Swiss-Belhotel to open seven Middle East hotels

Hotelier talks to the Hong Kong-based hotel group about their ambitious plans for openings in the Middle East for the next year.

With five properties already in their Gulf portfolio, Swiss-Belhotel International will be opening seven new hotels in 2015 and 2016.

In January, the group talked to Hotelier about plans for 10 Middle East hotels, which has now been confirmed as seven properties. 

The Muscat property will be opening in Q4 of this year, as well as two in Riyadh, two in Qatar and two in Bahrain, all set for 2016 openings.

The group will also be opening its first European property in Georgia in 2017.

Most of the brand’s properties are currently located in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, but they’ve revealed to Hotelier that the Middle East is a main focus for them over the next two years.

Gavin Faull, chairman and MD for the group, said that their strategy for the next year is taking over existing properties.

Swiss-Belhotel will be opening its first property in Iraq in the next few years (date TBD at time of interview), with Iraq’s first Trader Vic’s as part of the hotel’s F&B offerings.

The property will be Swiss-Belhotel and Trader Vic’s first partnership and is also the restaurant’s first foray into Iraq.