Holiday Inn hotel for Doha
THE InterContinental Hotels Group plans to introduce its Holiday Inn brand in Doha, Qatar.
Being developed by Ali Bin Ali Group, the hotel will be located at the heart of Musheireb, the city’s commercial district. Scheduled to open by the end of 2008, Holiday Inn Doha will comprise 204 rooms, a gym, an indoor swimming pool and several F&B outlets. Peter McElwaine, CEO, Ali Bin Ali Group said the development would serve to cater for an increasingly discerning market segment seeking high quality, affordable accommodation in Qatar.
Dnata rolls out Maldives offer
DNATA Holidays is offering substantial savings on romantic hideaways at a new luxury resort on a remote Maldives tropical island paradise. Couples booking the exclusive Dnata Holidays package for four nights at Angsana Velavaru Resort & Spa, starting at Dh5,370 ($1462) per person can save up to Dh4,000 on the total price. The offer is valid from January 15 to March 31 and is open to UAE residents and includes beachfront villa accommodation with daily breakfast; return resort transfer by seaplane and economy class flights on Qatar Airways. Angsana Velavaru means Turtle Island and is a new Maldives resort 40 minutes by seaplane from Male International Airport.
Radisson DMC offers golf package
GOLFING enthusiasts in the GCC states can now avail of Golf in Dubai, a golfing weekend package offer organised by the Radisson SAS Hotel, Dubai Media City in cooperation with the Montgomerie Golf Club and Air Arabia. The package is inclusive of one round of golf, a 20-minute express back massage at the hotel’s Senso spa, confirmation of room/ bed type preference, buffet breakfast, and Gold Points for guests who are members of the Radisson loyalty programme. Guests must book a minimum of two nights. The package is available on Thursday to Saturday until May 31.
Marriott, Kempinski win Grumpy Gourmet awards
In the second annual Grumpy Gourmet Awards, the Amman Marriott Hotel won best lounge and among the top ten best restaurants for the Library Lounge & Cigar Bar and Vatché Yergatian, the General Manager won best hotelier in Jordan. The hotel also received several other nominations. Also winners at the same event were the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea, which won Resort of the Year following a rousing debut that saw the hotel record high occupancy rates within months of its unveiling.
75pc occupancy for Emirates Palace
ABU Dhabi’s Emirates Palace is projecting occupancy levels of over 75 per cent this year with increased guest arrivals expected from the UK, France, Germany and Russia. The growth in occupancy from these key markets is driven by the hotel’s strategy of sponsoring high profile events, including the recent Abu Dhabi Golf Championships. With 394 luxury rooms and suites, the hotel played host to all 120 European Tour players during the elite event.
Dhow-shaped hotel for Abu Dhabi
ABU Dhabi, is set to get an iconic downtown landmark with plans for the five-star Grand Corniche Hotel designed to cater to the emirate’s burgeoning business and leisure traveller sectors. To be built by the Bin Salem Group at an approximate cost of Dh370 million ($100 million), the Grand Corniche Hotel is scheduled to open in December 2009. To be made entirely of glass, the sleek tower design is reminiscent of a stately racing dhow, the traditional Arab sailing vessel. It will be managed by a yet-to-be-appointed international operator and will have 349 rooms and 90 suites, 144 serviced apartments with a mix of one and two bedroom units and 3,600 metres of shopping arcade.
New Radisson set for Makkah
RADISSON SAS Hotels & Resorts, the first class full service brand of The Rezidor Hotel Group, will open a landmark hotel in the holy city of Makkah in 2010, according to a statement. The Al Diyafa Radisson Hotel will have 256 rooms, state-of-the-art facilities including a separate male and female spa, four restaurants, six meeting rooms and a 1250 square metre ballroom for weddings and banquets. Jean-Marc Busato, area vice-president for the Rezidor Hotel Group, said it would be the group’s sixth hotel in Saudi Arabia.
The luxury hotel is within walking distance of the Al Diyafa shopping mall and three kilometres from the Haram, or the mosque of the prophet (PBUH). The hotel will cater for religious tourism and the growing corporate and MICE market.