Meliá Hotels International has announced the addition of two new properties in the GCC: ME Doha and Meliá Downtown Residences Dubai. These latest additions to their Middle East portfolio underline the importance of the region to the Company’s long term growth strategy.
ME Doha will open in 2017 and will become the second hotel for Meliá Hotels International in the Qatari capital. The new five star hotel will be one of the focus priorities in the company’s ambitious international expansion plan. The hotel provides 235 rooms; business and convention facilities and an executive area, in addition to a fitness centre and spa with an infinity pool overlooking the Doha skyline. There are also three restaurants, a nightclub, an open-air cinema and three bars housed within the property. ME Doha will be part of a spectacular, cutting-edge complex, “Dohalive”, that will combine the hotel with a shopping destination, cinema complex and open-air leisure facilities.
Al-Baker group, a corporate giant with a presence across the entire Gulf region, has masterminded the “Dohalive” project. The design has been carried out by Al-Baker Architects and exquisitely blends the hotel and shopping areas whilst also enhancing public areas such as the rooftop terrace and the gardens to live up to the name of the project “Dohalive”. As stated by the Chairman of Al Baker Investments Mr. Ahmed Al Baker, “This development will set a new standard for lifestyle destinations in Doha. We intend on creating a hotel that will produce unique and extraordinary experiences, which is why Al-Baker Investments is proud and confident about the future success of ME Doha.”
Meliá Downtown Residences Dubai will open in 2018 and consists of 258 residential units, equipped with both meeting rooms and a business centre, in addition to two restaurants, a spa and a fitness centre. The complex, located in the Financial Centre Road of Downtown Dubai, is near Dubai Mall and has views of the Burj Khalifa and the Downtown district.
Meliá Downtown Residences Dubai is being developed by Iconic Developments, the real estate division of the RTC group, chosen because of their proven experience and reputation, and is the company’s first residential project for Meliá Hotels International.
Meliá Hotels International is launching a range of their brands of hotels in the GCC as Meliá Downtown Residences Dubai and ME Doha are the second and third new regional hotel announcements made in 2015, following the unveiling in January 2015 of INNSIDE JLT (Jumeirah Lakes Towers) Dubai.
INNSIDE JLT Dubai will open in 2016, becoming the third hotel for the company in Dubai, together with Meliá Dubai and the future ME Dubai. It will have 125 rooms, golf course views, two restaurants, a gym, spa, health club, pool and rooftop lounge. The hotel is another milestone for the growth and development of the urban INNSIDE by Meliá brand, which in only five years has grown its portfolio from eight hotels in Germany to 36 hotels open or pending opening in different destinations in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia.
Commenting on this exciting time for Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer, Vice Chairman and CEO, “We are looking forward to working closely with all of our regional partners. The introduction of our two new hotel brands, INNSIDE and ME by Melia, to the region represents an important milestone within our corporate development.”
