Exclusive: Dubai's Jumeirah signs its first hotel in Oman

Dubai’s Jumeirah Group, operator of the iconic Burj al Arab hotel, has signed a management agreement with Saraya Bandar Jissah SAOH to operate a luxury resort in Muscat, marking the hotelier’s first property in the Sultanate, the resort’s CEO told Arabian Business in an exclusive interview.

Saraya Bandar Jissah is a joint project between Omran, Oman’s tourism development and investment arm and Saraya Oman, a subsidiary of Saraya Holdings. It is currently under development and is expected to open in 2017.

Located between the Hajjar Mountains and the Gulf of Oman, 15 minutes south of Muscat city centre and 40 minutes from Seeb International Airport, the resort is the largest single residential and tourism development to break ground in Oman since 2007 and developers are confident it will generate up to 1,000 new jobs when complete.

“Jumeirah Group is a name well-known across the globe for its hotels and resorts. It brings with it a certain expectation – of luxury and world-class service – and this is a perfect fit for Saraya Bandar Jissah. We’re building a new resort community which will create a new, relaxing haven for all who live there and visit,” Sheikh Hamood bin Sultan Al Hosni, CEO of Saraya Bandar Jissah, said in an interview.

“We chose to partner with Jumeirah Group as we share the same belief in world-class service and unrivalled luxury. As the first Jumeirah hotels in the Sultanate, they will provide a new and exciting option for tourists to Oman,” he added.

Jumeirah will operate both the 206-room and 106-room hotels at the two million square metre site, which will include 400 residential properties, a 1,200 sqm Talise spa, a dive centre, a range of sports and leisure facilities and a selection of restaurants, bars and cafes and a kids club.

“We are delighted to have been selected by Saraya Bandar Jissah to operate this resort in one of the most beautiful parts of Oman. As we continue to expand the Jumeirah brand across the Middle East, we bring our exceptional quality of service to loyal guests in new markets, helping them to discover the very best in luxury hospitality and the beauty of emerging destinations like the Omani coastline,” said Gerald Lawless, president and CEO of Jumeirah Group.

The Dubai hotelier currently operates 22 luxury hotels and serviced apartments, including 11 in the Gulf region, six in Europe and five in Asia. A further 15 hotels are now under development.

Saraya Bandar Jissah is part of Oman’s plans to spend more than $50bn on infrastructure in transport, oil and gas and manufacturing in the next few years in an unprecedented spend on big-ticket projects.

Ahmed bin Hassan Al Dheeb, the sultanate’s undersecretary, said the next few years were likely to see some of the biggest investments in mega projects in Oman’s history, the Times of Oman reported.

The full exclusive interview with Sheikh Hamood bin Sultan Al Hosni will be published by Arabian Business later this month.