A new 180-room Swissôtel is set to open in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia following a recent agreement signed between leading hospitality chain Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts and Mohammed Ibrahim Al Subeaei & Sons Investment Company (Masic).

With a planned opening in 2019, Swissôtel Al Khobar will be situated within the Masic Business Park development, occupying an enviable location within the urban area's commercial and residential district. Encompassing around 55,000-sq-m of retail and prime office space, this development will become a landmark in the Eastern Province.

The project is being developed by Masic, one of the largest investment companies in Saudi Arabia with an extensive portfolio of investments locally and globally featuring financial services, real estate, agriculture, manufacturing, industrial and retail.

In addition to 180 guestrooms, Swissôtel Al Khobar will feature over 1,300-sq-m of meeting and conference space and a variety of food and beverage offerings from Café Swiss and Swiss Gourmet to a pool and grill restaurant. With an emphasis on vitality and fitness, the hotel will also feature the brand's signature Pürovel Spa & Sport along with an outdoor rooftop pool. This mixed use property will also present 20 exclusive and contemporary luxury residential apartments, branded under the Swissôtel Living concept offering high-end amenities and round-the-clock service to residents.

The announcement marks Swissôtel's, and parent company FRHI Hotels & Resorts', first venture into the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry in the eastern part of the country. With the city of Al Khobar as its commercial centre, the property is close to Dhahran city, home to the world's largest energy company - Saudi Aramco, as well as the US Consulate and King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. Overall, the province is just a short distance away from the Arabian Gulf, and is linked to neighbouring Bahrain by a 25 km causeway.

"Continuing our pipeline growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a key focus for our world-leading luxury hotel brands," said Sami Nasser, senior vice president, operations, Middle East, Africa and India for FRHI. "Since our debut in the region over five years ago with our multi-branded hotel complex in Makkah, our brands have been well positioned to appeal to both business and religious tourism in this increasing sophisticated travel market."

The addition of Swissôtel Al Khobar complements a growing portfolio of FRHI-managed hotels currently under development in Saudi Arabia, including Swissôtel, Raffles and Fairmont hotels in Jeddah all slated to open before 2020, in addition to Fairmont Riyadh, Business Gate which will open in 2016. Swissôtel flags will also be raised throughout the Middle East within the next five years with Swissôtel Jadaf in the UAE, Swissôtel Citystars Sharm El Sheikh and a property in 'New Cairo' - Swissôtel Katameyah in Egypt. – TradeArabia News Service