The Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay opened its doors in March, marking the luxury operator’s entry in the Bahrain market.
Located within the Bahrain Bay development in Manama, the hotel is housed in a 68-storey H-shaped structure, which sits on its own private island.
Leading the team at the 273-key property is general manager Greg Pirkle, who joined the property from Four Seasons Riyadh. The Four Seasons veteran has been with the company for more than 23 years, and has helped open four properties during the time, but the Four Seasons Bahrain Bay marks his first opening as general manager.
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“I already had some Middle East experience, so when they asked me if I was willing to come and open the Four Seasons in Bahrain as the opening GM, I was very excited about the opportunity. It’s only a 3.5 hour drive, but it’s a world apart in many respects. A much more liberal country and a getaway for a lot of Saudis for the weekend,” Pirkle enthuses.
Pirkle is hoping to capitalise on his Saudi Arabian experience to help drive guest satisfaction at the hotel. Saudis account for over 80% of the hotel’s market, he reveals, with the Kingdom only a short drive over the causeway that connects the two countries.
“Culturally, just understanding the type of needs and desires that Saudis have and being culturally sensitive to certain things is a big help. However, it’s also about being wary that people do come here because they want to get away from Saudi for the weekend and being able to provide some of those facilities they can’t enjoy in Saudi — men and women can go to the pool together for instance,” Pirkle says.
While Saudi Arabia will remain the primary market for the hotel, the team hopes to attract travellers from other GCC countries and western markets.
“We are looking at predominantly the GCC — business travellers during the week and families during the weekends. Predominantly from Saudi Arabia, but we are also seeing an awful lot of traffic coming in from Kuwait, Qatar, and even some Emiratis. People from the UAE always have Dubai and Abu Dhabi in their backyard, but they actually like the escape to our little island here.
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