IHG has signed a management agreement with Al Rawabi Regional Co. for Hotels Resorts and Tourism Ltd. to open the InterContinental Durrat Al Riyadh in Saudi Arabia next year.
The deal follows several high-profile signings this year across IHG’s midscale, upscale and luxury brands. The company’s presence in the country goes back to the opening of the InterContinental Riyadh in 1975.
The hotel will be located 25 minutes from King Khalid International Airport and close to King Abdullah Financial District. The converted property will be part of a 154,000-square-meter oasis, and will have 152 guestrooms, 10 private chalets, five dining options, a kids’ club and miniature golf. Other public spaces will include an outdoor and indoor pool, a gym, tennis courts, a spa, a business center, seven meeting rooms and a banquet room.
“As a result of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia presents unprecedented opportunities for the hospitality sector and we are excited to leverage our experience of the market with an ambitious expansion plan,” said Pascal Gauvin, managing director, India, Middle East and Africa, IHG.
As of the end of H1, IHG operated 92 hotels across seven brands in the Middle East: InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, Six Senses, Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts, Voco, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites. An additional 41 hotels are due to open within the next three to five years across the region.