Rotana to open new KSA hotel in Q1 2014

Rotana, the UAE-based hotel group, has announced plans to open a new property in Saudi Arabia in the first quarter of next year.

The Rosh Rayhaan by Rotana will feature 236 rooms and suites, complemented by health club, ballroom, meeting centres and four restaurants offering a choice of Arabic and international cuisines and will be located in Riyadh.

Rosh Rayhaan by Rotana will be Rotana's second hotel in the Gulf kingdom, having opened its first hotel in Makkah.

Selim El Zyr, president and CEO of Rotana, said: "The Saudi hospitality sector continues to enjoy robust growth based on religious tourism, which currently constitutes 75 percent of all passenger traffic in the kingdom.
 

"It is in this prospering economic climate that we are confidently implementing our expansion plans with a commitment to giving Saudi youth the opportunity to play their part in the development of the national economy in general and the hospitality sector in particular, by providing them with training and career development within a working environment that stimulates the culture of creativity, innovation and excellence."

Rotana said its expansion plans will add more than 4,100 new hotel rooms and suites to the country's inventory, and will create more than 1,500 jobs for Saudi youth in various departments within its hotels.

Rotana is also expanding into the relatively new mid-range and budget hotel sector with the opening of four hotels under the Centro Hotels by Rotana brand in Riyadh, Al-Khobar, Dammam and Jeddah.

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.