Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has signed an agreement with Majid Al Futtaim Properties to launch its Westin and Le Méridien brands in Bahrain.
This follows soon after the announcement that Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim, the owner of Bahrain City Centre had decided to end its agreement with Kempinski in order to adopt a two-brand strategy similar to properties in Dubai.
A Starwood source revealed earlier this month that the towers would be managed by the Le Meridien and Sheraton brands, however the official agreement is that Le Meridien and Westin will manage them.
Scheduled to debut in early July this year, The Westin Bahrain City Centre and Le Méridien Bahrain City Centre will be located in Manama and combined will add 460 rooms to Starwood’s portfolio in Bahrain.
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Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa and Middle East president Michael Wale said: “Following last year’s successful conversion and opening of Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates, we are delighted to strengthen our relationship with Majid Al Futtaim Properties as we debut our Westin and Le Méridien brands in Bahrain.
“We have a long presence in the country, dating back to 1981 when we opened the Sheraton Bahrain Hotel. We look forward to expanding our footprint here with the launch of these two distinct lifestyle brands later this year.”
Majid Al Futtaim Properties, CEO George Kostas, said: “We are very pleased with today’s announcement and welcome the addition of these two new brands to our portfolio. We believe they will add significant value to our offering in Bahrain and will further strengthen the position of our 11 hotels across the region.”
The Westin Bahrain City Centre will feature 200 rooms, including six executive suites and a presidential suite and five dining venues and over 6,500 square feet of event space.
Le Méridien Bahrain City Centre will offer 260 rooms, including 18 executive suites and a presidential suite.
The hotel will feature three dining venues including the brand’s signature Latitude coffee bar and lounge and an all-day dining restaurant and will have over 5,000 square feet of event and meeting space, including a business centre, ballroom and five meeting rooms.
Guests of the two hotels will be able to enjoy access to all the facilities and amenities of both hotels.
Both hotels are directly linked to Bahrain City Centre, a shopping and entertainment destination also owned by Majid Al Futtaim Properties. The centre is home to 350 international branded retail outlets, 50 dining outlets, a water park - Wahoo, VOX Cinemas and a bowling centre.
Starwood operates nearly 50 hotels and resorts across the Middle East under eight of the company’s nine lifestyle brands.
The company has plans to further expand its portfolio in the region with a pipeline of over 35 hotels due to open by 2017.
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