Category Archives: Hotels

The 110-key Oaks Beirut is scheduled to be launched by the middle of this year and will be located in Sodeco, a commercial area of Beirut, approximately five minutes’ drive from the central downtown area and 15 minutes from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport. Minor Hotels signed a management agreement with Allied Investment Group to operate Oaks Beirut. “We are very excited to announce the forthcoming debut of our Oaks brand in Lebanon later this year, commented Dillip Rajakarier, CEO, Minor Hotels. “For Minor Hotels adding Lebanon to our footprint has considerable strategic value and we are pleased to launch our first hotel in the country. Beirut is a dynamic city with so much to offer and is widely regarded as one of the most influential trendsetters in the region.” The property will provide modern accommodation with a selection of guest rooms and suites, including an all-day dining restaurant, lounge bar & café, rooftop pool and bar, plus dedicated conference facilities. Providing the luxury of space, Oaks Hotels & Resorts offers a range of contemporary accommodation, from hotel and resort rooms and suites, to furnished serviced apartments, in central city locations and resort destinations.  

Celebrating hospitality businesses that have earned great traveller reviews, Ghaya Grand Hotel has received a Booking.com Guest Review Award. Commenting on the accreditation, Olwin Desouza, General Manager, Ghaya Grand Hotel, said “With our wide variety of restaurant offerings, plus further competition from new restaurants opening up in Dubai, we have had to strive to be at the top of our game,” he said. “Winning the 2017 Guest Review Award demonstrates we are providing service with a smile for our guests as well as a product that delivers everything they require, whether visiting Dubai on business or leisure.” “With more than 110 million guest reviews on our platform, we not only guide travellers to find their perfect stays, but empower our accommodation partners to stay up-to-date with evolving customer expectations, including what travellers appreciate most about their property, as well as what can potentially be improved,” said Remco van Zanten, Global Director—Partner Services, Booking.com. “With our guest review awards, we congratulate, thank and honour the incredible dedication of our partners to create great guest experiences for our customers, time and time again,” he added.

Shaza Hotels has announced the signing of its first Mysk Hotel in Kuwait. Situated opposite the Messilah beach district on the south coast of Kuwait City, the new property is already under construction and is set to welcome guests at the beginning of 2020. The hotel stays true to the Mysk promise by designing a trendy destination combining urbanity with traditional Arabian hospitality. “Al-Yousifi group is thrilled to be an active player shaping the new face of the Kuwait hospitality market. We are very confident that Mysk Hotel in Kuwait will set itself apart from the crowd by emphasising on bold design, innovative marketing, social influence and world-class hospitality,” said Dr. Adel Al-Yousifi, owner of the hotel. The launch of Mysk Hotel in Kuwait will coincide with a social media campaign to attract locals and visitors wanting to experience a new, stylish and cheerful venue in the city. Located at a distance of 15 minutes away from the airport and boasting magnificent sea views, the 200-room hotel also hosts meetings, conferences, exhibitions and weddings.

City Centre Ajman has been transformed into a regional mall with an investment of AED 643 million, which is part of Majid Al Futtaim’s announcement made in June 2016 to increase its total investment in the UAE by AED 30 billion by 2026, taking its total investment in the country to AED 48 billion. With a gross leasable area of 34,000 sqm, the mall brings 14 brands to Ajman for the first time. Fuad Mansoor Sharaf, Managing Director, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, Shopping Malls (UAE, Bahrain & Oman) stated, “We work very closely with the government authorities. This recent extension of this shopping centre was a plan working closely with the government with the numbers, market requirements, trends and future. With these new features, Ajman is making way for the development of tourism to the emirate. We have a dedicated taxi drop off and pick points and are working very closely with all the hotels in Ajman to ensure that their guests visit the city centre for a memorable retail tourism experience.” As Ajman tourism is focusing on luring more tourists to the emirate, Majid Al Futtaim is supporting the government’s initiative to ensure that tourists leave the emirate with unforgettable experiences.

Emaar Hospitality Group and Rove Hotels have joined hands with Emirates Green Building Council (Emirates GBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by promoting green building practices, to secure the ‘Green Key’ certification for all its operational hotels and leisure assets in Dubai. The agreement was signed by Olivier Harnisch, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Hospitality Group, and Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman, Emirates GBC. Harnisch said, “Across our hotels and leisure assets, we have an abiding commitment to uphold the highest standards of energy and water use efficiency as well as best environmental practices. These properties have already launched in-house green practices and have dedicated teams supporting the mission to ‘go green’ in line with the UAE Green Agenda and Dubai Plan 2021. The Green Key certification will be a crowning glory that will highlight our environmental stewardship and focus on sustainable development for a greener tourism industry.”

Majid Al Futtaim—a leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia—opened My City Centre Al Dhait to meet the retail needs of Ras Al Khaimah’s fastest-growing communities. Speaking at the opening, Ghaith Shocair, Chief Executive Officer – Shopping Malls, Majid Al Futtaim – Properties stated that after several surveys, the perfect location was selected and they were happy to deliver the completed project within a short span of two years. “Today we underscore Majid Al Futtaim’s commitment to delivering a unique retail experience to fast-growing communities around the region with the opening of My City Centre Al Dhait, our first shopping destination in Ras Al Khaimah and the latest addition to the growing My City Centre brand in the UAE. Among 30 retail units, seven are food and beverage focused. It is close to the beach and highway with great retail offers that can cater to tourist requirements.” The AED 68.5 million mall, which has a gross leasable area of 5,494 square metres, houses more than 30 regional and international lifestyle brands. My City Centre Al Dhait is a neighbourhood shopping and dining destination created specifically for nearby residential and commercial communities.

Shaza Hotels recently announced the opening of their Mysk flagship hotel in Al Mouj Muscat, under the leadership of His Highness Shihab Bin Tariq Al Said, Advisor to His Majesty the Sultan and Chairman of the Research Council. The event was organised by Golden Group Holding, owners of the hotel. The flagship opening of Mysk by Shaza Hotels in Muscat comes in line with the rapid growth in tourism witnessed by the Sultanate over the past years and the building of many infrastructure projects and services. Situated in the bustling Al Mouj Muscat Marina and close to the Muscat International Airport, Mysk is an upscale hotel with 195 rooms and suites equipped with the latest technology. A contemporary brand that is inspired by Arabic culture and ancient Omani history, the hotel has four restaurants, a business centre, multi-use halls with modern amenities, a swimming pool overlooking the marina and a centre for recreation and fitness.

In an effort to have a strong presence of sustainability initiatives, Six Senses Zighy Bay has purchased its own fleet of seven of Nissan’s Pathfinder SV 4WD Hybrid vehicles, which will transport guests to the resort and take them for extraordinary experiences in the surrounding region. Guests arriving at the border for transfer to the resort will get their first experience of the new vehicles, as they enjoy the exhilarating off-road approach to Six Senses Zighy Bay. The hybrid vehicles will also be used to take them to the resort’s fine dining experience on the mountaintop. For adventurous guests, the cars will be used for excursions to Dibba town and the resort’s own farm and to the marina to enjoy a cruise from the Dhahab yacht. Aaron McGrath, General Manager, Six Senses Zighy Bay, said, “Until now, we’ve been using vehicles from a partner over which we have no real control of their environmental credentials; something which is incredibly important to our sustainability initiatives. We reviewed the vehicles available in our market and concluded that the Pathfinder SV 4WD Hybrid would be best suited to our resort.”

The five-star waterfront Salalah Rotana Resort, located on the shores of the Indian Ocean, has added an additional 22 rooms to its already existing 400 key inventory, as a response to the continuous increase in guests arrival. Following its cluster-building system, a new building housing the rooms, features two room categories. Both offer ample space and an array of in-room amenities for guests’ comfort. Premium Room as its highlight directly overlooks the Indian Ocean and offers guests majestic views of the ocean. Speaking on the new addition, Hossam Kamal, General Manager, Salalah Rotana Resort asserted, “We have watched Salalah grow as a tourist destination over the years. Notably, the increase in guests to the resort have resulted in our decision to invest in the additional inventory at our five-star resort. We pride ourselves in the quality of service offered to our diverse guests.”

Five-star luxury Waldhotel Health & Medical Excellence in Lucerne, Switzerland has opened its doors within the historic Bürgenstock Hotels & Resort after an extensive regeneration programme. The 160-room Waldhotel Health and Medical joins Switzerland’s world-class collection of exclusive wellness centres, which attract more than 250,000 GCC medical tourists per year. The luxury Swiss resort offers non-invasive medical treatments, recuperation, rest and relaxation. The integrated, state-of-the-art alpine facility is an exclusive retreat for medical tourists, wellbeing enthusiasts and athletes, providing diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitation programmes, in addition to preventative and cosmetic treatments. Set in the luxury of the five-star Waldhotel, the holistic approach to health encompasses nutrition, exercise and rest, balanced with the healing qualities of Lake Lucerne, to create a bespoke wellness experience for each guest. With alpine air, dramatic scenery and a focus on health and nature, as well as exclusive shopping districts, it makes for a compelling proposition for a growing number of visitors from the GCC region. Switzerland is now a destination of choice for 253,919 outbound medical tourists from the GCC countries. According to the Deloitte Swiss Hospitality Study 2015, GCC health and medical tourists accrued 735,318 overnight stays in 2014, marking an increase of 23% on the previous year, with the highest number of visitors arriving from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Swiss arrival figures received a further boost in 2017, with UAE passport holders no longer required to obtain short-stay visas – music to ears of luxury hoteliers, especially when GCC visitors spend up to $450 per day, four-times that of domestic Swiss tourists