BAHRAIN’S newest hotel is the first in the Golden Tulip family to take the Tulip Inn brand from three star to four star.
Mustapha Chatila, operations manager of the Tulip Inn, Hawar Beach, explained: “We have been working on the refurbishment for a long time, I personally have been here since the beginning of November 2008 and, with the amount of work and investment that has gone into this project, we wanted it to be a bit more special so we went for the four-star rating.”
The island is reached via a 40-minute boat trip from the Al Dor jetty towards the south of Bahrain and the boat provided is comfortable with clean bathrooms and a video screen showing comedies to take your mind off the journey.
Once at Hawar, peace and quiet is the order of the day. The island is a haven for wildlife, well known internationally for its Socotra Cormorant colony which is thought to be the largest in the world of this species.
Much of the land area is either bird sanctuary or military installation but it is possible to hire bikes at the hotel and do a bit of exploring while the more adventurous can take to the water on jet-skis, kayaks and pedalloes.
There is a well-equipped playground to keep young guests entertained and one of the two swimming pools features slides.
A kart track is also under construction which is expected to be ready by the start of the summer season.
Chatila added: “The wildlife is the big draw here with cormorants, oryx, flamingos and dolphins. Other than that the island is quiet, though there is a hospital and police station, so it’s up to us to provide entertainment.”
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The second pool with waterslides |
The hotel has 40 rooms and four two-bedroom suites, which have undergone extensive refurbishment, there are meeting and conference rooms and also 16 two-bedroom apartments and 45 chalets, which are yet to receive the facelift treatments.
Hawar Beach has two restaurants, one fine dining serving Lebanese cuisine and seafood, the other an all-day-dining facility which is available for use by day-visiting guests who come to take advantage of the hotel’s quiet beach and other facilities.
Chatila said: “The island is a quiet and peaceful place but we can offer something to suit most tastes. We have entertainment with a DJ, a full bar with beautiful views and we are even growing food for our restaurants in our own organic garden, we are also particularly targeting the business market as this is a great place to get away from it all while at the same time being just a short trip from the office.
“We have started marketing and have groups starting to come in from Eastern Europe in the near future on a long-term contract.”