New luxury hotels still rolling out in the Oil States
Posted on 04 May 2011 with no comments from readers
For the Ritz-Carlton it is Riyadh in July and Abu Dhabi by the end of the year. St Regis will open in Doha before then, while the largest Spanish chain Melia debuts in Dubai on October 12th, and the Rocco Forte and two Hyatt hotels will be open in Abu Dhabi late in 2011.
‘The new Riyadh Ritz-Carlton was designed as a guest palace so everything about it is enormous. We are very excited to have it as our debut in Saudi Arabia,’ says regional vice-president Pascal Duchauffour.
Arabian palace
The Riyadh Ritz has 493 rooms with massive floorplates, two huge ballrooms and one restaurant can seat 600 people. It’s in the Diplomatic Quarter so ideal for government guests and wedding functions and conferences. The imposing interior is a big draw.
Abu Dhabi’s Ritz will also be a monster with 532 rooms of which 92 are villas, and a pool three times the length of an Olympic swimming pool. A challenge to fill up with guests? ‘This is long-term brand positioning,’ says Mr Duchauffour.
The Rocco Forte brand also opens in Abu Dhabi this autumn with a superlative new hotel, and none other than Sir Rocco Forte himself turned up at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai this week to make sure everything is going to plan. Hyatt Hotels also has two hotels opening in the UAE capital this fall.
Just down the aisle at the show St Regis is readying for its regional debut in Doha. This opulent hotel will have 226 rooms and 70 suites and the first fine dining in Doha for Hell’s Kitchen chef Gordon Ramsey.
‘Since the 2022 World Cup announcement hotels have filled up in Doha,’ says general manager Tareq Derbas whose beautiful modern hotel will have a 150-metre beachfront.
Dubai launches
Still regional hospitality leader Dubai is hardly likely to be left out. Movenpick has two more giant hotels to launch before the end of the year on the Palm Jumeirah, and Spanish hotel giant Sol Melia will open its first hotel near Port Rashid later this year with 164 bedrooms styled as an urban resort with spa and rooftop pool.
You have to wonder if all these new luxury hotels are going to find guests. Certainly this new inventory will keep room rates lower than otherwise. But the oil wealth of these countries means that finance is available and the demand from business is there.
Only if the unrest now found in the non-oil producers, and that includes Bahrain whose output is only around 30,000 barrels per day, moves into the Oil States will these ambitions be challenged. At the moment this unrest is net positive for hotels in the Oil States as it boosts oil revenues and gives them safe haven status.
