Raffles Resort Marrakech scheduled to open in 2009
RAFFLES HOTELS & RESORTS TO DEBUT IN EXOTIC MOROCCO, ONE OF THE FAVOURITE DESTINATIONS OF GLOBAL TRAVELLERS
SINGAPORE 19 November, 2007 – Raffles Hotels & Resorts makes its debut in fascinating Morocco with Raffles Resort Marrakech, a destination renowned for its mystique and romance. Marrakech has been receiving more tourists per year than any other city in Morocco. Strategically located less than a 3-hour flight from Paris, London and Madrid, and conveniently within 350 kilometres from the main Moroccan cities of Casablanca, Rabat, Agadir and Fes, Marrakech is popular with European travellers. Raffles Resort Marrakech will comprise 150 luxurious rooms and suites, with each room elegantly designed to offer the residential charm and ambience of cultured luxury that Raffles hotels and resorts are renowned for. Residents in search of an oasis of comfort and relaxation can also look forward to residency in one of the 36 luxury villas planned for the resort. When it comes to dining, Raffles Resort Marrakech will offer three exquisite dining options offering an extensive range of cuisines. State-of-the-art conference and meeting facilities, lend the resort well as a venue for corporate meetings and executive retreats.
Residents seeking a rejuvenating spa experience will find the RafflesAmrita Spa at Raffles Resort Marrakech an ideal sanctuary in which to relax and to be pampered. According to an ancient Sanskrit legend, ‘Amrita’ is the gift of living well, sought by deities.
Raffles Resort Marrakech is also a short drive away from the Marrakech-Menara Airport, which is served by several international airlines, including Air France, British Airways and Austrian Airlines.
Said Mr Mohamed Yacoubi, in charge of the Hospitality Division of SOMED, “The name Raffles represents the highest standards of luxury and service, and we are very pleased to be working with Raffles Hotels & Resorts to develop their first property in Morocco, and to bring the mystique and legendary service standards of Raffles to Marrakech.”
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Diana Ee-Tan, Managing Director, Raffles Hotels & Resorts added, “Morocco, with its rich cultural heritage and thousands of years of history, has been attracting visitors in increasing numbers over the years. Tourism revenues remain a top contributor to Morocco’s economy and the vision of the government is to have 10 million visitors by 2010. Raffles is delighted to be part of this dynamic tourism growth and is honoured that our entry into exciting Morocco is with an illustrious partner such as SOMED.”
SOMED, whose principal shareholders are the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and the Moroccan Treasury, have in their portfolio, 7 other properties in Casablanca, Tangiers and Agadir. Formed in 1982, as an economic and strategic alliance between Morocco and United Arab Emirates (UAE), it focuses primarily on tourism, although it has grown to become an integral part of the country’s development as a whole. It has a share capital of nearly 100 million dirhams, and its function is to help grow investment in Morocco from the UAE and other international partners.
