Five cities are vying for the "first store", but none has opened yet. Which one will open the first Hilton LXR?

Recently, the Fengbei TOD project in Qianjiang Century City, Hangzhou, officially announced the introduction of Hilton LXR. This is already the sixth "first store" of this top - luxury soft brand in China. Since the unilateral official announcement by the Chengdu property owner in 2023, within three years, six projects in five cities have successively claimed the title of "first store". Xi'an, Tianjin, Nanjing, and Hangzhou have taken turns, and the pace has significantly accelerated. Why are all parties so obsessed with the "first store" label? What are the backgrounds of these six projects? Which city is most likely to get the first LXR in China?

The sixth Hilton LXR "first store" in China is here

Recently, news came from Qianjiang Century City, Xiaoshan, Hangzhou. The supporting hotel of the Fengbei TOD Intelligent Science and Technology Innovation Center, invested and built by the state - owned company of Qianjiang Century City, has officially introduced LXR Hotels & Resorts, a top - luxury brand under the Hilton Group. The total investment of the project is 5.5 billion yuan, and the total construction area is about 400,000 square meters. The hotel part alone reaches 80,000 square meters. The official statement is also very clear, calling it the "first in Zhejiang" and the "first in East China".

In the luxury hotel industry, this kind of "first store" is not rare. What's really interesting is that this is the sixth Chinese project to claim the title of "first LXR store" in the past three years. Starting from the news of the "first store in Greater China" released by the Chengdu project in 2023, to the "first in North China" in Tianjin, the "candidate for the first store in China" in Hangzhou, and now the "first in East China", in just a few years, multiple cities have rushed to claim it.

However, after three years, no LXR hotel in China has actually opened its doors to welcome guests. Why are multiple cities willing to compete for the "first store" of a brand that has not yet been established? To understand this, we need to go back to LXR itself.

LXR, full name LXR Hotels & Resorts, is a top - luxury soft brand under Hilton. Its experience is quite tortuous even in the global hotel brand history. In 2005, when the private equity giant Blackstone acquired Wyndham International Group, it packaged 14 luxury hotels with different styles into a new brand system, which was the starting point of LXR.

At that time, this logic was even a bit ahead of its time because it allowed hotels to retain their own names, design languages, historical stories, and local characteristics, while connecting to the group's reservation network, membership system, and operational resources. This coincides with the "soft brand" logic launched by major leading hotel groups today.

In 2007, Blackstone acquired Hilton for $26 billion. Many properties under LXR were gradually re - incorporated into the Hilton system. The most typical ones are the Conquistador Resort in Puerto Rico and the Casa Marina Key West, which was later directly rebranded as Waldorf Astoria.

Later, in 2013, Blackstone promoted Hilton's listing and then cleared its shares in 12 installments. LXR, as a "leftover" from the transaction, was sealed up and remained dormant for five years. It wasn't until 2018 that it was awakened again.

At that time, the wave of personalized boutique hotels swept the world. Marriott's Luxury Collection and InterContinental's Kimpton were frantically seizing the "non - standard luxury" track. Hilton began to re - examine the structural gap in its luxury segment. In this year, Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta publicly announced that a "higher - end independent soft brand than the main brand" would be launched, and then LXR was restarted. In the same year, the world's first store was opened in Dubai, with the Habtoor Palace Hotel, formerly the St. Regis Hotel, taking on the role. It's worth noting that the project initially appeared in the Waldorf Astoria official website system. To some extent, this also exposed Hilton's internal emphasis on its positioning.

After its restart, LXR's expansion speed has been extremely restrained. As of now, there are only about 17 opened projects globally. Roku LXR in Kyoto, Uma LXR in Bali, Paris, Los Angeles... The locations almost all point to top - tier global cities and destinations. Its core strategy is clear: customized local culture, exclusive private services, and immersive cultural experiences. It is both a top - class business space and a city cultural business card.

So, the question is: Why has Hilton LXR significantly accelerated its layout in the past two years? The answer may lie in the gap in its luxury matrix. Hilton's layout in the Chinese luxury hotel market has long had only two cards: Waldorf Astoria and Conrad. Waldorf Astoria focuses on "historical inheritance + landmark sense of ceremony". Since the opening of the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund in 2011, there are only 5 opened in China. Conrad is positioned as "contemporary art + relaxed luxury", and there are currently about 15 in operation in China. The two brands together account for a relatively small share of the domestic luxury market.

More importantly, if a property with a prime location, a profound cultural story, and an independent aesthetic comes to Hilton, the standard framework of Waldorf Astoria is too "rigid", and the tone of Conrad is too "contemporary and young". Hilton lacks a "soft" option to undertake such non - standard projects that emphasize local culture and pursue independent personalities. What LXR supplements is precisely the pole of "local cultural immersion + independent personality expression".

When Hilton LXR landed in Xi'an in 2024, Hilton officially stated that with the establishment of LXR Hotels & Resorts in China, the luxury hotel brands of Hilton Group in China cover four major brands: Conrad Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, and Signia by Hilton. It is expected that the number of operating hotels will double in the next few years. In November 2025, Signia by Hilton, a new luxury brand under the Hilton Group, will make its first foray into China, and the first domestic hotel will be located in Tainan.

Looking at a larger picture, LXR targets the top of luxury. Hilton Garden Inn and Tru by Hilton correspond to "ultra - high - end" and "high - end" respectively. So far, Hilton's soft brands cover all high - end and above categories, forming full - line competitiveness directly competing with Marriott's Luxury Collection, InterContinental's Indigo, and Hyatt's Unbound Collection.

An in - depth look at the "first stores" in five cities

What are the situations of the six Hilton LXR "first stores" in five Chinese cities?

#Chengdu

In March 2023, the official website of Xingcheng Renju Group disclosed that LXR would be located at No. 28, Zongfu Road, Tianfu Square, Jinjiang, Chengdu. The design concept is "seeing the past and present on one floor, embracing mountains and waters on another", with a sky pool as a supporting facility. At that time, the industry was very excited, saying that China was finally going to have its first Hilton LXR. However, it should be noted that this news came from the official website of Xingcheng Renju Group, not from Hilton. In other words, this was a "unilateral official announcement" by the property owner, and Hilton has never officially confirmed the existence of the Chengdu project. However, three years have passed, and this project seems to have disappeared into a black hole. There is no information about project bidding, construction progress, or expected opening date on the Internet.

#Tianjin

In October 2024, many media in the industry reported that Tianjin Xinda United Real Estate had reached a cooperation intention with Hilton to introduce LXR in the Xinda Elegant Meigu Garden in Heping District, and high - profilely announced it as the "first in North China". It is reported that the newly built LXR luxury hotel in Meigu Garden will combine the century - old elegance of modern Tianjin, reproduce the glory of Tianjin as a financial center during the Beiyang and Republic of China periods, and provide guests with a luxurious and unforgettable experience through unique design elements and carefully crafted cultural activities.

However, after the news was released, there was no official response from Hilton. Interestingly, when the official announcement was made in October 2024, it was during the hot - selling period of the residential project in Meigu Garden. It wasn't until October 2025 that China Cinda Tianjin Branch and Hilton Group officially signed a cooperation agreement at the Conrad Hotel in Tianjin, announcing that the first top - luxury LXR hotel and resort in North China would be located in Heping District, Tianjin, and the first DoubleTree by Hilton in Tianjin would be located in Hebei District. Only then did the "first in North China" become a reality.

#Xi'an

On November 19, 2024, Hilton Group officially signed a contract with Zhongding Guosheng (Shaanxi) Real Estate, announcing that LXR Hotels & Resorts would be located in the Taipingfang area of the Datang Ever - Bright City in Qujiang New Area, Xi'an, adjacent to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. The hotel has 118 guest rooms, and its design inspiration is deeply rooted in the cultural essence of Tang - Dynasty architecture, extracting two core images: the large Dougong (a traditional Chinese architectural element) and the flying posture of wild geese, aiming to create a new landmark around the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.

This is the first time that Hilton has officially confirmed the establishment of LXR in China through a formal contract. An official account article said that this is another important milestone in the layout of Hilton Group's luxury brands in China. Qian Jin, President of Hilton Greater China and Mongolia, said, "This signing not only opens a new chapter for Hilton Group's development in China but also further enriches our luxury brand matrix in China."

Note the "first signed in the whole of China" in the press release, which means that in Hilton's official narrative, Xi'an is the starting point of LXR in China, and the "first store in Greater China" claim of the Chengdu project has been completely denied. When the two parties signed the contract, Hilton officially said that the project was expected to open in 2027. However, in an article on "Qujiang Release" in October 2025, it was said that the main structure of the project was planned to be fully capped in June 2026, and the hotel and commercial facilities were expected to be put into operation one after another in 2028.

#Nanjing

In December 2025, many media in the industry reported that the Nanjing Xiwuhuali Resort Hotel project had selected Hilton Group as the management party and would introduce LXR, a luxury brand under the group. The project is located on the west bank of the Qinhuai River, in the area around Zhonghua Gate, adjacent to the Ming City Wall and the old southern city cultural block, with a strong historical atmosphere. The total investment of the project is as high as 4.6 billion yuan, making it one of the cultural and tourism comprehensive projects with the highest investment intensity in Nanjing in recent years. Currently, the project is planned to be completed by the end of 2027 and open in 2028. Compared with the other projects, there is relatively little news about this project in the industry.

#Hangzhou

Before the official announcement of the Fengbei TOD project, Hangzhou actually had a closer - to - "realization" encounter with LXR. The protagonist of the story is the Zhongke Jiutai Hotel. The predecessor of this building was the Hangzhou Panhai Diaoyutai Hotel, which opened in 2016. It was wholly acquired by Zhongke Jiutai in June 2022 and delisted in 2023. After that, Zhongke Jiutai formed its own team to operate it independently. After two years of independent operation, in January 2025, there was news in the industry that the property owner planned to directly list the hotel as LXR without renovation in June 2025, naming it "Hangzhou Jiutai Hotel LXR Select". The hardware foundation left from the Diaoyutai era is excellent, and rebranding it as LXR would be almost like "moving in with just a bag". If this deal had gone through, the first LXR store in China would have been in Hangzhou instead of Xi'an.

According to industry insiders, the negotiation between the two parties broke down. The core difference lies in the cooperation model. Zhongke Jiutai wants a franchise operation, that is, the brand is managed by Hilton, but the operation is done by itself, and Hilton can only "lend its name". Hilton Group absolutely cannot accept the first show of LXR in Greater China being carried out in a franchise model. For a luxury brand that hasn't even opened its first store in China, giving up control to the property owner in the first battle is equivalent to Hilton handing over its most precious brand assets to a property owner who has never operated a luxury hotel to "learn on the job". Moreover, among the more than a dozen LXR stores globally, each one is a "work" in which the brand side is deeply involved in operation and management. So, the official announcement of the Fengbei TOD project is, to some extent, Hilton's choice after "taking a detour" in Hangzhou: it would rather build from scratch on an empty lot than accept the project with a lower standard.

Which city is most likely to open the first Hilton LXR

Going back to the question raised at the beginning, with multiple "first - store narratives" coexisting, in which city is the first real - sense LXR hotel in China likely to be located?

From the perspective of project progress and expected opening time, as of October 2025, the deep - foundation pit earthwork excavation of the Xi'an project has been completed, and the construction of support piles, crown beams, and mixing piles has all reached 100%. The main structure is planned to be fully capped in June 2026, and it is expected to be put into operation one after another in 2028. The Chengdu project has long disappeared without a trace, while the Tianjin project is advancing the construction of the enclosure structure and pile foundation, and is expected to be completed in 2029. When the Nanjing project was signed, it was said to be completed by the end of 2027 and open in 2028, but there is little news. Although the Hangzhou project has been officially announced, with a total investment of 5.5 billion yuan and a total construction area of 400,000 square meters, it is imaginable that the construction period will not be short.

From the perspective of project scale and approval complexity, the Xi'an project has 118 guest rooms, which is the smallest among the five cities. The hotel part is only about 15,300 square meters, and the construction period is relatively controllable. The Nanjing project is adjacent to the Ming City Wall and is in a cultural relic construction control area. The design and construction plans cannot bypass the cultural relic protection approval. The Tianjin project is located at the former site of the century - old Meigu Shenyang Foreign Firm and Siemens Foreign Firm, which also involves the renovation of the historical and cultural area and cultural relic protection approval, and there are uncertainties in the construction period.

The strength and strategic determination of the property owners are also worth considering. After all, luxury hotels are heavy - asset and long - cycle businesses, and the investment from signing the contract to opening the hotel ranges from hundreds of millions to billions. The financial strength and strategic determination of the property owners directly determine whether the project will end up unfinished, be delayed, or have its brand changed. The property owner of the Xi'an project, Zhongding Guosheng (Shaanxi) Real Estate, has a background in northern Shaanxi coal energy capital, so there is no problem with funds. The speed is also very fast: in May 2024, its registered address was moved from Yulin to Xi'an; in July, it took over a land plot from OCT for 1.031 billion yuan; in November, it completed the formal contract signing with Hilton; and in early 2026, it officially started construction. It completed the brand contract signing in less than 4 months and had the general contractor on - site in less than a year. This kind of execution ability has not been seen in the other projects for the time being.

More importantly, the Xi'an project is the only one for which Hilton has officially issued an announcement. According to the contract information, the northern Shaanxi property owner and Hilton adopted a management contract model, not a franchise operation. This means that Hilton can dispatch its own management team to control the whole process from design, construction to post - opening operation, which also adds a lot of certainty to the Xi'an project and avoids the "ending" of the Zhongke Jiutai Hotel in Hangzhou.

Based on comprehensive judgment, if there are no accidents, Xi'an will most likely become the real starting point of LXR in China