JEDDAH: Mexican Ambassador Arturo Trejo, Muhammad A. Tayeb, director general of Makkah Region, Ministry of Foreign affairs, and businessman Saleh Al-Naghi took part in the opening of “On The Border Mexican Grill,” described as the world’s biggest authentic Mexican restaurant in Jeddah recently. The SR15 million 1,100 square meter establishment on Andalus Street caters to more than 280 Mexican food lovers at a time. Zamil Abu Alhamayel, chief of finance at Arabian Food Supplies (AFS), said: “This is the largest investment in any authentic Mexican restaurant to date.” He added that AFS retains 65 percent of the casual dining market in Saudi Arabia. AFS aims to increase it shareholder to 80 percent of the total dining experience in the Kingdom within the next five years.
Butler team gets training at Rosewood Corniche
JEDDAH: Rosewood Corniche has joined forces once more with the International Institute of Modern Butlers in an effort to raise the standards of excellence of the hotel’s butler team. The award-winning luxury hotel claims to be the standard bearer for personalized service in the Kingdom, but senior management refuses to rest on their laurels. Assisting Rosewood Corniche with its butler development is Steven Ferry, chairman of the International Institute of Modern Butlers. Ferry is an industry expert, having authored 20 books and hundreds of articles for numerous publications around the world. He visited Rosewood Corniche in 2008 and greatly contributed to strengthening the existing butler training program. The two-week interactive training sessions were a tremendous success.
Staybridge Suites opens in Abu Dhabi
ABU DHABI: The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) opened two new hotels at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi — a Crowne Plaza hotel and Staybridge Suites, its first extended stay property in the Gulf. Staybridge Suites Abu Dhabi is located in the center of Yas Island, close to Abu Dhabi International Airport and within walking distance of the new F1 Yas Marina Circuit. The property offers guests the choice of 164 suites, ranging from studios to two bedroom suites, all with fully equipped kitchens and access to a 24-hour convenience store. Bridging a gap between conventional hotels and serviced apartments, Staybridge Suites offers a home-from-home for people spending long periods traveling on business. Introduced in 1998, Staybridge Suites is one of IHG’s newest brands with 167 properties worldwide and 147 more in the pipeline. The tiered rate structure ensures prices are discounted the longer a guest stays, making it a more economical and comfortable option for business travelers staying for more than a few nights, said John Bamsey, chief operating officer, IHG Middle East and Africa said.
Indian festival at Mövenpick Al Khobar
ALKHOBAR: The Maharaja restaurant at the Mövenpick Al Khobar is celebrating a month-long ‘Nawabi Festival’ in November. Chef Vineet Bhatia, the first Indian Chef to win the much-coveted Michelin star, has concocted the most exquisite Nawabi recipes for the lucky few who had the chance to sample his great talent and genius in modernizing Indian cuisine. Vineet is reviving a culinary past, that of the Nawab rulers who controlled the north Indian city of Lucknow. Incredibly wealthy, each Nawabi ruler had a team of chefs who competed to create the most sumptuous meals. Theirs was a luxurious style of cooking — heavy on cream and oil, marinated meat
and innumerable spices.
Depa completes work on five Yas Island hotels
ABU DHABI: Depa Limited, a major interior contracting companies, has announced the completion of the fit-out works on five hotels on Yas Island, in time for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Depa had just one month to simultaneously handover the five hotels — The Yas Hotel, The Crowne Plaza Yas Island, The Staybridge Suites Yas Island and two Rotana projects, The Rotana Resort Yas Island and Centro by Rotana. To ensure the smooth and timely handover of all the hotels, at the height of the work, Depa and its subcontractors had 2450 people working on site.
