Ritz-Carlton is finally stamping its mark on its property in Bahrain after two and a half years of operation under the Ritz-Carlton flag. The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa is currently half way through a multi-million dollar renovation that will see all rooms and suites renovated, and an additional floor allocated to the Ritz-Carlton Club.
The hotel was originally flagged as a Royal Meridien, and was taken over by Ritz-Carlton in January 2003. The beachfront resort is now undergoing mammoth change and has been closed to guests since May to ensure that work continues at a speedy rate and without disruption.
While most hotels extend and add inventory, The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain is scaling down operations, with a focus on refining its product. The hotel is reducing its number of rooms to 245 from 264 by combining existing ones to produce a larger number of suites. The new room configuration will feature 156 deluxe rooms, 22 studios, 36 Premier Club rooms, 21 Senior Club suites and 10 specialty suites, one of which is the 152m² Royal Suite.
“Obviously, the most crucial aspect to this renovation was the decision to close all the guestroom floors and The Ritz-Carlton Club for six months,” said Pascal Duchauffour, general manager.
“The management team felt that it was ultimately the best thing to do, especially since the summer is traditionally our slow season. By executing all our design plans over a compact period of time, we limit the inconvenience to our guests who might normally have had to endure 18 months of round-the-clock construction noise for a project of this magnitude.”
The project’s crowning glory is literally the Ritz-Carlton Club, located at the top two floors of the resort, which is being expanded to two floors and is to be connected by a spiral staircase. The renovation guidance team and employees recently celebrated the halfway mark in the renovation cycle with the raising of the one-tonne Ritz-Carlton Club spiral staircase from the lobby to the sixth floor.
Parisian interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon was selected to design interiors to fit with The Ritz-Carlton brand. Rochon’s designs experiment with light colour themes, dramatic lighting appointments, individual room accessories and selected artefacts from the region.
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