AccorHotels, a leading hotel operator, has signed three management agreements with Al Rajhi Investment Group for a trio-cluster of hotel properties in Al Naseem, a mega complex by Al Rajhi in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

The Al Naseem project is being built around Al Rajhi Mosque, the second largest in Makkah after the Grand Mosque, and will feature six hotels from four international hotel groups offering close to 5,000 rooms in total.

The AccorHotels cluster comprising Novotel, Adagio and ibis Styles properties will constitute three of the six hotels at Al Naseem, and with 2,354 rooms, will account for nearly half of the keys that will be offered at the complex. The hotels are expected to be completed in 2019.

Speaking at the signing event in Riyadh, Jean-Jacques Dessors, chief operating officer of AccorHotels Mediterranean, Middle East & Africa, said: “We are delighted to be joining forces with Al Rajhi for this monumental development which will create a diverse hospitality offering for the 20 million visitors to Makkah every year. As the operator of the largest hospitality cluster on the Al Naseem complex, AccorHotels will be bringing three of our most popular brands catering to the midscale, economy and extended-stay segments, to ensure that all clients can afford to enjoy quality, international-standard hotel accommodation throughout their journey.”

The Al Naseem development site is on the Third Ring Road of Makkah, offering strategic access to Masjid Al-Haram, which is 6 km away. Guests at the 480-key Novotel, 434-key Adagio and 1,440-key ibis Styles will also have direct access to Al Rajhi Mosque, which is located within the Al Naseem complex together with a shopping mall.

The combined AccorHotels properties will offer a range of facilities and F&B outlets within their cluster, including restaurants, lounges, meeting rooms, business centers, and a children’s corner.

Novotel is the leading midscale brand within the AccorHotels portfolio, known for its consistently high standard of service which meets the needs of all types of guests. ibis Styles, belonging to the ibis family, is an economy brand designed to offer excellent value with the highest level of comfort. Adagio is AccorHotels’ main aparthotel brand and a leader in the market for medium to long-term stays.

“Our ambitions for AccorHotels in Saudi Arabia as a whole are extremely high; we are carrying out an important expansion strategy, aiming to more than triple the number of our operational hotels across the Kingdom from 15 existing properties to reach 50 within the next five years,” Dessors stressed.

AccorHotels has a strong presence in Saudi Arabia with 15 properties in operation spanning a wide range of world-class hotel brands, from luxury Sofitel, upscale Pullman and Majlis Grand Mercure, to midscale Novotel, Mercure and the economy ibis. In the pipeline, the Group currently has 32 properties under development across Saudi Arabia, bringing an additional 9,000 rooms and raising AccorHotels’ portfolio closer to its target of 50 hotels in the kingdom.

In the Middle East, AccorHotels has 125 properties in operation and under development with close to 32,000 rooms.  - TradeArabia News Service