Centara and Al Bandary Sign Agreement for Two More Doha Hotels
Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hospitality group, signed a hotel management agreement for two new hotels owned by Al Bandary Hotel Management LLC. The agreement represents the third and fourth Doha properties Centara will manage on behalf of Al Bandary, which also owns Centara West Bay Residences & Suites Doha, an upper upscale property that opened earlier this year and recently earned a 5-star official classification from the Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC); and the previously signed Centara Grand Hotel Doha scheduled for opening in 2020.
The B Premiere Hotel, a member of the Centara Boutique Collection, is a new 85-key boutique property located on Al Rawabi Street, within ten minutes’ drive from many of the city’s popular attractions, shopping malls and event venues, and 20 minutes by car from Hamad International Airport. The hotel is expected to open by the end of 2019. The 167-key Centara Al Bustan Hotel Doha is currently under construction and is expected to open in the second quarter of 2021.
“We are very excited to be expanding our partnership with Al Bandary with our second and third Doha properties, following the successful launch of Centara West Bay Residences & Suites earlier this year. Doha is a key gateway city to the world and a strategic development destination for Centara, and the management and team at Al Bandary Hotel Management LLC are the perfect partners with whom to realise our growth plans in Qatar,” said Thirayuth Chirathivat, Chief Executive Officer of Centara Hotels & Resorts.
Ahmad Al Rayyan, Group General Manager of Al Bandary Management LLC, the hotel’s owner, commented, “We are delighted to be working with Centara for these exciting new projects. Their successful opening of the first Doha property is a testament to their expertise and professionalism, and we are looking forward to a successful collaboration on these new properties in the months and years ahead.”
The B Premiere Hotel will feature four room categories: City View, City View Suite King, Boutique Suite King, and Premiere Suite King. City View rooms range from 32–38 sqm, while suite accommodation measures 50–60 sqm. Every guestroom features a separate bathtub and rain shower. The hotel’s dining venues will include Zing café on the lobby level; Celeste Bistro, offering all- day dining; and Sheesh Lebanese Grill, the hotel’s signature rooftop restaurant. The hotel will be equipped with a Cenfit fitness centre; swimming pool with Jacuzzi; separate male and female spas with steam rooms and saunas; flexible meeting room space; and a Cense by Cenvaree spa.
Qatar’s strategic location at the crossroads of Asia, Europe and Africa has helped it become one of the world’s most prosperous economies, and one which continues to see robust growth and development — including a sustained upward trend in tourism and visitor arrivals, helped by easier visa requirements and a diverse calendar of visitor-friendly events and festivals.
Doha’s combination of dynamic business environment, vast cultural attractions and recreational opportunities makes it a highly attractive destination for business and leisure travellers as well as a popular host city for meetings, conventions and events — including the 2022 FIFA World Cup. These newest additions to the company’s portfolio of properties takes Centara’s count of hotels in Doha to four, with a luxurious hotel also owned by Al Bandary Hotel Management LLC under the Centara Grand brand set to open in the first half of 2020.