Promoting the Ritzy lifestyle

zoom

Pascal Duchauffour.

We have a project in Kuwait that is under construction; it's moving slowly, but it is there. And we have a property in Riyadh that will be a beautiful hotel, in an incredible location in the business district. Potentially there will be a third hotel in Dubai, and we are also looking at Jeddah for a potential project close to Madinah and Mecca.

Duchauffour: We would love to be in Cairo, and we are working with partners there. And then after that we are looking at any opportunities with existing owners who want to partner with us again.

What is the concept behind the new Reserve brand?

Kharazmi: It's quite new, and it will offer a luxury exclusivity in unique locations in very small boutique hotel environments. It's for guests who like to go away to exotic locations and stay in small high-end properties. We have the first resort coming up in Krabi, Phulay in Thailand, which will be the first Reserve hotel. It is a beautiful island where you can get away from everything and be indulged.

Do you see the Reserve brand coming to the Middle East?

Kharazmi: It could. At this time the first project will be in Thailand, and we will definitely see a lot of interest from our clients and from our investors for the brand, so we look forward to seeing it come to the Middle East.

Looking now to the global markets, where do you see the strong opportunities for Ritz-Carlton?

Kharazmi: We have been very successful in Asia - we will open two hotels there this year.

One is in Guangzhou, which will be a nice hotel around 350 rooms and around 90-100 serviced apartments. We will also open a hotel in Sanya, which is a beautiful beach resort in China. We are looking at a property in Kowloon, outside of Hong Kong, which is actually going to be one of the tallest properties in that market. It is a very high-end product, with a beautiful view of the harbour.

We are also looking in 2009 at a property in Shenzhen, which is another one close to Hong Kong with a spa and themed food and beverage outlets.

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM