In Dubai we have the expansion of this hotel; we have 138 rooms currently in this building and we are creating an expansion that will add about 152 rooms plus a ballroom, a new spa and some very exciting F&B concepts, including a chillout bar that’s going to be on the resort facing the water. We believe this is really what this hotel needed, it’s a beautiful hotel, it is an oasis within this surrounding and the attention was really to keep that feel. We have closer access to the beach now and this will be preserved.
Also in Dubai you have the opening of Ritz-Carlton Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), which is now scheduled for December 15 — what are the highlights of this hotel?
This is a very important hotel for us, because it is a large inventory; it has 341 rooms and it has 124 executive residences, meaning individuals will be able to live with us on a long term basis.
The hotel is linked to DIFC, it’s actually walking distance so you will be able to come to the hotel in air conditioned surroundings and it’s really going to be key in order to be convenient to our clients based in DIFC. But also the hotel will offer some incredible meeting and conference facilities with a very large ballroom. We are currently going through our selection of all our ladies and gentlemen, then we are ready to go in December.
I was GM in that hotel and also overseeing the Middle East region, today, because I have taken a bigger role and I travel more to Europe and Africa, we appointed a new general manger — Lothar Quarz. He has been with us in Berlin and he has a sales and marketing background that we believe is going to be an extremely good fit for this hotel.
There have been various delays plus reports of the DIFC hotel being sold by Union Properties; can you reveal the new owners?
No we still are with Union Properties, they are still our owners, they clearly have the desire to sell but the main reason for the delay was the fact that we wanted the hotel to be completely finished ready for when we opened — that is why we’ve agreed to push it by a few months.
Ritz-Carlton is also very active in Egypt; what’s the update there?
The Nile Ritz-Carlton is the previous Nile Hilton. It’s currently closed. I was there last week; it’s actually been completely gutted, there’s nothing left. It will take about two years to reopen. In the back of the property on the opposite side of the Nile we are developing very extensive meeting facilities with a very large ballroom. We’re recreating the landscaping in the back and redoing the entire inventory and enlarging the guest room by taking the balcony into the room.
We’re also progressing in Cairo with Palm Hills — we have a 27-hole golf course that is ready today and we’re going to open it in the first quarter of 2011. And then on the golf course we are developing a hotel and construction starts also in the first quarter.
We are also very closely looking at a project in Marassi, so going north in Egypt.
What stage is development of the Grand Canal Hotel in partnership with Abu Dhabi National Hotels at?
Within a year we’ll open this hotel. We are currently reviewing all the design and food and beverage concepts with our owners. The project is going very well and we can’t wait to be in Abu Dhabi, that will be very important for us.
We are looking at Abu Dhabi as a very good destination, we believe there could be space for a second property in Abu Dhabi, and yes, we are looking at the options.
Where else in the Middle East is on the Ritz-Carlton wishlist?
We have a project that we are finalising in Muscat, Oman that we’ll be able to announce soon and we are also very active in Saudi Arabia. In Riyadh we are in the final stages and we are also working very closely on Jeddah. Riyadh obviously is very business and government focused, going into Jeddah we would love to be by the Corniche.
Lebanon is a destination we would love to be in, our president has been there several times. We haven’t found the right combination yet but if we had to look at a map of the Middle East, Jordan with a small resort would be a good option and the next one would definitely be Beirut.
You are also responsible for the Edition and Bulgari hotel brands. Are we likely to see these in the region?
With Edition we have right now a development in Istanbul, and with Bulgari we are looking into Europe. Right now we are in Milan and we are in Bali, we are looking at a few other options. With Bulgari we can see some good prospects coming up in the next few years. We have not found the right fit for the brand in this region yet
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