Minor Hotels is teaming up with Safari International Group to develop an Avani hotel in Oman's capital. Opening in 2020, the 250-key Avani Muscat Hotel, which will be located just outside of Muscat, will launch the brand in Oman.
The new hotel in Seeb, near the Muscat International Airport, will be connected to the upcoming Al Araimi Boulevard Mall, which is currently under development ahead of its opening in 2018. The new mall will have 250 retail and dining outlets, a medical center and a movie theater complex.
The $50-million hotel project will be developed in two phases. The 160 guestrooms and suites, restaurant, an Avani Pantry and a rooftop lounge will be constructed in the first phase along with a pool, health club, ballroom and eight meeting rooms. Two years after the main hotel opens, the construction of 90 serviced apartments will begin in the second phase.
Minor Hotels will add the new Avani to the brand's portfolio of 21 properties in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Avani Hotels & Resorts recently debuted in Australia and New Zealand, while additional openings are lined up for Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean.
The launch also falls in line with the hotel group's expansion throughout Oman, following the Anantara brand, which debuted in the country in late 2016. Anantara currently has two new properties in Oman: Anantara Jabal Al Akhdar Resort on the Saiq Plateau and Al Baleed Salalah Resort by Anantara in the Dhofar region.
In the Middle East, Minor Hotels operates 13 properties across its four brands Anantara, Avani, Tivoli and Oaks. The group recently agreed to manage an Anantara property in Sharjah, which will be co-owned by Basma Group and Arada. The 233-room beachfront Anantara Sharjah Resort, which Arada is developing, will be near Sharjah International Airport. The pipeline for the region includes the launch of the Avani brand in North Africa with the Avani Les Berges du Lac Tunis Suites in the Tunisian capital, and additional projects in Mauritius and the Maldives.
To further expand its UK and international presence, Minor Hotels bought out UK-based hospitality group Corbin & King on Dec. 18, 2017. Minor Hotels now owns Corbin & King's London-based portfolio of 11 restaurants and one hotel, as well as the the 73-key Beaumont Hotel in Mayfair, and has plans to expand the brand.
These properties are included in Minor Hotels' portfolio of 157 hotels and resorts, which operate under its brands Anantara, Avani, Oaks, Elewana, Tivoli, Four Seasons, St. Regis and Marriott. The group's properties are in 24 countries across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, South America, Africa and the Indian Ocean.