A large-scale leisure complex is to be built in Salalah in the Sultanate of Oman by 2010.
Mِvenpick Hotels and Resorts signed an agreement last month with Orascom Hotels and Developments, the owning company behind this huge building project, for the management of a five-star hotel.
The Mِvenpick Resort and Spa Salalah is scheduled to open in 2009 and represents an important step in the growth plans of the Swiss international hotel chain.
The new tourist project is to be built in the heart of a tropical garden and around artificial lagoons directly on the Arabian Sea. The 9.5 million sqm leisure complex is to include an 18-hole golf course, a first class marina, several choice hotels, outstanding restaurants, 550 villas and 600 apartments as well as prestigious retail outlets. Orascom Hotels and Developments has already completed a similar project at El Gouna at the Red Sea in Egypt, where it is also working successfully with the Swiss hotel group.
“We’re delighted to have signed another management contract with Mِvenpick Hotels & Resorts for one of the hotels to be built at the complex,” said Claude Chesnais, managing director of Hotel Operations Orascom Hotels and Developments. “The hotel group’s strong presence in the Middle East and the portfolio of successful Mِvenpick Resorts will certainly help us to establish Salalah as an upscale leisure destination.”
Added Andreas Mattmüller, senior vice-president, Middle East Mِvenpick Hotels & Resorts, “The example of El Gouna shows that high standards of product and quality are as important to Orascom Hotels & Developments as they are to us. We are proud to be a part of this unique project and of working alongside such a strong partner.”
The Mِvenpick Resort and Spa Salalah is to be situated in a prime beach-front location and has 400 spacious rooms and suites. The extensive culinary choice includes a Mِvenpick Hotel Restaurant serving a variety of buffets, a seafood restaurant, a Lebanese speciality restaurant and several bars.