Luxury Hotels Atlas / The Maison / Red Carnation

Red Carnation hotels

Personally restored houses run from an Irish castle to a safari lodge filled with African art.

Red Carnation brings the Tollman family’s personal approach to individually named hotels, from an Irish castle and a Mayfair townhouse to a safari lodge filled with contemporary African art. The family’s involvement in restoration and hosting gives these very different houses a shared attention to the small details of a stay.

16 Red Carnation hotels in 5 countries on the Luxury Hotels Atlas, each placed on the six LHA Tiers.

• Owned by the Tollman family
• Worldwide: 20 hotels across the UK, continental Europe, South Africa, the United States, and Botswana as of the mid-2020s; the Luxury Hotels Atlas curates 16 Red Carnation properties across five countries — Botswana, Ireland, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom
• On the atlas: 3 Grand Luxury, 5 High Luxury, 5 Core Luxury, 3 Accessible Luxury

History

The Tollman family’s hotel experience moved from South Africa to London and later returned to South African houses including The Oyster Box and Bushmans Kloof. Ashford Castle added an Irish restoration chapter after its 2013 acquisition. Personal involvement in the buildings and their interiors remains an important connection across the collection.

Timeline

• 1954 — Beatrice ("Bea") Lurie marries pharmacist-turned-hotelier Stanley Tollman in Johannesburg; the couple use their wedding-gift money to lease their first property, the 22-room Nugget Hotel.
• 1955 — The Tollmans acquire the Hyde Park Hotel in Johannesburg, which goes on to host guests including Marlene Dietrich and Maurice Chevalier and serves as a base for film crews, including Cy Endfield's Zulu.
• 1976 — Facing South Africa's apartheid-era political climate, the Tollman family relocates to London with their four children, purchasing the Montcalm Hotel near Marble Arch; they later build a chain of Days Inn-branded hotels in the United States before returning to London.
• 1984 — The Tollmans acquire The Chesterfield in Mayfair, the first hotel of what will become the Red Carnation Hotel Collection.
• 1996 — Following the acquisition of The Montague on the Gardens in Bloomsbury, Bea Tollman formally names the growing collection "Red Carnation Hotels," after the red carnation lapel pin Stanley wore the day they met.
• 2004 — Red Carnation acquires Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat in South Africa's Cederberg region, its second South African property after The Oyster Box deal closes two years later.
• 2006 — Red Carnation acquires The Oyster Box on Umhlanga's KwaZulu-Natal coastline, a hotel with particular family resonance, as it was where Bea and Stanley had their first date, reopening it in 2009 after a full rebuild.
• 2008 — The Old Government House Hotel & Spa in Guernsey, an independent hotel dating to 1858, joins the collection.
• 2013 — Red Carnation acquires Ashford Castle in Cong, Ireland, a 13th-century castle and former Guinness family seat, for €20 million, beginning what becomes an approximately €68–75 million, multi-phase restoration.
• 2014 — The Lodge at Ashford Castle joins the collection alongside its parent property; Virgin Limited Edition-owner-style family investment deepens across the estate with a new spa, cinema, and billiards room added by 2015.
• 2018 — The Tollman family, longtime board members of Wilderness Safaris, part ways with that company and take the Xigera Safari Lodge site, Wilderness's original 1980s camp, with them, planning to rebuild it as a flagship all-new property under Red Carnation.
• 2019 — Stanley Tollman dies at 91; leadership of Red Carnation and TTC continues under the family's third generation, with Bea Tollman remaining the brand's guiding presence.
• 2021 — Xigera Safari Lodge opens in January in Botswana's Moremi Game Reserve, a from-scratch rebuild conceived as "a living gallery of African talent," with design and art selected by Toni Tollman, architect Anton de Kock, and South African gallery Southern Guild.
• 2024 — 100 Princes Street opens in Edinburgh in the former Royal Overseas League clubhouse, directly facing Edinburgh Castle, Red Carnation's first hotel in Scotland and 19th property worldwide at the time of opening.

The houses to know

1. Ashford Castle, Cong, Ireland — The 13th-century Anglo-Norman stronghold became the Guinness family’s summer home before its restoration by the Tollman family.
2. Xigera Safari Lodge, Okavango Delta, Botswana — Twelve suites stand on stilts above the Delta, with work commissioned from 80 African artisans and selected by Southern Guild.
3. Hotel d'Angleterre, Geneva, Switzerland — A lakefront landmark built in 1872 by architect Anthony Krafft, on a site with a literary pedigree dating to Mary Shelley's Geneva summer.
4. 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh, United Kingdom — A former Royal Overseas League clubhouse facing Edinburgh Castle, Red Carnation's first hotel in Scotland.
5. Summer Lodge Country House Hotel & Restaurant, Evershot, United Kingdom — The hotel is in Evershot, United Kingdom.
6. Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat, Clanwilliam, South Africa — A Relais & Châteaux wilderness retreat in the Cederberg mountains, home to ancient San rock art and acquired by the Tollmans in 2004.
7. The Oyster Box, Umhlanga, South Africa — The KwaZulu-Natal coastal landmark where Bea and Stanley Tollman had their first date, bought back by the family decades later.
8. The Old Government House Hotel & Spa, St Peter Port, United Kingdom — A former governor's residence on Guernsey dating to 1858, independently run for 150 years before joining the collection.

Newest openings

• 100 Princes Street — Edinburgh, Scotland — opened spring 2024 — The collection’s first Scottish hotel remains its most recent addition in the sources reviewed through 2026.

Opening next

• No upcoming Red Carnation openings were confirmed in the sources reviewed through 2026. The collection has generally grown by acquiring and restoring individual landmark properties.

Every Red Carnation hotel on the atlas

United Kingdom

• 100 Princes Street — Edinburgh · High Luxury
• Summer Lodge Country House Hotel & Restaurant — Evershot · High Luxury
• The Old Government House Hotel & Spa — St Peter Port · High Luxury
• Hotel 41 — London · Core Luxury
• The Egerton House Hotel — London · Core Luxury
• The Milestone Hotel & Residences — London · Core Luxury
• The Chesterfield Mayfair — London · Accessible Luxury
• The Montague on the Gardens — London · Accessible Luxury
• The Rubens at the Palace — London · Accessible Luxury

South Africa

• Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat — Clanwilliam · High Luxury
• The Oyster Box — Umhlanga · High Luxury
• The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa — Cape Town · Core Luxury

Ireland

• Ashford Castle — Cong · Grand Luxury
• The Lodge at Ashford Castle — Cong · Core Luxury

Botswana

• Xigera Safari Lodge — Okavango Delta · Grand Luxury

Switzerland

• Hotel d'Angleterre — Geneva · Grand Luxury

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Every house in The Maison

How the six LHA Tiers work