Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI), a leading hotel investment company in the emerging markets, has announced the opening of a five-star luxury hotel, the Four Seasons Beirut.

The KHI has a controlling 38 per cent equity ownership in the hotel, which is expected to cost $146 million, a company statement said.

The Four Seasons Beirut is located on the corniche in central Beirut and directly opposite the new Solidere marina facilities. The hotel, which has over 47,671 sq m of total built up area, boasts of a 120 m high rise tower with views across the Mediterranean coastline and the mountains.

The hotel comprises 230 guest rooms and suites, four food and beverage outlets, a ballroom, a business centre with five meeting rooms and a spa and health club, which includes a rooftop swimming pool.

With this launch, KHI now has eight Four Seasons hotels operating in its current portfolio across Europe, North Africa, The Middle East and Asia apart from another hotel set to open in Morocco next year.

KHI also owns the Movenpick Beirut, which has seen a strong improvement in trading in the last year.

Sarmad Zok, chief executive officer of KHI said: 'Beirut is a particularly exciting market for us. It has enjoyed a resurgence in travel and continues to be characterized by high barriers to entry. We expect the Four Seasons Beirut to establish itself quickly as the leading hotel in the market and to provide us with returns on capital in line with our targets.'

'We also look forward to completing and opening four additional hotels within the next 24 months in Marrakesh, Accra, the Seychelles and Manila,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service