Prince Alwaleed: "This is another important achievement for Kingdom Holding Company"
Kingdom Holding Company's (KHC) chaired by HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud announced that the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh was awarded "Best Five Star Hotel" in Saudi Arabia during the Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards 2012. As well, Elements Restaurant received Highly Commended Recognition as the Best Casual Dining Restaurant in Saudi Arabia for its all-day dining and Friday brunch and its offering of three theme nights during the week: seafood, Middle Eastern and Asian.
The announcement was made as part of the Travel and Tourism Investment Market 2012 (TTIM) organized by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). The event was attended by HRH Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, President of SCTA. According to the SCTA, a total of around one hundred thousand votes were cast in the 2012 Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards. Across the 22 sub-categories, there were more than 600 nominations with the most contested category being Best 5 Star Hotel.
The annual event is widely recognized as the region's premier awards ceremony for the travel and hospitality industry, recognizing exceptional levels of quality and service by travel providers across the Middle East.
Prince Alwaleed commented: "This is another important achievement for Kingdom Holding Company."
Receiving these prestigious awards were Mr. Greg Pirkle, General Manager and Mr. Tarek Bekhiet Marketing Director during the award ceremony held at the Riyadh Exhibition Center on Wednesday April 4, 2012. Being one of the most prominent annual awards for tourism and travel in the Kingdom, these awards are measurements of status, which honour the levels of exceptional quality and service for travel and tourism companies in Saudi Arabia.
Following the award ceremony, Pirkle stated that "The awards won by the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh are clear testimonies of the high level of elegance and personalized service provided by the team at Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh through their hard work and dedication. It is a great honour to be recognized as the best 5 star hotel, this accomplishment supports what we strive to achieve on a daily basis." Pirkle added "Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh has introduced numerous new services, in addition to the extensive renovation scheme, which support our commitment to the growth of tourism in the country."
Pirkle also explained the massive expansion and renovation of Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh, adding new levels of style and sophistication. The hotel has successfully completed full renovation of the lobby, Lobby Lounge, guest rooms and suites, landing floors, and meeting rooms, in addition to the opening of two restaurants Elements and Rosso, each with a unique design and concept. In addition to numerous new services such as the 15-minute menu, the new limousine fleet, express laundry, and the female traveller programme.
Since its opening in 2011, Elements has set new standards for casual dining in terms of distinctive quality, greater value, service and diversity. While using the highest quality of fresh products for preparing a wide range of cuisines; its buffet concept features state-of-the-art live cooking stations that provide guests with an interactive dining experience.
Current projects include the conversion of the 48th floor into two floors (48th and 50th) consisting of 45 premium rooms and suites with an exclusive floor for women travellers, an express check-in desk on the 48th floor, a panoramic elevator, a 90 sqm Lounge and a 90 sqm Ladies Gym. Moreover, Kingdom Suite will be the "Signature Suite" of the hotel, situated on both floors (duplex) covering an area of 330sqm. Another project on its way is the reopening of The Grill Restaurant, Scheduled to reopen in mid-2012. Pirkle stated, "This transformation allows us to surpass our prior standards of excellence and assertively position ourselves as the most elegant and stylish hotel in the Kingdom."
The Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh is under the management of Four Seasons in which Kingdom Holding holds a 47.5% stake and is co-owned by Bill Gates' Cascade in which the company also holds a 47.5% stake, and 5% of the Four Seasons is owned by Isadore Sharp.
The Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh was ranked "Best Business Hotel 2010" and "The Best Hotel in Riyadh 2009" according to Business Traveller Magazine at "The Business Traveller Awards 2009 and 2010" ceremony during Arabian Travel Market Conference in Dubai. The Business Traveller's prestigious awards were exclusively based on votes by the readers of the magazine. Also in 2010, Paris's Four Seasons Hotel George V was ranked Best City Hotel Worldwide in the 2010/09 Gallivanter's Guide for 8 consecutive years. George V topped the list of world hotels in that category and was described as "hotel perfection" of hotels.
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© Press Release 2012
