Hilton's first palace hotel leads regional expansion drive

Hilton is also using Arabian Travel Market to launch its successful summer promotion, Hilton For Free 2005, with new partners on board - credit card giant MasterCard and the award winning Emirates Holidays.

Speaking at a press conference today, Rudi Jagersbacher, Hilton's Vice President, for the Arabian Peninsula, said: "The 50-suite Qasr Al Sharq is set to become the Kingdom's premier property and the region's most luxurious and exclusive hotel. It will introduce unprecedented levels of luxury to the region on absolutely every aspect of the guest experience, from the most advanced high tech amenities such as WiFi internet access and automated controls of lighting, curtains and temperature, to lavish guest rooms and suites that start at 128 square meters, renowned international restaurant brands BiCe and Mammounia, as well as dedicated and personalised butlers, trained by the UK Guild of Butlers, famous for training Buckingham Palace staff."

In the development pipeline for Hilton's Arabian Peninsula operations is a second beachfront property in Ras Al Khaimah, a Worldwide Resort - Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Beach Resort - which is which is set to open in 2007 featuring 180 standard rooms and 100 chalets with private terraces and spectacular restaurant concepts. Meanwhile, in Dubai, Hilton will open the exclusive Hilton Jumeirah Beach Club overlooking the Jumeirah beach strip. It will offer 50 cabanas and seven food & beverage outlets which will cater to the 20 residential tower Dubai Marina complex, neighbouring hotels, as well as the two existing Hilton properties.

The expansion in the Middle East will continue with a 324-room new- built Hilton Doha opening for the Asian Games in 2006, and the Gulf's first luxurious Conrad property in Dubai in late 2007. In addition, Hilton has six more hotels under development in Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco while further afield new openings in Asia Pacific will include Conrad Tokyo on July 1 this year, Hilton Sydney which reopens July 15 following a three year and US$ 160 million rooftop to basement refurbishment, and the stunning Millennium Hilton Bangkok by end 2005. 21 hotels are scheduled to open throughout Europe, Africa, North America and the Caribbean in the next two years.

"Our expansion drive has not stopped our focus on service quality. In 2004, Hilton in the Middle East affirmed its leadership position as Leading Hotel Chain, evident by the 2004 BDRC findings. In the same year the region achieved a 19.3 percent growth in RevPAR (revenue per available room). We are looking to build on this success for 2005." he added.