500-room resort to come up in Muscat

Zubair Enterprise is building a resort with nearly 500 rooms at Barr Al Jissah, about 12 kilometres from the Muscat city centre.

According to Hakim Magid Soud Al Maameri, manager tourism with Zubair Corp, "His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has asked his government to pull out all stops to ensure that the project is a success." He said this in reply to a query on the possible bureaucratic hurdles in their bid to 'create history'.

"We are breaking new grounds and making history," Al Maameri claimed as he said that their resort project, including three properties on 500,000 square metres of land, was unique in the entire region. "There's nothing like this in the Gulf."

It is certain that the resort, tucked between mountains and the sea, will be far away from the city buzz. At the same time, the town centre will be only a 15-minute drive away from the resort.

However, the Barr Al Jissah Hotel and Beach resort project is being implemented at a time when the hospitality industry is witnessing a slump with occupancy rate dropping drastically.

Al Maameri is unfazed by the market trend. "We are different, we want to make Oman a year around destination. We want to create sustainable tourism in Oman."

According to conservative estimates, they would have over 58 per cent occupancy. They are banking on the unique location of the resort as well as Oman's wealth of natural beauty, which is a big asset for tourism.

The beachfront resort is not accessible by road at present, but Al Maameri pointed out that the Muscat Municipality would build a four and half-kilometre access road before the opening of the hotel. He also revealed that another 12-km Qantab-Quriyat road was also proposed and would work as an access road for the resort.

The five-plus-star castle would be perched on a rock, nine metres above the sea and will offer a combination of 179 keys, explained Chris Harris, project manager, Turner Construction International.

The five-star town, which will offer a combination of 200 keys, will have the Middle Eastern ambiance. The four-star village will have the South American flavour, with music and food and will offer a combination of 300 keys.

This upcoming beachfront property will have a spectacular backdrop of coastal mountains and wadis. Although the construction work is in its early stages, the promoters have already identified a spot on the beach and named it Echo Beach as the sound of waves reverberates off a rock by the beach.

"The property will be operated by Hong Kong-based Shangri La Hotels and Resorts Group," said Harris.

Harris said the three properties, a spa, health club, swimming pools, and leisure facilities would be housed on 20,000 square metres of beautifully landscaped area. "Two lazy rivers would run through the entire property," he said.

Harris said the resort is expected to be ready by 2005. "We will open first for a trial run in March 2005 before throwing the gates open for guests," he added.