CORAL International will drive a three-property expansion into South Africa this year, with properties in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.
Says Coral International managing director Michel Noblet, “Having already consolidated our position in the local market, we are entering a new phase of development which would add some very exciting projects to our existing portfolio. We have spotted some wonderful opportunities in South Africa and anticipate adding two more properties - one in Durban and another in Johannesburg – in the coming months.”
The group will have a major presence at ATM, where it will launch its spa brand, Murjan, besides talking up its new association with Boutique Hotels & Resorts International.
For the first time since the company’s launch in September 2003, Coral International will have its own individual booth at the Government of Dubai’s Department of Tourism, Commerce and Marketing stand. Says Noblet, “We have steadily grown over the last two years. Not only have we managed to have a strong presence in the UAE but have added significant resources to our established operations. In the coming months we aim to consolidate and increase our presence in not just the UAE but the entire Middle East and ATM provides the ideal platform to talk about it.”
He says the group is “determined to get a bigger bite of the Middle East. In order to explore these possibilities thoroughly we wish to strengthen our relationships with the trade. We are also using this opportunity to get our brand more widely recognized by major players in the region and elsewhere.”
The group’s first South Africa property, in Cape Town, follows the signing of a management contract in South Africa with Cii Holdings, specialists in property, finance, food business, technology and broadcasting. Located in the central business district next to the parliament, the deluxe five-star hotel is expected to start operations by 2008, two years before the football World Cup.
Says Noblet, “Cape Town is a major milestone for our company since it is our first management contract outside the Middle East.”
Spa Talk
The group’s new spa brand, Murjan, has been designed with total pampering and indulgence in mind, as a sanctuary where guests can exchange their stressed states with tranquillity and relaxation. “It is a brand new concept in spa which includes consultation, therapies, exercises and door-to-door service for all your daily meals,” says Friedrich Albrecht, director of operations, Coral International Hotels, Resorts & Spas.
All the treatments and products offered at the Spa have been developed by the beauty and skincare brands Sundari and Jurlique, and Coral Signature Spa is the first to offer these prestigious brands in the UAE.