Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are set to welcome five new luxury hotels by 2012, says Kempinski Hotels, concluding its fifth annual GCC regional road show on April 9.

The Five new properties - Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah in Dubai; Kempinski Hotel, Jeddah; Kempinski Hotel, Riyadh and Kempinski Al Othman Hotel - Al Khobar in KSA and Kempinski Hotel Bahrain City Centre, Manama, are expected to set a new benchmark in luxurious hospitality in the GCC, and bring new green and intelligent technology to the region.

This year, 20 international Kempinski Hotels - including the stunning Seychelles Kempinski Resort located in Baie Lazare, due to open later this year - toured the GCC to showcase the luxury group’s growing portfolio of stunning properties from around the world. Kempinski Hotel teams from Bangkok to Budapest travelled across the GCC to strengthen business ties with travel trade partners in the region. The road show took in three major cities in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah on April 3, Riyadh on April 4 and Al Khobar on April 5, Doha in Qatar on April 7 and successfully drew to a close in Kuwait on April 9.

“There has been a significant rebound at the higher-end of the travel industry in the past year. While people are becoming more adventurous in their destination choices, they still desire and appreciate all the comfort and assurance that staying at a well-established global hotel brand offers,” said Avsar Koc, Regional Director of Sales Middle East, Kempinski Hotels. “Our hotel collection includes some of the most distinctive properties in exciting cities and resorts across the world, which gives Kempinski guests a unique advantage in terms of experiencing new destinations while staying at a hotel with familiar and superior standards of service,” he added.

“Our travel trade partners play a key role in communicating our leading status among leisure and business travelers, and the good relationships we have built over the years are integral to our future success. This was the fifth edition of our annual road show and we once again embraced the opportunity it provided us to showcase our growing hotel portfolio to our regional travel trade partners, in order for them to continue to recommend us to their clients,” added Koc.

Upcoming prospects

The GCC region in particular can look forward to several other exciting new prospects in the region, due to be launched over the coming two years.

A second Hotel & Residences property located on the West Crescent of Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah, will open in just a few months. Boasting 244 luxury suites, penthouses and villas offering striking views over the Palm Jumeirah lagoon and the Dubai skyline in the distance, or uninterrupted views of the Arabian Gulf, Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah will surely be one of the most coveted addresses in Dubai. A number of restaurants, leisure facilities including a spa, gym, beach club, business centre, boardroom and multifunctional meeting room, water sports and shopping facilities, and a comprehensive and thoughtful selection of services including 24-hour concierge services, valet and car wash, maid and baby-sitting services, as well as shopping assistance and delivery services, will create a complete luxury lifestyle offering. The property is Kempinski’s first beach resort in Dubai and will be complemented by the Emerald Palace Kempinski Palm Jumeirah Dubai which is due to open in 2011. The two properties fit perfectly with the company’s vision of having only unique properties in its portfolio, especially in a destination such as Dubai where everything is done par excellence. This project has been one of the most successful in the UAE, achieving some of the best yield rates within properties on the Palm.

The Kempinski Hotel, Jeddah, boasts fantastic view of the Red Sea and is set to be the first green intelligent hotel building in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, when it opens in 2012. The 240-metre high tower hotel aims to be the finest address for leisure travelers in Jeddah featuring first class facilities including 250 luxury guest rooms and suites, 71 serviced apartments, two restaurants, a stunning spa, fitness centre, swimming pool and a 1000 square metre ballroom. Moreover, corporate guests can avail themselves of the advanced business and meetings facilities including fully equipped modern meeting rooms, VIP offices and business suites.

Scheduled to open in 2012, Kempinski Hotel, Riyadh will boast an upscale commercial tower with 300 luxury guest rooms and suites, two restaurants, three cafés, conference facilities, ballroom for up to 2000 guests, two spas and separate wellness centres for men and women, selected boutique style retail outlets, Manhattan-style smart apartments and offices in addition to state-of-the-art business facilities with the aim of leading the luxury hospitality market in Riyadh in both, leisure and corporate segments.

Kempinski Hotels signed the management and operating agreement for its third hotel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kempinski Al Othman Hotel - Al Khobar, during the Al Khobar leg of the annual Kempinski Hotels GCC road show. Centrally located in Qashlah Dhahran Road, at the epicentre of the Al Khobar / Dammam / Dhahran metropolis area, the hotel is expected to become Al Khobar’s leading luxury hotel when it opens its doors at the end of 2012. The 218 key property will boast 141 rooms, 57 suites including two Presidential Suites and a 250-square metre Royal Suite, in addition to 20 elegantly appointed serviced apartments. No less than nine restaurants and cafés are sure to bring international innovative culinary experiences to the local market. The hotel’s leisure facilities include a fully equipped gym, a swimming pool and Kempinski’s luxury Resense Spa brand. Corporate guests will be able to avail themselves of various facilities on offer including a particularly impressive suite of function rooms comprising two banquet halls, 1,080 square metres each, a spacious pre-function area, four meeting rooms and a full-fledged business centre.

Kempinski Hotel Bahrain City Centre, Manama, which is set to open in September 2011, will have 460 luxuriously appointed rooms and suites. The hotel will also include a 1,000 sqm day spa, which will feature sauna and hamam, large outdoor pool and an extensive sundeck. The hotel is adjoined to the Bahrain City Centre located in the business district of the Seef Area, and is Bahrain’s largest retail, leisure, and entertainment developments in the country. The Bahrain City Centre development includes two Kempinski hotel towers and Bahrain’s largest shopping covering 150,000 sqm, a Carrefour hypermarket and some 40 restaurants and cafés. Highlights include a massive indoor air-conditioned Water Recreation Park which the largest in the region and one of the world’s largest, a 20-screen cinema and the Magic Planet family entertainment park.

Kempinski The Wave, Muscat Opening 2013, will boast 280 luxury guest rooms and suites as well as state-of-the-art business and leisure facilities with the aim of leading the luxury hospitality market in Muscat in both leisure and corporate segments. The Kempinski The Wave will be part of a world-class mixed-use community spread along 6km of natural beach. The Wave, Muscat will comprise Oman’s first links golf course, designed by Greg Norman; a 300-berth marina; modern and spacious apartments and townhouses; water, beach and garden-view villas; and two other luxury hotels. The Kempinski The Wave will be located on the shores of The Wave community in Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman.

Kempinski Hotel Summerland, Beirut set to open in 2012 and is located just 8 minutes away from the heart of the vibrant city and 5 minutes away from the international airport. Renowned for its golden sandy beach, this 22,000 sqm resort has a 5,000 sqm beach and 151 Hotel keys and 56 “village” apartments, as well as abundant banqueting facilities for up to 800 participants designed to attract large scale conferences and trade fairs. Along with the unique restaurants, lounges and bars, the resort also features a private marina, a 1,000spm spa, indoor and outdoor pools and water-skiing, sailing and diving activities.

Seychelles Kempinski Resort located in Baie Lazare, boasts 144 glorious rooms and suites, an all day dining restaurant, a specialty restaurant and a stunning beach bar. The resort is also well equipped for banqueting and conference facilities for up to 200 people. Further key features of the resort include a spa, a swimming pool, a kids’ club, fully equipped gym, tennis courts, water sports centre and a casino

The Leela Palace Kempinski, Chennai, Opening 2011 will be located on the idyllic Marina Beach in Chennai, India and will be designed in the architectural style inspired by the royal, opulent Chettinad dynasty. This will be India’s first ever luxury beachfront hotel sprawling majestically over seven acres, on the second longest beach in the world overlooking the vast Bay of Bengal. The Palace hotel will have 380 rooms and suites spread out over 15 stories. These will be complemented with specialty and fine dining restaurants. In addition, the hotel will offer over 6000 sqm space dedicated exclusively for meeting and conference facilities.