Dorchester Collection is a luxury

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

operator owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), an arm of the Ministry of Finance of

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

History

In 1987, the Sultan of Brunei,

Hassanal Bolkiah Hassanal Bolkiah Muiz'zaddin Wad'daulah (born 15 July 1946) is the List of sultans of Brunei, Sultan of Brunei since 1967, and Prime Minister of Brunei, prime minister of Brunei since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. He is one ...

, bought the Dorchester Hotel and the Beverly Hills Hotel and then transferred the ownership to the Brunei Investment Agency in 1991. The Audley Group, owned by the BIA, was established in 1996 to manage the hotels under one company. Later, the Audley Group became the Dorchester Group Limited. The Dorchester Group Ltd. owns the Dorchester Collection which was established in 2006 to manage several luxury hotels in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The Dorchester Collection manages nine luxury hotels. The hotels are a mix of wholly owned and part-owned hotels as the Dorchester Collection acquires them and manages them on behalf of third party owners. In 2025, Philippe Leboeuf was named as CEO.

Properties

Hotels

Dorchester Collection owns and manages ten five-star luxury hotels: * The Dorchester (London) *45 Park Lane (London) * Coworth Park (southwest of London) * Le Meurice (Paris) * Plaza Athénée (Paris) * Principe di Savoia (Milan) * Hotel Eden (Rome) * The Beverly Hills Hotel (Beverly Hills) * Hotel Bel-Air (Los Angeles) *The Lana (Dubai) The company is planning a property in Tokyo, Japan, that is set to open in 2028.

Restaurants

* Alain Ducasse and China Tang at The Dorchester * Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée *Restaurant le Meurice Alain Ducasse *La Terrazza at Hotel Eden * Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air * Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel *Woven by Adam Smith at Coworth Park *CUT at 45 Park Lane *Acanto at Hotel Principe di Savoia

Controversy

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

, via his Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) owning the Dorchester Collection hotels, raised concern abroad in April 2014 by implementing the

Sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

penal code that includes death by stoning, the severing of limbs, and flogging for what are regarded to be crimes in

such as abortions, adultery, and homosexual acts. None are exempted from the Sharia Law regardless of the classes they are in and the laws only apply in Brunei's border.

has a complex legal system that consists of two parts which involve separate courts and legislation for Islamic and non-Islamic citizens. In protest, a United States national LGBT advocacy organization, the Gill Action Fund, canceled its reservation to hold a conference of major donors at the Beverly Hills Hotel and demanded a refund of its deposit. The hotel management responded by issuing a statement asserting that it does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. Fashion designers Brian Atwood and Peter Som subsequently called for wider protests, urging the fashion industry to boycott all of the hotels owned by the Dorchester Collection. The Beverly Hills Hotel, long a popular spot for celebrity functions, has been rejected by much of Hollywood over the controversy.Brunei Ownership Casts a Shadow on a Beverly Hills Hotel
''The New York Times'', May 10, 2014. HR Magazine said that the protests are "misguided" and will not affect the government policy of Brunei when the Dorchester Collection's annual revenue is $300 million while the BIA has over $30 billion in assets from oil and gas.

Chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Christopher Cowdray asked the public to consider the issue at hand in a broader perspective, citing the fact that many brands are backed by foreign investors. The U.S. national advertising-industry newspaper Adweek declared that "the bad press and protests have tarnished the glamorous image of the Beverly Hills Hotel, one of the most famous hotels in the world" and added that "such extreme brand damage will be difficult to repair." As of May 2014, "more than $2 million worth of events have been canceled at the Beverly Hills Hotel by dozens of groups." There have also been people speaking out in opposition of the protests and boycott of the hotel. Russell Crowe and

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the celebrity sex tape ...

have spoken out against the boycott, despite disapproval of the new laws in Brunei, citing how it is unfair to punish the hardworking employees and workers at the hotel. In March 2019 when the Sultan announced the coming into force of the sharia law in question on 3 April 2019 George Clooney,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

and

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American former comedian, actress, television host, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy in the early 1980s, gaining national attention with a 1986 appearance on '' ...

called again for a boycott of all hotels associated with him. It resulted in the Sultan backtracking on enforcing the laws that would have made sex between men and adultery punishable by stoning to death in May 2019.

References

{{Government of Brunei Hotel and leisure companies based in London Hospitality companies of the United Kingdom Hotel chains Hotel chains in the United Kingdom