IT TAKES TWO!

THE new signs were erected at Bahrain City Centre this week, welcoming Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s Westin Bahrain City Centre and Le Méridien Bahrain City Centre to the popular mall owned by Majid Al Futtaim Properties (MAF).

It was a case of in with the new and out with the old as Kempinski eloquently bowed out of the kingdom after arriving with much fanfare shortly after the unrest which had rocked the country and devastated its hospitality sector.

The two hotels mark Starwood’s launch of Westin and Le Méridien brands in the country, adding 460 rooms to the group’s portfolio in Bahrain. Its long-standing presence in Bahrain dates back to 1978 and it also currently runs the nearby Sheraton Bahrain Hotel.

Dynamic Sherif Darwish, 39, the acting complex general manager, arrived to help orchestrate the great change-over from the Le Méridien Al Khobar, in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, after a seven-year spell as deputy general manager, and is excited by the new challenge.

He told GulfWeekly: “With Westin’s winning approach to well-being and Le Méridien’s focus on destination discovery we look forward to providing a new era of hospitality experiences in Bahrain, for both residents and visitors.”
Kempinski and MAF parted company amicably because the mall owners wanted a distinctly two-brand approach to the mall’s hotel offering, despite the latter’s popularity and the connections it had made in the community by linking up with local farms for restaurant products, for example, and training locals up for the hospitality industry.

Mr Darwish is confident that visitors and guests will appreciate the strengths of the newcomers too. He said: “Each will bring to life its core essence – Westin’s approach to well-being and Le Méridien focus on unlocking the destination through art, culture and cuisine.

“Together the hotels complement each other – Westin will be a haven of rejuvenation in the centre of the city whether with its Heavenly Spa or WestinWORKOUT, while Le Méridien unlocks shopping and destination discovery with its proximity to the Bahrain City Centre and other key attractions in Bahrain.”

Westin is one of Starwood’s upper-upscale brands. It offers innovative programmes that aim to transform every aspect of a stay into a ‘revitalising experience’. All Westin signature services such as the ‘Heavenly Bed’, ‘SuperFoods’, ‘Heavenly Spa’ and WestinWORKOUT fitness studio – have been designed, Mr Darwish says, with the guests’ ‘well-being’ in mind.

Le Méridien is a Paris-born hotel represented by nearly 100 properties in more than 40 countries. The brand aims to bring ‘unique, interactive and curated experiences’ to its guests.

“We look forward to unlocking Bahrain to guests through these filters of discovery,” added Mr Darwish, an Egyptian who is married to Rania and has two children, Sarah, six, and Lily, four.

But how different an experience will it be from the Kempinski, as the restaurants, for example, will remain in the same place and so will the majority of chefs and members of staff?

He said: “Both brands have a strong focus on dining – be it Westin’s SuperfoodsRX or Le Méridien’s Parisian-inspired cuisines with a local twist.”

Mr Darwish continued: “Opening doors yesterday under the new brands, Starwood welcomes the existing staff to the Starwood family and will spend the coming period working closely with the various teams on training to assist them to experience the brand differentiators first-hand.”

The hotel giant’s top brass, as well as the mall’s UAE-based executives, are all singing from the same hymn sheet.
“We are delighted to strengthen our relationship with Majid Al Futtaim as we debut our Westin and Le Méridien brands in Bahrain,” said Guido de Wilde, senior vice president, regional director, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Middle East.

“We look forward to introducing Westin’s winning approach to well-being and Le Méridien’s contemporary lifestyle approach through the arts, culture and cuisine to the local community and international travellers to Manama.” 
George Kostas, MAF’s CEO, said: “Majid Al Futtam Properties is committed to actively supporting the long-term development of Bahrain. 

“We are very pleased to once again partner with Starwood, which is recognised as a leader in tourism and business travel, both important sectors for Bahrain. We have had excellent success with our two hotels in Bahrain thus far, and we anticipate even better times ahead with the arrival of these two brands that will no doubt bolster the kingdom’s hospitality sector.”

The Kempinski Grand & Ixir Hotel Bahrain City Centre in Manama may have disappeared from the island’s hospitality map but the signs are that new ones will be erected on a new-build site to be announced in the near future, as the company hopes to return in a few years time.

Its GM, Puneet Singh, has been busy packing his bags for a family holiday back to India, and will be stationed somewhere in the Middle East or Africa, although it is no secret that he is longing to return to Bahrain with Kempinksi when the opportunity arises.

His strong views about the hospitality sector and campaigning stance are well recorded and he is delighted that the ‘Visit Bahrain’ bandwagon recently received a massive boost with the announcement of plans to ease entry visa procedures in a bid to attract more tourists and investors, and revitalise the national economy. New procedures will benefit visitors from 66 countries, up from 38 at present.

Meanwhile, the Westin Bahrain City Centre and Le Méridien Bahrain City Centre are likely to captialise, in the same manner as Kempinski, from being directly linked to the popular mall which is home to 350 international branded retail stores, 50 dining outlets, a temperature-controlled water park, Wahooo, a bowling centre and a multi-screen Cineplex, which attracts thousands of visitors from across the Saudi Causeway in particular.

The Westin Bahrain City Centre features 200 guest rooms and suites, including its signature one-bedroom Royal Suite.

Le Méridien Bahrain City Centre offers 260 guest rooms and suites. The presidential suite, Pearl Suite, includes a spacious master bedroom, separate living room with a dining area and a fully-equipped kitchenette.
Mr Darwish has clearly taken to the kingdom too as he has been working behind the scenes in preparation for the big change-over.

There are many plans in the pipeline and he has still managed to keep one eye on the FIFA World Cup Finals in Brazil. He clearly showed off his diplomatic prowess by predicting an eventual victory for the Netherlands.

Nice move, his boss Han de Windt, area manager covering Bahrain, Eastern and Central Saudi Arabia, is Dutch!
By the end of the year the signature Le Méridien Hub will be launched, for example, which re-interprets the traditional lobby into a social gathering place for creative people to converse, debate and exchange in a creative atmosphere and will also feature curated local artwork from Bahrain.

As part of the Hub, Le Méridien Bahrain City Centre will introduce the Middle East’s first Longitude 50º cafe, where guests can enjoy expertly-crafted Illy coffee, paired with delicious éclairs.

Guests of the two hotels will be able to enjoy access to all the leisure facilities at both hotels. The Westin Bahrain City Centre and Le Méridien Bahrain City Centre also offer the award-winning loyalty programme, Starwood Preferred Guest, which gives guests a chance to earn Starpoints for more choices, flexibility and benefits including exclusive options, free nights and upgrades at Starwood hotels.  

* To celebrate the opening, there is a special promotion at both hotels. On booking a stay, guests will receive a daily BD15 credit to use for dining or spa treatments. This offer is valid until August 31.