RIYADH, 20 September 2006 — A leading hotel chain has announced plans to open five new hotels in Saudi Arabia. The plans are in line with the increasing number of businessmen who are visiting different Saudi cities because of commercial activities. The new world-class five-star Marriott properties will be located in the cities of Makkah and Madinah in addition to Riyadh and the Eastern Province, said Ghassan Jana, general manager of Marriott Riyadh, here yesterday.
Jana said, “The hotel business is booming because of growing commercial activities. Plans have also been made to open new Marriott hotels in Doha, Bahrain and also in Jordan.”
Referring to the SR100 million expansion project at the Riyadh Marriott, he said that the hotel could now boast a large multipurpose hall, known as “The Makarim Convention Center.” It consists of two grand ballrooms of 1000 sq meters each, connecting to a bridal suite. “This is in addition to a new health club called Bodyline Health Club and Spa, the first of its kind in the capital,” said Jana.
He said that the Riyadh Marriott had always been in the forefront to extend help to community welfare projects and to carry out its social responsibility. “One initiative is to conserve depleting water resources and protect the environment,” said Jana, adding that the Riyadh Marriott was the first hotel to use technology to save water and reduce the excess flow. Marriott has won commendation from the Ministry of Water and Electricity for this initiative, he pointed.
Asked about the occupancy rate of the hotels in general, he said it was difficult to find a room in any of the city’s top hotels this week. In fact, additional hotels are becoming a necessity in many Saudi cities, said the Marriott chief. The Riyadh property has a large free parking area to accommodate over 800 cars at a time, he said
The hotel has 375 guest rooms specifically designed for the business traveler. The hotel offers deluxe accommodations and superior facilities including executive level rooms, cafe facilities, restaurant and complimentary parking. It can also boast to have an executive floor besides a number of meeting rooms to suit businessmen and women. It also offers travel guide, express check in/out facility and 24-hour front desk besides several other facilities to be discovered by guests themselves.
