New luxury hotel opens

Bahrain's newest five-star hotel, the 26-storey Downtown Rotana in Manama, is open for business.

An official opening ceremony will be held in the last week of the month with senior ministers and government officials expected to attend but it has already started receiving guests from the first of this month, general manager Lilian Roger told the GDN in an exclusive interview.

With an investment value of more than BD40 million ($106m), according to data available on Bahrain Bourse where the property owner Banader Hotels Company is listed, the project was first conceived 10 years ago under a management agreement between UAE's Rotana Hotel Management Corporation and Banader.

Work first started in December 2009 and stopped in 2011 due partially to the unrest and lingering effects of the 2008 financial crisis.

The adverse impact on the economy and investment meant that the company could not raise the necessary funds.

After being stalled for a couple of years, the project resumed when Banader secured $47.7m funding from KFH Bahrain in June 2013.

Last year, Banader announced it has taken a BD25m ($66.3m) loan from HSBC Middle East on better terms which was used to repay the KFH-Bahrain loan, settle outstanding dues and complete finishing work on the hotel.

Mr Roger said a team from Rotana had been working actively with the developer and contractors over the last nine months to get the hotel ready.

He said the timing of the opening just before this year's Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, to be held from April 1 to 3, was "great" and that he'd given his team the target of "100 per cent occupancy in the run-up to and during Bahrain's biggest event".

"We are up and running and bookings were opened from March 1. There may be a few things that need to be done and we are sure the hotel will be fully functional before the big event," he said.

The Downtown Rotana has 249 rooms including one- and two-bedroom suites but Mr Roger declined to reveal room rates,

According to the Rotana.com reservations website, a single room is available this month from BD55.8 plus tax and a double room starts at BD62.5 plus tax.

This is the third property managed by Rotana in Bahrain, after the Majestic Arjaan and the ART Rotana.

When asked if he had any concerns about oversupply in the market with at least three more five-stars set to open within the next one year, Mr Roger said the company's view was that the "Bahrain market had good growth potential and every entrant had to find its niche".

He said he agreed with an assessment by the Economic Development Board (EDB) and other government entities that see the country's hospitality and tourism sector continuing to grow apace over the medium to long term, despite the slump in oil prices.

In a quarterly report as of end-December last year, the EDB said some seasonal volatility aside, Bahrain has continued to see positive progress in terms of visitor numbers.

"The annual rate of growth in the September quarter last year was 8.4pc. Total arrivals peaked at 1,436,656 in August due to the summer holiday. The month of September, marking the Eid Al Adha holiday, saw a 15pc rise in the number of arrivals via the King Fahad Causeway and 23pc in arrivals through Bahrain International Airport," said the report.

The increased visitor numbers have boosted hotel occupancy rates with the average occupancy reading for the September quarter last year standing at 51.4pc.

Hotels were 59.3pc occupied in September, the highest rate of occupancy since March last year.

Mr Roger said the average occupancy among Bahrain's five-star hotels was around 50pc and he hoped to better that.

The hotel would be price-competitive and offer Rotana quality but "we will not be competing with the four-star business", he added.

The primary market would be the corporate and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events business, given the location and the product offering, although it will also cater to leisure travellers specially families from Saudi over the weekend.

"The 355sqm Al Maha Ballroom can accommodate more than 300 people and we also have seven additional fully-equipped meeting rooms," said Mr Roger.

Guests will have a choice of four dining outlets, each with their own signature cuisine.

"Our signature restaurant is the Teatro Downtown, which features a 160-dish menu with Japanese and Asian cuisines taking the pride of place," he added.

"The others are Flavours on 2 -- an all-day dining restaurant, City Lobby Lounge -- serving light snacks, home-made pastries and desserts and Sundeck Pool Bar -- located by the outdoor pool on level 9 over the podium area.

"All our rooms start from level 10 upwards which means that practically each room has a clear view."

For recreation, the hotel has the Bodylines Fitness & Wellness Club that includes a spa, Jacuzzi and dance studio.

The hotel currently has 270 staff of whom 47 are Bahraini, said Mr Roger.

"Our target is to raise the level of Bahrainisation to 25pc from the 17pc currently."

avinash@gdn.com.bh

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