A Radisson Blu and Park Inn are set to open in the Holy City. A Radisson Blu and Park Inn are set to open in the Holy City.

The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is set to become one of the largest hotel operators in Makkah, Saudi Arabia with the announcement of two hotels in the Holy City.

The signing of a management agreement between the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and Saudi company Al Majd Al Arabiah was announced comprising a total of 2,850 rooms.

This announcement will result in the opening of the world’s largest Radisson Blu hotel with more than 1,250 rooms, located in the Aziziyah District in Makkah.

The Radisson Blu Hotel Al Hidaya will be situated in the Al Hidaya Complex, which is already welcoming pilgrims across its 10 towers and its 4,500 rooms.

Two towers will be initially converted for the Radisson Blu hotel, and will open in two phases with the first tower of 588 rooms set to open in May 2018 and the second tower of 663 rooms in May 2019.

The Al Hidaya Gallery with a commercial retail avenue of over 14,000 m2 will be situated in the same tower as the Radisson Blu Hotel Al Hidaya, adding another element to the hotel. The rest of the Al Hidaya complex will be operated by Rezidor for Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages which represents 3,250 rooms over eight individual towers.

In addition, the Group is announcing the signing of Park Inn by Radisson Hotel Al Hajla, that will become the largest Park Inn by Radisson hotel in the global network with 1,600 rooms.

The Park Inn by Radisson Al Hajla will be located just over 700 meters from the Haram. The hotel is expected to open in Q2 2019.

Commenting at the signing celebration with the partners in London, Elie Younes, excutive vice president and chief development officer of Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group said: “We are privileged to continue on our strong journey in Saudi Arabia with Al Majd Al Arabiah and we thank our partner for their trust with the addition of the world’s biggest Radisson Blu and Park Inn by Radisson hotels in the holy city of Makkah.

We are thrilled to cement our position as one of the leading operators in the holy city and look forward to a successful journey with our partners,” added Younes.

Al Majd Al Arabiah CEO Selman Al Fares said:  “We are pleased to enter into an agreement with the Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the world’s leading hotel operators. We anticipate the continued growth of religious tourism to the Kingdom and the Holy City of Makkah in its role as an Islamic cultural centre for local and international travellers.

“We believe this demand combined with the international expertise of our hospitality partner will ensure the success of our hotels in the Holy City. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship,” Al Fares said.

The Rezidor Hotel Group’s Saudi pipeline includes 35 hotels and over 9,000 rooms in operation and in development.

The group remains on track to achieve its target to operate 100 hotels across the Middle East by 2020.

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