ROTANA LAUNCHES ITS FIRST 5 STAR RESORT IN SALALAH
Oman’s largest free-standing hotel, Salalah Rotana Resort Opens its doors in the perfume capital of Arabia
Salalah Rotana Resort opens its doors as Oman’s largest free-standing hotel
18th March 2014, Dubai: Rotana, the leading hotel management company in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe has announced, the opening of Salalah Rotana Resort, the first five-star property in Salalah Beach and the largest in the city by room size and the largest free-standing hotel in Oman. The hotel’s 400 rooms & suites are set in between an elaborate network of manmade waterways that connect all waterfront hotels and residential areas in Muriya’s Salalah Beach Resort to the Indian Ocean.
Speaking at the opening, Samih Sawiris, Chairman of Muriya and CEO of Orascom Development, said, “We are delighted to launch the Salalah Rotana Resort as part of Muriya’s Salalah Beach Resort destination. Salalah Rotana Resort is a ground-breaking project in Oman. Utilising the experience gained by Orascom when developing the pioneering El Gouna resort in Egypt, Muriya has integrated the natural landscape into the design of the hotel to combine traditional architectural aesthetics with Venetian waterways to create a desert oasis. The partnership between Orascom and Omran has allowed Muriya to deliver a landmark resort in Salalah as an example of the commitment of all parties. The resort is peerless in the Sultanate of Oman as the largest hotel in the country and will serve the growing demand for high-quality accommodation in Salalah as tourism continues to grow in the city.”
Omer Kaddouri, President & CEO of Rotana commented saying “We are excited to begin a new journey today at the first hotel to be operated by Rotana in Oman. This stunning property is the 50th hotel to be operated by Rotana and represents the half-way mark in the award-winning hospitality group’s plans for 100 hotels by 2020. Salalah Rotana Resort is the Sultanate’s newest and largest hotel. Oman has always been a key growth market for us to expand into. We pride ourselves in identifying new and upcoming travel destinations people wish to visit and Salalah is growing in popularity. The opening of Salalah Rotana Resort is an exciting one for us, as not only does it take us one step closer to reaching our ultimate vision but it has strengthened the company’s standing as the leading hotel management company in the region.”
“We will be working closely Oman’s Ministry of Tourism on developing the country’s appeal and establishing Salalah as a new and upcoming year-round tourist destination. Salalah Rotana Resort’s opening is in line with the Ministry’s strategy to strengthen Oman’s reputation as a luxury hospitality haven and will set new standards in hospitality which we are renowned for." concluded Kaddouri.
The resort offer guests a wide variety of food and beverage venues including a lobby lounge café, all-day dining and specialty restaurants as well as a beach restaurant and pool bar. The hotel is fully-equipped to cater to business visitors with a selection of meeting rooms, a business centre, Bodylines leisure and fitness club, a large outdoor pool, massage services, and a kids’ club. Guests can rest, relax and rejuvenate at the resort’s Zen the spa; Rotana’s home-grown spa concept derived from ancient holistic Asian philosophies. A calming space where stress melts away, Zen the spa at Rotana promises to provide each guest the opportunity to ‘rebalance the body’ with a wide variety of relaxing ‘ritual’ treatments from full body massages, facials and soothing wraps. In the coming months, the resort will grow to feature 45 villas and we expect the resort to be fully operational in time for the popular Khareef season when the area receives a large number of visitors.
Hamza Selim, CEO of Muriya, said, “Salalah Rotana Resort will make a major contribution to the community by providing additional employment opportunities for Omani nationals and strengthening the local supply chain in support of the country’s developing tourism industry. Salalah is the only tropical destination in the Gulf and the annual Khareef season brings the region’s lush landscape and spectacular waterfalls to life. Salalah Rotana Resort has incorporated the natural environment by filling the waterways with 105,000m2 of seawater that is safe for swimming and refreshed every four days using natural tidal patterns. The opening of Salalah Rotana Resort is a milestone for Muriya and the hotel will develop to become part of an integrated town which will make a major contribution to the number of quality hospitality assets in the Sultanate’s portfolio and put Salalah on the map as a global tourism destination.”
The resort has also been commended by Sheikh Khalid bin Mussalam Al Rowas, Director General of the Ministry of Tourism in Salalah, who commented that the hotel will have a profound impact on tourism in the region in line with the Government’s vision for tourism development. Salalah Rotana Resort will offer a fully-integrated destination in the city that supports increased investment and development of infrastructure which includes the new international airport and expansion of the Port of Salalah.
In 2013, 435,000 visitors from the Gulf region visited Salalah during the Khareef season, an increase of over 80,000 on the previous year as visitor numbers continue to rise year on year. The new Salalah Airport is expected to be completed in 2014, with the capacity to handle one million passengers. Future expansion is planned to extend capacity to six million passengers.
Salalah Rotana Resort is the second hotel to open at Salalah Beach, which is one of the first of its kind and one of the largest Integrated Tourism Complexes (ITCs) in Oman, along with Muriya’s Jebel Sifah destination in the Muscat Governorate. Spread over an area of 15.6 million square meters with 8.2 km beach front, Salalah Beach is located in one of the most breath-taking natural settings in the Sultanate between spectacular mountains, fresh water springs and tropical scenery. Visitors find themselves immersed in traditional Arabian lifestyles and values expressed through the surrounding architecture, wildlife and frankincense trees.
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For further information on Salalah Rotana Resort, please visit: http://www.rotana.com/rotanahotelandresorts/oman/salalah/salalahrotanaresort
For press enquiries please contact Michelle Smith (ms@insigniaworldwide.com), Kaya Scott (ks@insigniaworldwide.com), or Gabriela Asquith (ga@insigniaworldwide.com), alternatively please call +971 (0)4 439 3434 Ext 158.
About Salalah Rotana:
Ideally located only 20km from Salalah airport and nestled along the Arabian coast, the Salalah Rotana Resort sits in front of the famous Salalah Beach boasting unrivalled access to its sandy white shores. The 400 rooms and suites are built around waterways, whisking guests away to a coastal utopia. The hotel prides itself on providing guests with traditional Omani hospitality mixed with the five-star opulence synonymous with the Rotana brand. The resort has four restaurants providing guests with the perfect mélange of East meets West hospitality. Boasting four fully equipped meeting rooms, a Grand Ballroom and Business Centre. Salalah Rotana Resort is the 50th hotel to be operated by Rotana representing the half-way mark for the group’s plans for 100 hotels by 2020. Spread over an area of 15.6 million square meters with 8.2 km beach front, Salalah Beach is located in one of the most breath-taking natural settings in the Sultanate between spectacular mountains, fresh water springs and tropical scenery where wildlife and frankincense trees can be marveled.
About Rotana
Rotana currently manages a portfolio of over 85 properties throughout the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe with an aggressive expansion plan in place. Rotana has chosen to acknowledge how precious time is by making all time spent in their range of hotels ‘Treasured Time’. This means Rotana has pledged to understand and meet the individual needs of all guests. In so doing, Rotana has evolved its product brands to include, Rotana Hotels & Resorts, Centro Hotels by Rotana, Rayhaan Hotels & Resorts by Rotana and Arjaan Hotel Apartments by Rotana. Treasured Time. The Rotana promise to you.
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