When Viceroy Hotels & Resorts debuted in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2000, the luxury lifestyle hotel boom was in full swing.
And it wasn't long before the brand had built up a portfolio of roughly a dozen design-forward hotels in high-profile destinations, including Miami, Beverly Hills, the Maldives, St. Lucia and New York.
That initial growth spurt, however, proved difficult to sustain.
Through the late 2010s and into the early 2020s, the brand lost several marquee properties, including the Viceroy Miami, which became the W Miami in 2016, and the Viceroy New York, which reflagged as Le Meridien New York, Central Park in 2019. L'Ermitage Beverly Hills, which Viceroy added in 2010, dropped the brand in 2021.
Now, under new ownership, Viceroy is back in growth mode with a refreshed brand identity.
In 2023, real estate investment and hotel management company Highgate acquired Viceroy. Highgate principal Richard Russo said it planned to use the "benefits of Highgate's scale" to "cement Viceroy as one of the most noteworthy luxury lifestyle hotel brands in the industry."
By 2024, Viceroy had rolled out a comprehensive brand relaunch, which included refreshed visual branding and a new emphasis on destination-specific experiences, and opened the Viceroy at Ombria Algarve in southern Portugal.
Arash Azarbarzin
In late 2025, the brand tapped Highgate principal and former SH Hotels & Resorts CEO Arash Azarbarzin as its chief executive and announced a partnership with African Bush Camps, adding three safari lodges in Zambia and Botswana to its portfolio.
Further expansion is in the works, with The Observatory Sun Valley, a Viceroy Resort slated to debut later this year in downtown Ketchum, Idaho. Azarbarzin said details about a New York hotel are planned to be announced in the next month, and openings in Mexico's Playa del Carmen and New York's Hudson Valley are in the works.
He added that the brand's core ethos is the destination, centered around the idea that Viceroy is "not just selling you a room and a stay."
"We're going to sell you the destination," he said. "The brand is in a very good place. And we have a lot coming."
Something new in Sun Valley
This destination-first approach will be on full display when The Observatory Sun Valley opens its doors this fall. According to Azarbarzin, the resort will be the first luxury hotel to open in Sun Valley since 1928.
The 73-room property will feature a full-service spa, rooftop observatory, restaurant, cafe, bar and a mountain lounge with activity planning and gear storage. The resort will also have 12 residences.
Programming will lean heavily into its natural surroundings, with a "mountain concierge" available to connect guests with local guides and activities ranging from guided hikes and fly fishing to snowshoeing and private chef dinners in mountain yurts.
Also, the resort sits within the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve, a DarkSky International-certified area protected from light pollution. A resident astronomer will lead stargazing programs.
According to general manager Euan Taylor, Sun Valley has long had a devoted following, with roughly 40% of visitors returning year after year, drawn largely from the West Coast as well as Midwest markets like Chicago.
He added that the resort expects to open with rates starting above $1,000 per night, positioning it as a "rate leader" in Sun Valley and putting it in line with luxury resorts in mountain destinations like Aspen, Colo., and Park City, Utah.
Viceroy expects that The Observatory will do a robust groups and weddings business. Photo Credit: De Reus Architects
Azarbarzin said he expects the luxury positioning to help introduce the destination to a broader audience, aided in part by the travel advisor community. The Observatory Sun Valley has been accepted into Virtuoso's Preview Program, which gives the luxury travel agency network's advisors early access to new properties.
"Virtuoso's Preview Program is reserved for well-established luxury brands; they trust us," he said, adding that he expects the resort to be represented across all major travel advisor programs.
For groups and weddings in particular, The Observatory is "getting a tremendous amount of leads already," Azarbarzin said.