Meliá Hotels announce intercontinental expansion
Meliá Hotels International has announced the signing of three new hotels: Gran Meliá, Maldives and Meliá Serengeti Lodge, Tanzania set to open in 2017, with the Meliá Almaty, Kazakhstan, projected for a 2018 opening.
Gran Meliá Maldives will be a resort located in Kalhudiyafushi in Thaa, an atoll located 40 minutes from Male International Airport. Scheduled to launch October 2017, Gran Meliá Maldives will function as a luxurious international resort, operated by brands such as Shangri-La, Park Hyatt and Jumeirah.
The hotel will offer 95 private villas, including 100 guestrooms, as well as three restaurants, a bar and café, spa, leisure centre and several retail shops.
Maria Zarraluqui, Director of Expansion for Meliá Hotels International, comments: “Opening a Gran Meliá hotel in the Maldives has been a dream for us for a long time, but we were always waiting for the right project to come along. This hotel meets all our expectations. We are confident that our unique Gran Meliá brand will enhance the magic of these privileged islands, giving a new meaning to the concept of luxury.”
Meliá Serengeti Lodge, scheduled to open in June 2017, will be Meliá Hotels International first state-of-the-art sustainable hotel, located on the southern slopes of Nyamuma with views over the valley of the Mbalageti River. The hotel will be 45 minutes from Seronera Airport in the Serengeti National Park, and on the western border of Lake Victoria.
The resort will sit on three natural terraces that descend from an elevated plateau, with the lodge located on the middle terrace while the hotel’s architectural design will adapt to its environmental surround.
Meliá Serengeti Lodge will boast 50 guestrooms consisting of 25 ‘Meliá Forest’ guestrooms, 23 ‘Meliá Hills’ guestrooms and two ‘Serengeti Suites’. The lounges and restaurants will overlook terraces around an infinity pool with pool bar and barbecue patios.
Meliá Serengeti Lodge will be the first hotel designed to operate remotely, with a total absence of services, creating a sustainable hotel that will depend solely on fossil fuels for emergency energy supply only. The hotel has also been designed with an intelligent approach to insulation and ventilation, with fans chosen to cool rooms over air-conditioning units. Meanwhile, building materials will be evaluated based on the carbon footprint they generate.
The creation of a remote resort requires resources such as photovoltaic panels to generate electricity and accumulators to store the electricity, complemented by a biogas generation system fed by a wastewater treatment plant.
Gabriel Escarrer, Vice Chairman and CEO of Meliá Hotels International, comments: “Meliá Serengeti Lodge is an opportunity to respond to the challenge of offering the ‘real’ African experience that all travellers desire, combined with the safety and comfort of the most exclusive and secure environment. We are also excited to launch our first-ever 100% sustainable hotel through the use of the latest technologies and innovations.”
Meliá Almaty is the first hotel to be signed by Meliá Hotels International in Kazakhstan and is scheduled to open in 2018.
The hotel will be situated amongst the mountains of Tien Shan, Altay, and Ulytau, known for winter sports.
The Melia Almaty will provide 250 guestrooms, including 50 Suites and Junior Suites. The hotel will also boast cutting-edge architectural design through a steel and glass structure that will also home a restaurant, bar, lounge, spa and fitness centre, as well as a series of meeting rooms.
Director of Expansion for Meliá Hotels International, Maria Zarraluqui, concludes: “Meliá Almaty is our long-awaited first hotel in Kazakhstan. We feel Meliá Hotels & Resorts is the right product and the right brand for this city, which will play a key role in the powerful growth of the city.”
