24 Oct 2009 Press Release
 

The Rocco Forte Collection announces first Cairo Hotel

Aly Abdel Aziz, Chairman of Holding Company for Tourism, Hotels and Cinema" HOTAC"   between Mr. Nabil Selim Chairman of  EGOTH and Sir Rocco Forte Chairman of The Rocco Forte Collection
Aly Abdel Aziz, Chairman of Holding Company for Tourism, Hotels and Cinema" HOTAC" between Mr. Nabil Selim Chairman of EGOTH and Sir Rocco Forte Chairman of The Rocco Forte Collection
  • Text size
  •  
  •  

The Egyptian General Company for Tourism and HotelsEgyptian General Company for Tourism and HotelsLoading... (EGOTHEGOTHLoading...) has appointed luxury hotel group, The Rocco Forte Collection, to manage The Shepheard Hotel in Cairo as a five-star hotel within their renowned brand after assisting in the full renovation of the hotel.

The hotel is owned by EGOTHEGOTHLoading..., a subsidiary of The Holding Company for Tourism, Hotels and CinemaHolding Company for Tourism, Hotels and CinemaLoading..., HOTACHOTACLoading..., one of the region's largest hotel-owning companies that already works with several other leading hotel brands.

The company's plans are in place to convert the 279-room Shepheard Hotel, strategically located along the famous Nile River in the heart of bustling downtown Cairo, to a full-fledged Rocco Forte Collection Hotel after an extensive renovation period

The Shepheard Hotel was founded by an Englishman called Samuel Shepheard Hotel in 1841 and became the leading hotel in Cairo for much of the twentieth Century. The original hotel was destroyed by fire twice, in 1891 and 1952, and then rebuilt on the banks of the Nile in 1957 where it remains operating today.

The Rocco Forte Collection team will take on temporary management of The Shepheard Hotel as of November 2009, running it outside of its main brand. The hotel will then close for total refurbishment and renovations.

EGOTHEGOTHLoading... and The Rocco Forte Collection will start work immediately on plans to restore and renovate The Shepheard to its former glory and make it once again one of the best luxury hotels in the region. George Freeman and Associates of London have been appointed as the interior designers for the project and British company 3D Reid for architecture.

The refurbished Shepheard will emerge as a luxury hotel within The Rocco Forte Collection brand in early 2012 offering 275 large elegant bedrooms, state-of-the-art facilities, outstanding design and the latest technology complemented by the highest standards of service and attention to detail.

Aly Abdel Aziz, Chairman of the Holding Company for Tourism, Hotels and CinemaHolding Company for Tourism, Hotels and CinemaLoading... HOTACHOTACLoading... said "The Rocco Forte Collection is one of the great hotel groups in the world and I am delighted that Sir Rocco and his team, will be helping us to refurbish and operate The Shepheard Hotel. They have a strong luxury hotel brand and it is perhaps appropriate that a hotel founded by an Englishman in the nineteenth century should once again be under English management in the twenty-first century.

"The presence of The Rocco Forte Collection in the heart of the city, paralleled with the extensive efforts to upgrade and improve the entire infrastructure of the industry is an affirmation of our serious commitment to attract new development projects and improve the entire investment environment in Egypt. We are all looking forward to transforming The Shepheard Hotel into a luxury hotel of which Cairo, and Egypt, can be proud and to adding The Rocco Forte Collection to the list of leading international management companies with which we work."

General Nabil Selim, Chairman of EGOTHEGOTHLoading..., said: "The Shepheard has occupied a special role in the life of Cairo and I am very pleased that we are today announcing a new partnership to help us make it a luxury hotel of which Egypt can be very proud. The Rocco Forte Collection has emerged as the winner of a very competitive competition. We have chosen the company because of its commitment to the Middle East; the ability of its brand to deliver global sales and marketing benefits while still retaining the individuality of this very special hotel; and because of its focus on producing a good return for hotel owners. We will commence the renovation program of the 275 room hotel in December 2010 to finish end of 2012"

Sir Rocco Forte, Chairman and Chief Executive of Rocco Forte and Family Plc said:

"This management contract is very important to our company. It is the fourth we have won in the Middle East and North Africa since we announced in 2007 our intention to build on our existing base in Europe. Any company serious about this region needs to be represented in Cairo and we have secured one of the very best locations in the city. We have built a strong luxury brand over the last decade and will work only with partners committed to making premium profits through outstanding service delivery. EGOTHEGOTHLoading... is a very experienced and successful hotel-owning company which shares that vision for The Shepheard and we are delighted to be working with their team and that of their parent company, HOTACHOTACLoading...."

The Rocco Forte Collection's recent win of the management contract for the historic Shepheard Hotel in Egypt builds on the hotel brand's expansion plans in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region. With a foothold now in Cairo, the Rocco Forte Collection has established its presence in the some of the region's most significant markets including the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; and Morocco through its partnership with Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO). The Rocco Forte Collection is due to open hotels in Abu Dhabi and Jeddah in 2010 and a resort in Marrakech in 2011.

-Ends-

The Rocco Forte Collection:
The Rocco Forte Collection was established in 1996 to create a group of luxury hotels in Europe. The hotels have individual styles, with each hotel reflecting its nationality and location. The properties are linked together under The Rocco Forte Collection brand, which guarantees attention to detail, quality and service delivery.

The Rocco Forte Collection comprises 13 hotels and resorts: Hotel de Russie, Rome; Hotel Savoy, Florence; The Balmoral, Edinburgh; The Lowry Hotel, Manchester; Hotel Astoria, St Petersburg; Hotel Amigo, Brussels; Brown's Hotel, London; Villa Kennedy, Frankfurt; Hotel de Rome, Berlin; Le Richemond, Geneva; The Charles Hotel, Munich; The Augustine, Prague; Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily.

Future openings: Abu Dhabi - 2010; Jeddah - 2010; Marrakech - 2011

For more information/images, please contact:
Ibrahim Asran/Shali Akkaraju
The Portsmouth Group on behalf of The Rocco Forte Collection
Tel. +9714 369 3575
Email. trfc@theportsmouthgroup.com

© Press Release 2009

from The Portsmouth Group
x DISCLAIMER

Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.

Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
Access to this article is subject to specific terms and condition.
 
 

Post a Comment

 
  • Comment Title (optional)
  • Express your views or tell us more about this article
  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • Email Address
  • Company Name (optional)
Leave this field empty
 
 
Zawya Comment Policy
 
  1. Zawya encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You agree that when you add content to this discussion your comments will not:
    1.1   Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
    1.2   Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
    1.3   Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
    1.4   Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
    1.5   Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
    1.6   Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
    1.7   Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.
  2. The content posted on www.zawya.com is created by members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Zawya. Zawya reserves the right to review all comments prior to posting and edit or delete any contribution, but Zawya is not responsible for and can not be held liable for any content posted by members of the public on www.zawya.com.
  3. Zawya is not responsible for the availability or content of any third party sites that are accessible through www.zawya.com. Any links to third party websites from www.zawya.com do not amount to any endorsement of that site by Zawya and any use of that site by you is at your own risk.
  4. By submitting your comment, you hereby give Zawya the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comments worldwide, in perpetuity.