CORAL International, a new hotel chain, will be launched at the ATM by a group of foreign and Sharjah investors.
The chain will buy 25 new hotels and serviced apartments in the next five years. The Dubai-based firm acquired three properties in the past five months and has about ten more in the pipeline.
Coral is the latest hotel chain to emerge from Dubai and is all set to add many 'new-generation' properties to the booming travel and tourism market, said Michel PJ Noblet, a seasoned hotelier and its managing director. Last October, the brand acquired its first property – the Coral Beach Resort Sharjah. By last January it had under its banner Coral Deira Dubai, a five-star property located on Muraqqabat Street. In the same month, construction started on the Coral Boutique Residence Al Barshaa – a deluxe hotel/residence on Sheikh Zayed Road, boasting 78 five-star furnished apartments. At the time it also undertook a major expansion at the Coral Beach Resort that would add 58 deluxe chalets, a banquet hall with a seating capacity for 900 and a Spa and Fitness Centre to the property.
Work will start soon on the 40-storey Coral Tower, Sharjah, which will be ready by next year. Besides these there are six other properties being developed all over the GCC. Noblet said his company will consider management and equity participation in properties wherever it finds the right opportunity. “The UAE is undoubtedly the Middle East's fastest growing and most dynamic hotel arena where global giants are pitched against each other to get a share under the sun,” said Noblet.