Movenpick Hotels and Resorts will open its first property in the Oman capital Muscat following the signing of an agreement to operate the Movenpick Hotel and Apartments Al Azaiba Muscat.
The combined hotel and serviced residence will offer 274 guestrooms and suites along with 50 serviced apartments, located in the city’s commercial Ghala District in close proximity to the new international airport and the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Meeting and event spaces, along with an executive lounge and a residents’ lounge, will be available for corporate groups, business travellers and long-stay guests. Leisure facilities, meanwhile, will include six market-oriented F&B offerings, a rooftop restaurant, rooftop gym and spa, and swimming pool.
“This new property will be a welcome addition to our already extensive portfolio of hotels in the Middle East,” said Andreas Mattmuller, COO of Movenpick Hotels and Resorts, Middle East and Africa. “With Muscat undergoing rapid development and significant funds being invested into major tourism infrastructure projects, the time is right to put the Movenpick brand on the map in this important regional city.”
The Muscat Movenpick hotel is the latest in a series of recently announced properties set to open in the Middle East. In May last year, Movenpick unveiled plans for the Movenpick Hotel Apartments Al Burj Business Bay in Dubai – set to open this year – while in December, it announced plans for the Movenpick Resort Al Marjan in Ras al-Khaimah in the UAE, scheduled for 2019. Meanwhile, in September last year the property opened its third property in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, the Hotel City Star Jeddah.
Oman saw close to 1.8 million international tourists in 2016, with this figure expected to nearly double by 2026 to 3.34 million.
