Two Golden Tulip hotels in 2014 and 2015

Chain plans to operate three additional facilities

The French hotel management chain Golden Tulip will be adding two new hotels to its local portfolio, said Amine Moukarzel, President of Golden Tulip MENA.

Moukarzel said that the first opening will be Golden Tulip Lili’s Resort in Aley, expected in 2014. “We are currently operating within a preopening period to test the equipment and make sure all the facilities are ready,” he said. The hotel will be a small four-star property with 45 rooms. It will include a spa, two pools (outdoor and indoor), and facilities for children’s entertainment. It will create around 55 jobs, and additional ones during the high season. The owner of the property is a local businessman from the region.

The second property will be the Golden Tulip Ashrafieh Hotel, expected in 2015. The hotel will be close to the Voice of Lebanon Radio station. It will be an eco-friendly ‘four-star plus’ hotel with 76 rooms and suites, as well as business facilities. “We operate a similar hotel in Lyon - France, but the Golden Tulip Ashrafieh Hotel will be the first such one in the Middle East. It is a fully green hotel with a high sustainability approach,” said Moukarzel. The hotel will employ around 75 people.

Golden Tulip is part of the Louvre Hotels group, the eighth largest worldwide and second in Europe. The chain currently operates four properties in the local market: Golden Tulip Galleria in Jnah, Golden Tulip Serenada in Hamra, Golden Tulip Jiyeh Marina in Jiyeh, and Golden Tulip Hotel de Ville near the French Embassy.

The chain has a large presence in the Middle East & North Africa region with more than 50 hotels. Its regional head office is in Dubai.

Moukarzel said that despite the crisis, they are operating with profits. “We have mastered crisis management,” he said. The chain has successfully emerged from crises in Tunisia, Bahrain, and other countries of operation.

Golden Tulip is considering operating three new hotels, which will be revealed at a later stage.