Centara poised to make debut with flagship hotel

The Centara Grand West Bay Doha is getting ready to go live by the end of Q1 2017.

Its general manager James Wilson told Hotelier Middle East: “This is not the only Centara opening in the Middle East, we also have a property opening in Muscat. We are both in the pre-opening stage. But we are delighted to have the Centara Grand debut in the region, hopefully there will be more.”

In early 2016, Hotelier Middle East was the first, and only regional publication, to reveal Centara’s plans for the region, which also includes another Qatar property with a potential 2017 opening.

Another property in Dubai is also in the works, and will be a long-stay option which could go live by 2018.

As for the Centara Grand in Doha, which is the company’s flagship brand, it will have five F&B outlets. Suan Bua will serve authentic Thai cuisine and the Mayfair Grill will be positioned as a fine dining restaurant.

The hotel also has a 17 treatment room Cenvaree spa. “It is a traditional city hotel when you compare it to Bangkok, a lot of the five-star hotels there have several F&B outlets with expansive spa facilities. As a company we are strong in food and beverage and we are very strong in our spa concept. We see the hotel as a multi-facility property; we want to attract the local Qataris and the residents within the area.”

Wilson affirmed that Centara has not left it too late to enter the Middle East hospitality market. “We have not left it too late. Centara offers more of a contemporary style of service as compared to the other Thai brands. Anantara has beautiful properties but don’t always tend to infuse Thai-ness into them. They tend to adopt the location they are in more than playing on its roots. Don’t get me wrong, they are beautiful in their own rights and great properties. Ours is more a 21st century brand and we are going to infuse Thai culture for sure, but in a very different way.”

Read the detailed feature on Hotelier Qatar's Jan-March 2017 issue...