Carlson Rezidor, one of the largest hotel groups worldwide, is bringing its Radisson Blu brand to Saudi Arabian city of Dhahran as part of its expansion strategy for the kingdom.

The upper upscale hotel featuring 74 suites, is Carlson Rezidor’s first in Dhahran, a thriving business city and a major administrative centre for the country’s oil industry.

Situated on Zaid Ibn Al Khattab Street in the heart of Dhahran, the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dhahran is ideally placed close to both Al Khobar city center and Dammam.

It is located just 40 minutes from King Fahad International Airport, five minutes from the picturesque Corniche and 2km from the bustling Mall of Dhahran.

 Commenting on the move, Wolfgang M. Neumann, the president & CEO of the Rezidor Hotel Group, said: "Saudi Arabia is an important growth market for Carlson Rezidor because of its strategic location in the Middle East."

"With a rapidly growing population of nearly 30 million people, the Kingdom is the Gulf’s largest Arab country with a gross domestic product of more than SR2.5 trillion ($681 billion), making it a highly lucrative market for the growth of our regional footprint," he noted.

"With Radisson Blu Hotel, Dhahran, our portfolio rises to 18 hotels and 3,300 rooms in operation and under development, serving as a springboard for future developments in the area," he added.

Catering to leisure and business travellers, the Dhahran hotel features an outdoor swimming pool, spa and fitness centre. Two fully-equipped meeting rooms are available for a wide variety of events and social gatherings while a convenient lobby café and all-day dining restaurant offer plentiful dining options, said the hotel group in its statement.

Carlson Rezidor currently operates 30 hotels with more than 8,000 rooms across the Middle East and Africa. The sophisticated upper upscale brand Radisson Blu and the dynamic midscale offer Park Inn by Radisson are the group’s core brands, it added.-TradeArabia News Service