Marriott to open hotels in Cape Town, Nairobi, Cairo and Mauritius

At the Africa Hotel Investment Conference, in Kigali, Rwanda, Marriott announced that it has signed deals for new properties in Cape Town, Nairobi, Cairo and Mauritius. 

“The past couple of weeks have seen an incredible transformation for our company, and I am proud to say that we are continuing the momentum with our expansion and development plans across the African continent,” Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director of Middle East and Africa for Marriott International, said in a statement.

Kyriakidis was referring to Marriott International's recent close on the acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

“We officially opened the Kigali Marriott Hotel yesterday, under the patronage of His Excellency, The Honourable Prime Minister Murekezi, and today we announce six new deals across Africa, which when open, are expected to bring our total African property and room count to 205 and 37,000 respectively.”

These new signings comprise over 1,100 rooms, and include AC by Marriott’s brand entry into Africa. The Cape Town deals are in partnership with the Amdec Group, Marriott’s long-term partner and owners of the new Marriott Hotel and Marriott Executive Apartments Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, announced last year and currently under development. The Amdec Group helped bring Marriott International’s global brands into South Africa, as they were the first to announce Marriott Hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments and now AC by Marriott and Residence Inn by Marriott into the market. The AC Hotel Cape Town Waterfront will be located at the gateway to Cape Town’s waterfront, while Harbour Arch will be the site of the 200-guestroom Cape Town Marriott Hotel Foreshore and the 150-guestroom Residence Inn by Marriott Cape Town Foreshore.

The first deal to be signed since Marriott’s completed acquisition, and further consolidating Marriott International’s presence on Mauritius, the Sheraton brand will make its debut on the island with Sheraton Mauritius St Felix Resort and The Residences at Sheraton Mauritius St Felix Resort. Owned by Clear Ocean Hotel Resorts Limited, the resort will be a part of a mixed-use development with a boutique retail mall and branded residences. Scheduled to open in early 2020, the resort will have 152 guestrooms and suites and 37 branded apartments and villas.

The first Element Hotels property signed in Egypt will be the largest Element Hotel in the Middle East and Africa. Situated in Cairo’s upscale Heliopolis district and scheduled to open in 2019, Element Cairo is developed by Abraj Misr Urban Development and owned by Middle East Real Estate for Development (MERED). As part of The Gate Project development—the largest housing, administrative, commercial, project in Egypt and the Middle East—the Element Cairo will have 344 rooms.

Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi, Hurlingham, is the brand’s second hotel in the city, located in the upmarket suburb close to the city center and within easy access from the surrounding business areas of Westlands, Kilimani and Nairobi Central. Owned by Kamcan Properties Ltd, the 96-guestroom hotel is a conversion from an existing hotel, will be operated under a franchise arrangement, and is expected to open in 2017.