Kempinski among firms forced to halt Syria hotels

The boutique Suleiman Pasha Khan Kempinski, which was being restored under the supervision of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, is among the hotels put on hold

EXCLUSIVE: Kempinski is among a number of leading operators that has been forced to stall its hotel projects in Syria amid continued political unrest.

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The group’s three Damascus projects were all due to open this year comprising the 260-room Victoria Hotel Kempinski; the 22-key Suleiman Pasha Khan Kempinski and the 78-key Al Hayat Hotel Kempinski.

“Our projects in Damascus are stalled at the moment,” a spokesperson for the group told Hotelier Middle East, without indicating when works would be restarted.

Outside of Damascus, the 250-room Khams Shammat Hotel Kempinski was said to be under construction, scheduled to open in 2015.

On April 16, Hotelier Middle East reported that Accor had also put its three Syria developments on hold, as well as one hotel in Bahrain.

Accor was scheduled to open its 304-room Ibis Manama Seef hotel in Bahrain this year. In Syria, the 135-room Novotel Lattakia Marsa Shams Resort was due to open in 2013, followed by the 129-key Ibis Aleppo Taj Halab and the 150-room Novotel Aleppo Taj Halab.

Earlier this month, Rotana COO Omer Kaddouri said the firm had suspended construction of three hotels in the country as violence and political unrest worsened.

“Syria remains completely out of our hands in terms of how things go there. It’s all on hold until further notice, and we’ve got to see the situation stabilise before any projections can be made,” Kaddouri said.