A new lifestyle hotel planned for Bordeaux's former Virgin Megastore has missed its planned opening date of 23 October 2026, according to The Hospitality Tribune's news roundup for 26 October 2026.
According to The Hospitality Tribune, conversion work on the former Virgin Megastore on Place Gambetta, which closed in 2013, has been suspended again amid financial difficulties affecting the property owner. The project includes 85 rooms, a rooftop restaurant associated with Gordon Ramsay, a spa and retail outlets.
According to a FlyerTalk summary of the project, the building is owned by Financiere Immobiliere Bordelaise and was set to reopen as a Kimpton hotel, IHG's boutique-luxury brand, marking Kimpton's debut in Bordeaux and only its second location in France. The rooftop restaurant, Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay, was planned as an upscale Asian restaurant with a 72-seat panoramic terrace overlooking Bordeaux's rooftops.
The project aims to restore the building's original architectural character, including lowering added roof levels and rebuilding key structural elements, according to the same summary. The hotel was planned with 85 rooms across four floors, two ground-floor retail units and a six-level atrium lit by a glass roof.
No new opening date has been reported in the roundup, and the suspension leaves one of Bordeaux's most prominent city-centre conversions on hold.
Photo: Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux with tram (file photo). Photo by Nikopol, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.