Four Seasons opens golf club in Dubai
THE Four Seasons Golf Club Dubai is now open. Located within Dubai Festival City, adjacent to the banks of Dubai’s historic creek and five minutes from Dubai International Airport, it is the 11th in Four Seasons’ international golf portfolio and its first golf offering in the Middle East.
F&B facilities include Italian restaurant Quattro; the multi-cultural contemporary Blades; Spikes, a casual restaurant; and the Tee Lounge with pastries and light beverages.
The green fee on weekdays is Dh625 ($170) per player, rising to Dh665 on weekends.
Burooj inks deal with Millenium
BUROOJ Properties, real estate investment arm of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, has signed an agreement with Millenium & Copthorne Group to manage a 164-room Burooj Suites in Dubai.
The Burooj Suites, located near Port Saeed and just a short drive from Dubai International Airport, is the first of several such Sharia’a residential hotels being launched by the group over the year. The ‘luxury furnished’ suites will be offered on a ‘timeshare’ investment basis through our partners BAZ Real Estate Systems.
Petra Marriott offers Easyguide
THE Petra Marriott Hotel has launched offering a new service specifically for the leisure traveller, the Easyguide for Petra. The first handheld audio guide for Jordan’s historic sites. The Petra Marriott is the first hotel in Jordan that offers this service. Easyguide, a service provided by Easyinfo, is an interactive audio guide using hand held devices with prerecorded commentaries for 30 attractions in Petra. It is available in two languages, Arabic and English and will soon be available in Spanish and French.
New Ibis hotel set for Bahrain
AN agreement worth BD3.5 million ($953,159) has been signed for the first phase of construction of a four-star Ibis Hotel in Bahrain’s Sanabis area. The 26-storey property is owned by Bahraini company, Action Toursim for Hotel Management, a subsidiary of Kuwait-based Action Real Estate. The total cost of the hotel is BD11 million. The project is expected to be completed in 18 months.
Radisson opens new tower
RADISSON SAS Hotels & Resorts has opened the second tower of its property in Dubai Media City., offering an additional 125 rooms, including five suites. The hotel’s first tower opened in January 2006 with 121 rooms. The two buildings will be linked by a bridge on the first floor. Tower Two will have a new venue, the Chef’s House, for breakfast, lunch and dinner with Oriental-Asian cuisine.
Fairmont raises second flag in Cairo
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts will manage the Fairmont Heliopolis, Cairo, a new hotel scheduled to open summer 2007. Ten minutes from the airport in the central Heliopolis area, the property will offer 235 rooms, extensive conference facilities, spa, atrium garden and dining outlets. In addition, the company has assumed management of the adjacent property, formerly known as the Sheraton Heliopolis. This 588-room hotel will be operated under the name Hotel Heliopolis prior to an extensive renovation of rooms and public areas. A third phase, to be completed at a later date, will consist of branded residences.
Hyatt set for biggest ATM
HYATT International Hotels and Resorts’ outbound sales from the Middle East are up 20 per cent on last year’s figures, said Allan Edgar, Hyatt’s vice-president of marketing for the EMEA region, ahead of this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM). Strong regional marketing and greater customer awareness of Hyatt’s product segmentation and varied offering have been identified as key contributors to the sharp sales increase, he said. The group expects the upcoming ATM to be its biggest and strongest ever and the group hopes to reveal some very interesting news about regional guest preferences, as well as its plans for Middle East expansion and brand development.
Conrad Cairo offers speedy internet
THE Conrad Cairo has augmented its business services facilities by introducing the ‘speediest’ wireless and wired internet network among Egypt's hotels at a bandwidth of 5MB. This is in line with its strategy to provide its prestigious guests with up-to-date services, says general manager Jan Mönkedieck (above). The hotel's luxurious facilities are specially designed for business guests.
80-year deal at Renaissance Dubai
TO commemorate the Marriott group’s 80th anniversary, the Renaissance Dubai has launched a special celebration package. From April 5 to October 8, guests can pamper themselves with a night’s stay in the hotel’s royal suite and enjoy a theme buffet dinner at the hotel’s Mediterranean restaurant Sails. Guests will also get a celebration cake, a bottle of bubbly and an H3 Hummer at their disposal during the entire duration of their stay.
Mafraq aims at Sheikh Khalifa award
MAFRAQ Hotel, Abu Dhabi, has thrown its full support behind the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (SKEA) by entering the hotel for recognition. The award, which is an initiative by Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, was launched with the aim of providing a benchmark for excellence in the private and public sectors. The fundamental concept of the award model is to provide the mechanisms to help organisations work alongside measures of excellence in achieving outstanding results, and, in turn help provide a boost to the economy. Ali Salih (above), the hotel’s general manager, said that he has already implemented certain guidelines, as set out by the Award criteria and is witnessing tangible results.