Saudi Arabia has scaled back its medium-term ambitions for the desert development of Neom, the biggest project within Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans for diversifying the oil-dependent economy, according to people familiar with the matter.
Aman, a name whispered in the circles of the rich and famous, is one of the world’s most exclusive hotel groups, renowned for its near telepathic service and ultra-luxurious properties tucked in some of the globe’s most stunning locations.
Despite the name, there is nothing small about the scope or scale of Saudi Arabia’s Boutique Group. A home-grown firm turning palaces and historical buildings into ultra-luxury hotels, Boutique Group has ambitions to become one of the world’s most important hospitality majors. Green-lit by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, Chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs, and Chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Boutique Group is more than a hotel company, it is a vessel to take Saudi culture to the world.
The Dubai Ruler on Wednesday announced a new incredible project: Palm Jebel Ali, a development that will be twice the size of Palm Jumeirah.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince has unveiled The Mukaab, a 400 metre-high, wide and long indoor super-city in the centre of Riyadh. Large enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings, there are hopes the PIF-backed giga-project becomes a new global icon of technology, sustainability, mobility and Saudi innovation.
Sofar Grand Hotel in the Lebanese village of Sofar is some 30 kilometres (20 miles) east of the capital, Beirut. Inside the abandoned century-old hotel, paintings of the Arab world's once powerful and famous hang around a worn poker table, testimony to its glamourous past before the civil war.
Emaar Hospitality Group, a unit of Dubai's biggest developer Emaar Properties, will sell part of its portfolio to focus on hotel management and is still eyeing listing of its own shares, the parent company's chairman said on Tuesday.
In Dubai, the new is easily coveted; from skyscrapers to sports cars. So it may come as a surprise that the latest luxury hotel will also be its oldest.In April the Queen Elizabeth II (QE2), the world's most famous ocean liner from the 1960s, opened its gangways to guests once more. But its cruising days are over -- this time around the QE2 is staying put in its new home, the city port of Mina Rashid.
The world's tallest hotel has officially opened its doors in Dubai -- scaling the clouds and towering above the city below.The Gevora Hotel is a new offering in the UAE hotspot's financial district -- topping out at an incredible 356 meters high (1,168 feet).Travelers with a head for heights will know already that Gevora's tower just barely trounces another Dubai sleeping spot -- the JW Marriott Marquis, which is just a meter shorter and was formerly the world's tallest hotel.The luxurious Gevora is decked out in gold and includes a health club, sauna, pool and five glitzy restaurants.
Hospitality veterans Reto Wittwer and Ulrich Eckhardt have announced the management takeover of the Ajman Hotel, formerly known as Kempinski Hotel Ajman. The hotel now carries the Blazon Hotels brand and premium service philosophy, as part of their newly established hotel management company Smart Hospitality Solutions. Wittwer and Eckhardt share more than ten decades of combined hotel experience between them. The duo successfully opened and operated more than 200 hotels across the world with several major hotel brands.
Sprawled across a superlative slice of the Persian Gulf, Dubai’s three beachfront Jumeirah resorts comprise a veritable empire. A diverse one, at that, with an overwhelming array of lavish eateries—from Japanese and Italian to Mexican and Arabian—chic bars and lounges, extravagant swimming pools and iconic architecture, including the Burj Al Arab’s sailboat design, a Dubai skyline gem. The opening of Jumeirah Al Naseem last December was a kind of declaration that the empire-building continues: Behold the final chapter of the lavish story that is Madinat Jumeirah, Arabic for, aptly enough, “the country of Jumeirah.”
Aldar plans to open more hotels as part of its ongoing efforts to diversify revenues beyond those earned from property sales.
“There is definitely a need for serviced apartments in Abu Dhabi, there is demand for four- and three-star level hotels in the city of Abu Dhabi," says Mohammed Al Mubarak, Aldar’s chief executive.
Its development projects will increasingly feature serviced apartments and hotels to complement residential and retail components. “A lot of our future thinking is going that route," he says.
The mid-range hotel sector in the UAE is set to welcome the third largest hotel brand in India, Lemon Tree Hotels, as the hospitality group embarks on a Middle East expansion plan. Lemon Tree Hotels has partnered with Raine & Horne Dubai, the Australian real estate franchise, in an agreement to sign a minimum of eight Middle Eastern developments over three years.
Morocco’s surge in hospitality is a sign of stability in the country, according to FRHI SVP development EMEA Francios Baudin. FRHI hotels and resorts has announced the signing of two new hotels – one each in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. Baudin told Hotelier Middle East exclusively at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC): “We have signed two hotels – Fairmonts, and there is one which is in Al Khobar, on the border of Bahrain. This will be an iconic property because it will define luxury in that area.”
UAE hotel operator Rotana plans to add 1,000 rooms in Dubai by 2020. Rotana is ramping up expansion plans for the Middle East, since announcing in February that it was planning nine new hotel projects for Dubai and Abu Dhabi over the next five years.
Aiana Hotels & Resorts has announced plans to open a new hotel in the Saudi city of Makkah. Doha-based Aiana Makkah is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2016, company officials said at an event in Doha that marked Aiana's first anniversary.
Two-kilometre night souq to be one of the first major projects opening on Deira Islands in Q1 2017. The first project slated for opening will consist of 5,300 stores and nearly 100 quayside cafes and restaurants, according to Nakheel in a Gulf News report. Considered to be the biggest development project undertaken in Deira, the islands include the construction of hotels, hotel apartments, multi-purpose buildings and marinas.
Hotel guests in Dubai looking for some relief from the desert heat will have a luxurious way to escape: The planned Rosemont Hotel & Residences will include a 75,000-square-foot (6,968-square-meter) rainforest, complete with a sand- free beach and stream.
The company signed a management agreement with owner Aria Ziggurat Tourism Development Company for its two inaugural properties in Tehran: The Novotel IKIA and Ibis IKIA. AccorHotels, the world’s leading hotel operator, today announced that it has signed a management agreement with Aria Ziggurat for its two inaugural properties in Tehran. The new hotels – Novotel IKIA and ibis IKIA – are connected to the main terminal of Imam Khomeini International Airport and scheduled to open in October 2015. AccorHotels is the first international hotel group to launch its brands in Iran.
Dubai-based Emaar Properties, which announced its intention to list Emaar Misr, its Egyptian subsidiary on Wednesday, has confirmed that an IPO for its hospitality unit remains on hold. In a statement, the company said: “The timing of the IPO [for Emaar Hospitality Group] will be dependent on the market conditions. We are watching the markets closely and will take a decision to list at the appropriate time.” Emaar launched an $1.6 billion IPO of its malls and retail subsidiary, EMG, on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in September last year, in what was the GCC’s biggest listing since the financial crisis in 2008.