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French luxury hotel company Sofitel will soon be joining the island's leisure industry offering a fresh destination with a balmy beach for the island's tourists and business guests as well as its residents.
The five star Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa overlooking the Arabian Gulf is within a short distance of the Bahrain International Circuit. The construction is on-going and is expected to be completed by November and details about the complex will be unveiled to the world's media at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai next month.
GulfWeekly, however, can exclusively reveal an artist's impression of the finished property and has spoken to the company's top executives about the project.
The multi-million dinar complex will be one of the first hotels in the region to boast a Thalasso spa therapy treatment centre. The name comes from the Greek word for sea, and refers to a variety of treatments that use sea water and seaweed, each designed to tone, moisturise and revitalise the body and skin, and in many cases to improve circulation.
The hotel will cover an area of 2,000 square metres on two levels and will feature 263 rooms including 17 suites and will boast facilities such as a lobby bar and library, bar lounge, juice bar, all-day dining, Italian, Asian and Arabian restaurants, a fish market by the jetty, pool snack facility and children's restaurant.
The leisure amenities include a health club along with water sports activities. It will offer business facilities including a ballroom, two meeting rooms, a business centre and a pre-function area.
Chief operating officer Robert Gaymer-Jones, said: "Sofitel creates unique, contemporary luxury hotels and resorts by artfully blending its French origins with the very best of local cultures by focusing on Sofitel's three key areas - innovation and design, food and beverage and guest experience."
Sofitel Luxury Hotels aim to make a big impression with holidaymakers and the kingdom's residents with a touch of French elegance.
Chief operating officer Robert Gaymer-Jones said: "The new group DNA is the creation of luxury hotels that are different and non-standardised, cleverly blending the brand's French origins such as elegance, savoir-faire and the art of 'recevoir' or 'to receive', with the best of local culture from each country.
"This delicate balance of the French touch and local customs is brought to the forefront of each property, illustrated in interior design, restaurant menus, attentive staff service and personal welcome in accordance with local customs."
The group also announced the appointment of Sami Nasser as senior vice president for Sofitel in the Middle East & Africa region. Mr Nasser will be temporally assigned in Dubai before taking on his responsibility in addition to being named general manager at a hotel within his region, as part of the new organisation strategy for Sofitel worldwide.
The brand is present in leading cities around the world including London, New York, Peking, Paris, Cairo, Bangkok, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Brussels, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Bora Bora, Fez and Marrakech, Rio de Janeiro, Hanoi, Cartagena, Angkor, Luxor and Aswan. The company also plans to expand further in Asia and the Middle East.
Sofitel Luxury Hotel's ambition is to become the premier French and European ambassador of international hospitality - an industry currently led by American and Asian groups. With this goal in mind, Sofitel relentlessly and passionately pursues its standards of luxury, the company says.
Sofitel has already got two properties in the Gulf - Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach and Sofitel Al Khobar The Corniche, Saudi Arabia. The Bahrain hotel will be joined by the Sofitel Abu Dhabi Capital Plaza, UAE which also opens this year.
