PHOTO: Hyatt is opening its first ski resort in the French Alps. (Courtesy Flickr/Timo Newton-Syms) Hyatt Hotels and Resorts will open its first ski resort in France later this year, using its Hyatt Centric brand to launch a seasonal hotel in the French Alps, the company announced. The 71-room Hyatt Centric La Rosière will be open in time for the 2017-18 ski season and operate seasonally on a December to April, and then June to September, schedule. The hotel giant has entered into a franchise agreement with La Rosière Gestion SARL, and the property will be managed by Sophos Hotels. “Hyatt Centric La Rosière is an extremely important and exciting development for the Hyatt Centric brand. The deal marks the expansion of the Hyatt Centric brand into a new continent, as well as our first ski resort in the region, which we regard as a remarkable milestone,” Peter Norman, Senior Vice President, Acquisition and Development Europe, Africa, Middle East and South West Asia for Hyatt, said in a statement. “We look forward to the growth of Hyatt Centric hotels in the region, meeting demand from popular resorts that will put guests right at the heart of the action.” READ MORE: Hyatt To Form New Wellness Category “We are looking forward to working on our first project with Hyatt to help introduce the Centric Brand to Europe,” said Fernand Donnet, CEO of Sophos Hotels. “Hyatt Centric La Rosière will offer guests a unique experience, combining an unbeatable location with superb facilities, a combination that has made the Hyatt Centric brand such a success.” Hyatt launched its Centric brand in 2015 as a business and leisure hotel that will be, as its name suggests, in the center of location. Hyatt Centric currently has properties in Chicago, Houston, New York City, New Orleans, Waikiki, Hawaii, Arlington in suburban Washington D.C., Park City in Utah, Miami, Key West in Florida, Long Beach, Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Montevideo, Uruguay. Hyatt Centric La Rosière will be no different. The resort, which will feature the H40 Bistro Bar and the all-day La Tavola restaurant, is located in western France on the French Alps border with Italy and near Courchevel, Val d'Isere and Les Arcs.