
Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden — Dresden, Germany — ceremonially reopened 15 February 2024, full renovation completed September 2024 — The 1705 Baroque palace commissioned by Augustus the Strong for his mistress the Countess of Cosel emerged from an 18-month renovation with 180 rooms and 31 suites. The new 380 sq m Royal Suite features Parquet de Versailles oak floors and hand-knotted carpets; interiors throughout by Markus Hilzinger, drawing on Saxon Baroque architecture. MICHELIN Two Keys (2025)
Kempinski Nymphenburg Palace The Royal Residence — Munich, Germany — opened for guests March 2025 — An 836 sq m former summer residence of the Royal Family of Bavaria, managed under an agreement with HRH Prince Luitpold von Bayern. It offers four bedrooms, seven bathrooms, three living rooms, a banquet-sized dining room, a private garden, and a majolica-tiled terrace for up to 100 guests, the only property of its kind in the Kempinski portfolio

Opening next

The Apurva Kempinski Ubud — Ubud, Bali, Indonesia — expected 2027 — confirmed; will become Kempinski's second Bali property, a hilltop rainforest retreat complementing the coastal Nusa Dua flagship
Kempinski Grace Bay — Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands — expected Q1 2028 — confirmed; ground broken November 2025 on 11 acres of Grace Bay Beach with 431 feet of beachfront; the brand's first Caribbean islands address exclusively represented by Christie's International Real Estate and Engel & Völkers
Kempinski Residences Miami Design District — Miami, Florida, USA — expected 2026–2027 — announced; the brand's first standalone residential address in North America
Kempinski Saigon River — Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — expected 2026–2027 — The project has been announced; further details have not been confirmed in the sources reviewed.

Every Kempinski hotel on the atlas

China

Yanqi Hotel, Beijing - Managed by Kempinski — Beijing · Grand Luxury
Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai — Shanghai · High Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Guiyang — Guiyang · High Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Hangzhou — Hangzhou · High Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Jinan — Jinan · High Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Nanjing — Nanjing · High Luxury
Sunrise Kempinski Hotel Beijing — Beijing · High Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Beijing Yansha Center — Beijing · Core Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Chengdu — Chengdu · Core Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Chongqing — Chongqing · Core Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Dalian — Dalian · Core Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Fuzhou — Fuzhou · Core Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Shenzhen — Shenzhen · Core Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Suzhou — Suzhou · Core Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Taiyuan — Taiyuan · Core Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Xiamen — Xiamen · Core Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Yinchuan — Yinchuan · Core Luxury
Kempinski Residences Guangzhou — Guangzhou · Core Luxury

Germany

Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin — Berlin · Grand Luxury
Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden — Dresden · High Luxury
Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski Munich — Munich · High Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Berchtesgaden — Berchtesgaden · High Luxury
Kempinski Nymphenburg Palace The Royal Residence — Munich · High Luxury

United Arab Emirates

Kempinski Central Avenue Dubai — Dubai · High Luxury
Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah — Dubai · High Luxury
Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates Dubai — Dubai · High Luxury
Kempinski The Boulevard Dubai — Dubai · High Luxury

Egypt

Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay — Soma Bay · Core Luxury
Kempinski Nile Hotel — Cairo · Core Luxury
Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski Cairo — Cairo · Core Luxury

Tanzania

Kempinski Longosa Lodge Serengeti — Serengeti National Park · Core Luxury · Opening soon
Kempinski Msasa Lodge Lake Manyara — Lake Manyara · Core Luxury · Opening soon