Rotana Eyes Bahrain Recovery

Rotana is scheduled to open its first Bahrain property, Majestic Arjaan by Rotana, in April.

While the 128-unit property is fairly small, comprising studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, it is significant for the operator and Bahrain. Next year Rotana plans to open a stand-alone hotel in the Kingdom.

Omer Kaddouri, executive vice president and COO of Rotana, said: “The occupancies in Bahrain have reduced year on year and the rate has come down five per cent – but it hasn’t tremendously dipped, there’s still business there. If we can do 50 or 60 per cent there in the first year, like everyone’s doing, then we’ve achieved our targets.”

Facilities include fully-equipped meeting rooms, outdoor pool, fitness centre, steam and sauna rooms. Three food & beverage outlets are available, the all-day-dining Ginger restaurant, Lobby Lounge and Aquarius Pool Café.

Other operators continue to explore opportunities in Bahrain.

Last summer the InterContinental Hotel Group opened its first Holiday Inn Express in Bahrain. Located near the airport on Exhibition Avenue, the $40 million investment reflected a desire to tap “the burgeoning market for budget tourism”.

A report published by the World Travel and Tourism Council forecasts that the direct contribution to Bahrain’s GDP of travel and tourism is set to grow by 3.7 per cent per year between 2012-2022 to BD769.4 million ($2.04 billion).