Dubai Gloria to undergo Expo renovations

Gloria Hotels & Resorts’ two operating properties, the four-star Gloria Hotel and the Yassat Gloria apartment complex, will undergo renovations over a five year period in preparation for Expo 2020. Combined, the properties have 2029 units.

In an exclusive interview at ATM with Hotelier Middle East, Gloria Hotels & Resorts area general manager Freddy Farid revealed that 760 units of Gloria Hotel, which opened in 2010, will be fully refurbished and there will be upgrades to the property’s 44 meeting rooms and 800-capacity ballroom.

The Yassat Gloria, which opened more recently in 2012 will have three food and beverage outlets added to its existing two. These will comprise Urbano, a third party branded Italian restaurant, a Turkish eatery and Outdoor, a new restaurant with a terrace and live cooking stations.

The joint property model seen in the Dubai portfolio won’t be repeated for the company’s latest opening in Abu Dhabi, the Gloria Downtown Hotel, which will open in Q4. Its Middle East expansion will continue with a hotel in Jeddah set to open in 2015.

The Abu Dhabi hotel will have 230 units and the Jeddah property will have 300 plus several meeting rooms and a ballroom.

The model for the confirmed openings will be mid-scale hotels. This is instead of the two property complex model seen in the existing ME operating Gloria properties, both of which are located on Sheikh Zayed Road.

Additionally Farid suggested that a new brand may be introduced in September. He commented: “There’s some other brand that we are planning but I can’t speak about it now – a lot could change.”

In a statement Farid said: “We have plans for new properties across Cairo, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia over the next two years.”

The company expects to open a total of 20 new properties by 2015.