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Rotana to open tallest hotel in the world
Rotana Hotels has announced plans to open the tallest hotel in the world in Dubai in mid December 2009. Opening under Rotana's alcohol-free 'Rayhaan' brand, the 72-storey Rose Rayhaan will rise 72 storeys, reaching a height of 333 metres. The hotel offer 481 rooms, suites and penthouses along with a range of food and beverage venues, eight meeting rooms, business facilities, a fitness centre, outdoor swimming pool, and sauna and steam rooms.
Hotel rates post big fall in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
According to data from STR Global, hotels in Dubai posted the largest average daily rate (ADR) decrease in the Middle East in October, Emirates Business has reported. ADR fell 8.3% to $175.62 (Dhs644), while the next largest decrease, a drop of 6.8% to $200.50, was in Abu Dhabi. The main reason for the price drop was due to an increase in the supply of hotel rooms, the data showed.
The Address Dubai Marina opens
The Address Hotels + Resorts has announced the opening of The Address Dubai Marina, catered as a five-star business and leisure hub. The hotel offers 200 rooms, including 28 suites. Apart from the hotel rooms, The Address Dubai Marina also has 442 serviced apartments.
Swissotel Makkah to open in Q1 2011
Swissotel Hotels & Resorts has announced it expects its first hotel in the Middle East, Swissotel Makkah in Saudi Arabia to open in January 2011. The new hotel is going to have 1571 guest rooms, including 88 suites, spread over 53 floors, with half of all the rooms and suites enjoying a view of the Holy Mosque. Additionally, Swissotel Makkah will have four restaurants, an Executive Lounge, two meeting rooms and a Business Centre.
Rezidor opens two hotels in Abu Dhabi
Brussels-based Rezidor Hotel Group has announced the opening of two new hotels in Abu Dhabi; the Radisson Blu Hotel, Abu Dhabi Yas Island and Park Inn Abu Dhabi, Yas Island. The opening of the Park Inn marks the launch of the firm's mid-market brand in the UAE. Featuring a combined total of 601 guest rooms, the hotels are positioned adjacent to one another on Yas Island.
Yas Hotel gets five-star classification
The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority has awarded the new Yas Hotel a five-star classification. 'Properties such as the Yas Hotel and Emirates Palace are currently classified as five-star but obviously they go well beyond the requirements of that particular ranking,' Nasser Al Reyami, Tourism Standards Director at ADTA said. Scheduled to open to the public on November 3, a day after the final race of this year's Formula 1 season, the hotel is owned and operated by Aldar Hotels and Hospitality.
New hotel opens in Dubai Media City
The Media One Hotel in the Dubai Media City has received the official classification of a four-star hotel by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), marking the hotel's soft opening. The 260-room hotel occupies the first 23 floors of a 43-storey tower and offers food and beverage outlets, gym, outdoor pool and terrace. It also houses a fully equipped business centre and seven meeting rooms.
Rocco Forte to manage Shepheard hotel
The Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels has announced the appointment of The Rocco Forte Collection to manage The Shepheard Hotel in Cairo as a five-star hotel within their brand after assisting in the full renovation of the hotel. The Rocco Forte Collection team will assume temporary management of the 279-room hotel as of November 2009, running it outside of its main brand, after which it will close for total refurbishment and renovations. The hotel will be re-opened in early 2012.
Yas Hotel gears up for F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Yas Hotel on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi is set to welcome guests for the inaugural Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The hotel is owned and operated by Aldar Hotels and Hospitality. The hotel has announced that it will open its doors to the public on 3 November, the day after the final race of the F1 season.
Sharjah hotels see increased occupancy
Mohamed Al Noman, Director General of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has said that hotels in Sharjah are starting to experience an upswing in occupancy rates. 'We are closely monitoring the performance of Sharjah's hotels and we are very pleased to say that they have rebounded from the lowest levels, which occurred at the end of 2008, and are currently experiencing occupancy rates of around 75%, which is in line with the figures recorded at the same time last year,' he said.
Egypt's tourist arrivals beat expectations
Tourist arrivals to Egypt will be higher than expected in 2009 and the numbers will improve in 2010 as Europe rebounds from the economic crisis, Tourism Minister Zoheir Garrana told Reuters in an interview. After months of decline, Egypt saw tourist arrivals advance by 10.7% in September compared to a year earlier, boosted by strong Russian and British arrivals, he noted. Overall, tourism numbers will fall 1-3% this year, but grow 3-5% next year, he predicted.
Alps Hotel to open in UAE
Geneva-based Swiss Hospitality Holding has opened the Alps Hotel, its first hotel in the Middle East, in the UAE emirate of Ras al-Khaimah. The hotel is franchised to UniEstate, a real estate subsidiary of Union Group of Companies. Swiss Hospitality Holding plans to open 20 hotels in the GCC at a total cost of $100m.
UAE has largest share of hotels being built in Mena
A new study has found that nearly half the 120,589 hotel rooms being built in the Middle East and Africa are to be located in the UAE. The UAE is building 57,126 rooms, said the STR Global report, while Saudi Arabia is a distant second with 10,986 rooms. Morocco and Qatar will add 5,924 and 5,408 rooms respectively, the report added.
New $300m fund to invest in Mena hospitality
Abu Dhabi Investment House has announced that it is launching a $300m Hospitality Development Fund that will focus on projects within the Middle East and Asia. The fund, which will target sectors such as tourism and airlines, will cater to investors seeking to diversify their portfolio by adding Shariah-compliant hospitality-related products to their current range of investments, said Rashad Y Janahi, managing director, ADIH.
Oceanic Hotel to get makeover
Sharjah Islamic Bank, owner of Sharjah National Hotels, has signed an agreement with Hotelier Holding to write a renovation and development plan for the Oceanic Hotel, located on the shoreline of the eastern province of Khorfakkan, Sharjah. The project includes design, renovations and development of the existing building, with additional villas and chalets to be incorporated in the resort's new design.
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