Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts has marked its entry into the North African market by raising its flag on the $45 million Radisson SAS Golden Resort in Sharm-El-Sheikh.
The property is being managed by the award-winning international chain on behalf of the owner El Dahabia for Touristic Resorts EPC, Egypt. "This move is in line with our MENA expansion strategy of having 10 properties in Egypt by 2003," said Thorsten Kirschke, Radisson SAS regional director for the Middle East, Africa & China. "The opening of this unique and stylish resort is a milestone for our regional operations as we expand our reach and activities into a new market and segment. "In addition to the Radisson SAS Golden Resort, two new properties are scheduled to open in Taba and Hurghada early next year and an additional one in Al Quesir by 2003." In Nabq Bay, on the southern tip of the Red Sea's Sinai Peninsula, the five-star Radisson SAS Golden Resort is just a 10-minute drive from the local airport and is set among more than 30 acres of landscaped gardens with waterfalls, rivers, 22 individually-designed bridges and a variety of over 100 types of tropical plants and trees. The resort has 328 guest rooms and suites in Tropical, Arabian and Marina Club themes. The resort offers a wide variety of restaurants and outlets, many overlooking the Red Sea. Among the 13 outlets are an all-day speciality and Italian seafood restaurant, the French Brasserie, Lebanese Jeita, a lobby lounge and tropical pool outlet. In addition to a fully equipped gymnasium, aerobics suite, luxury jet massage Jacuzzi, massage and special treatment rooms, the resort's spa has three separate saunas and steam rooms. There are also three swimming pools, a 220-metre private, white sandy beach fronting the sparkling waters of the Red Sea, three floodlit tennis courts, a beach volleyball court and jogging tracks. The resort also has its own diving centre at one of the world's best snorkelling and diving destinations with stunning reefs, mysterious shipwrecks and an abundance of coral and exotic fish. Conferences, corporate meetings and conventions are served by three fully-equipped conference rooms, capable of hosting up to 250 people.