Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts (MHR) has revealed plans to open its first hotel and apartment property in Jeddah in 2017 in a bid to meet strong demand for branded extended-stay accommodation in Saudi Arabia's booming seaport city. The Swiss hospitality firm has signed an agreement with prominent real estate and investment company, Hadia Abdul Latif Jameel Group, to manage the 164-unit Mövenpick Hotel & Apartments Al Tahlia Jeddah, which will command a sought-after location on Hail Street, close to Jeddah's major commercial, financial, consular and shopping districts. With the modern-day corporate traveller in mind, the property, part of a high-profile mixed-use development, features predominantly suites, an all-day-dining outlet, a casual fine-food Indian restaurant, a gym with two spa treatment rooms, and four meeting rooms. "It's a flexible hotel and apartment model that caters to both short- and long-stay clients, capitalizing on the gap in the market for branded extended-stay accommodation," said Andreas Mattmüller, Chief Operating Officer, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts Middle East and South Asia. Mövenpick Hotel & Apartments Al Tahlia will be strategically located next to Jameel Square, a Grade-A office building also developed by the Hadia Abdul Latif Jameel Group, that is occupied by local and multinational blue-chip corporate tenants. "This modern property with its prime location and efficient design, will provide Jeddah's growing corporate community with a fresh new concept that caters to their business and leisure needs right on their doorstep," added Osama Al Haddad, President, Hadia Abdul Latif Jameel Group. Signing Mövenpick Hotel & Apartments Al Tahlia helps to consolidate MHR's position as a market leader in Jeddah where the company currently operates two properties, but now has three pipelined, taking its total number of keys in the city to 923 across five hotels by 2018. Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts plans to increase its KSA footprint by one-third, from a current 10 properties (3,907 keys) to 15 (5,204) by 2018. Upcoming projects include Mövenpick Hotel City Star Jeddah, opening this year, Mövenpick Residences Al Khobar (2017), Mövenpick Hotel Financial District Riyadh (2017) and Mövenpick Hotel Heraa Jeddah (2018). — SG
