Millennium & Copthorne plans Dubai Biltmore hotel

Millennium & Copthorne is set to announce a Biltmore-branded property for Dubai soon, revealed president and CEO Middle East and North Africa Ali Lakhraim at ATM.

The company introduced the luxury brand – made famous by the Millennium Biltmore in Los Angeles, a favourite celebrity haunt – on May 1 with the announcement of a property in Abu Dhabi due to open in 2014.

Exansion of the brand is now expected across the group, according to Lakhraim.

“We signed our first contract in Abu Dhabi, we will announce our first Biltmore in Dubai soon,” Lakhraim told Hotelier. “We are going to refurbish one of our London hotels to be the Biltmore London. We will own our own Biltmore Singapore as well.

“There is a lot of action behind the Biltmore, which is a brand that has more history than any other brand, and we have decided to bring it outside America,” he said.

The company also plans to take the brand to Saudi Arabia, with Jeddah and Riyadh identified as key locations for a Biltmore, said Lakhraim.

“We are bringing Hollywood here to the Middle East,” he explained. “It will be the hotel where actors, actresses, famous celebrities will stay.”

The introduction of Biltmore to the Middle East is part of Millennium & Copthorne’s aggressive growth strategy.

The firm currently has 12 hotels operating and 40 in the pipeline, all of which are underway, said Lakhraim.