Corinthia Hotels has announced the re-launch of its refurbished and extended 400-bedroom luxury hotel on Nevskiy Prospect in St Petersburg, Russia, with more bedrooms and more facilities under one roof than any other luxury hotel in the city.

The Governor of St Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko, inaugurated the new hotel at a grand opening ceremony on Monday.

The Corinthia Nevskij Palace Hotel was acquired as an operating hotel in 2002 by International Hotel Investments (IHI) plc, the Malta-based hotel investment, development and management company, which owns and manages Corinthia Hotels worldwide. At the time, IHI also acquired the vacant grand properties on either side of the Hotel on the city's main boulevard.

Over the past two years, IHI has invested a further e100 million, including the total refurbishment of the original hotel, complete with a brand new and larger, grand foyer, a new restaurant and new bars. The adjoining buildings on either side of the hotel, which had been acquired in a state of serious disrepair, were demolished and carefully reconstructed with ornate facades matching their original splendour, rebuilt using traditional techniques.

In her address to the guests attending the grand opening, Governor Matvienko welcomed this major investment into St Petersburg as a further sign of confidence in the continued growth and prosperity of the City of St Petersburg.