THE Diplomat Radisson SAS hotel has stood proud against the Bahrain skyline for about 27 years, and continues to be a testament to the tradition of Bahrain hospitality.
The Residence, which opened in 2007, features 121 fully furnished, full service apartments, and construction on the office tower started in November 2007. Phase one will include adding new car-park places and phase two will see the beginning of the office tower building.
According to general manager Rick Edros, “Occupancies have been relatively slow over the summer as compared to a year ago. The yields are up because of the rates, but generally occupancies are marginally down. This is probably due to the apartments taking a bulk of the hotel share and the fact that the world is generally slowing down. The Middle East is not immune from that.”
“This means a more aggressive marketing for us. We are looking at new source markets, working closer with the government to find out about projects and events happening in the city. We are also looking at tapping at the leisure market from around the GCC,” he added.
He said that they needed to return to some of their traditional markets, and also pointed out the new Thai Spa and health club facilities. “The Diplomat Spa specialises in facial, foot and body treatments. We have three outdoor pools with one exclusive indoor ladies only pool.”
“It took us about 18 months to find the niche with the Residences and now it is doing very well. So, we will continue to drive our leisure side of the business on the weekends and being a Radisson, we have all the corporate facilities that drive the brand like the high speed broadband access, extensive satellite TV services and so on,” said Edros.
The Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel, Residence and Spa is located in the centre of the diplomatic area of Manama. Event and meetings facilities can accommodate events ranging from six guests in the syndicate rooms to 1,800 guests in the Grand Ambassador Ballroom. “We have plans to upgrade our meeting facilities in the near future,” said Edros.