The Alila team shot onsite at Vida Hotel, Dubai (from left): Julian Ayers regional VP for ME & India; Mark Edleson, president; Frederic Flaeat-Simon, chief executive.
About the Debut
The setting of Jabal Akhdar certainly complies with Edleson’s criteria of “somewhere special”. Perched on a cliff-top 2000 metres above sea level, and with 360 degree views of the Hajar Mountains, the property is set to provide a relaxing retreat or base for adventure for GCC visitors escaping the city heat as well as international travellers looking for an authentic taste of Omani culture.
At just a two-hour drive from Muscat, the eco-friendly development comprises 86 suites, including two Royal Omani Villas, and a Spa Alila specialising in ancient Asian healing techniques. The plan is to offer a gateway to this relatively untapped region of Oman.
“The area has previously been a day trip destination because there weren’t many places to stay here,” explains Ayers, who was appointed in 2013 to oversee the day-to-day operations, sales and marketing activities and future growth strategies of Alila in the region.
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“There are amazing things to see and do, such explore some of the 66 abandoned villages around Jabal Akhdar.”
The team is clearly very proud of the Jabal Akhdar development, and having successfully worked on the project with Omani developer Omran, Alila is hoping to have further dealings with the company on future Middle Eastern projects.
“Omran has done an incredible job,” comments Flaeat-Simon. “So far the relationship with them has been very professional. We’ve worked well with Omran and are proud to be the operator.”
Edleson adds: “We’re talking to Omran about some future projects but we’re still competing with some other brands they are looking at. We are also speaking to some other developers.”
Revealing his ambition for the foreseeable future of creating “between five and eight hotels in the Middle East that represent what Alila really stands for”, Flaeat-Simon admits that one of the main challenges will be generating enough brand awareness to catch the eye of local developers: “We still have a long way to go to continue building our brand so it becomes well-known,” he comments.
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