Qasr al Sharq set for early opening

Jeddah, KSA January 16 2006: Qasr Al Sharq, Hilton's first ever palace property is strengthening its senior management team in preparation of an early March opening, two months ahead of plan.

The 46-all-suite opulent palace hotel, which is located adjacent to the Jeddah Hilton and managed by Hilton International, recently welcomed Mr. Marc W. de Beer as Manager for Qasr al Sharq and Mr. Akram Sha'ar joins as Director of Business Development for the super luxurious property.

"In anticipation of an early opening and the huge amount of interest this outstanding property will generate, it was imperative to develop our key senior management team and solidify our regional expertise while fine tuning the luxury, detail - oriented service that will be available at the Palace," said Hagop Doghramadjian, General Manager for Jeddah Hilton and Qasr al Sharq.

Epitomising a new generation of exclusive, super-luxurious, and unique palace hotels, Qasr al Sharq will introduce unprecedented levels of luxury and service from every aspect of the guest experience.  The property will introduce the region's largest guest suites, the most advanced high tech amenities, a unique personalized butler service, and unimaginable interior design aspects of a most spectacular caliber.

With over a decade of hotel industry experience, Marc de Beer's career began in the food and beverage industry in his native Netherlands. De Beer soon joined the Marriott hotel chain and moved to New York and later to London.

In the mid 1990's Marc moved to the Middle East and joined the Royal Meridien chain where his career as a Food and Beverage Manager advanced rapidly. After a stint in Riyadh, he moved to China where he opened a new hotel and revived an existing one for Marriott International as Operations Manger.

De Beer returned to the region when he joined as Director of Operations, Jeddah Hilton in February 2004, and this led him to the forefront of Hilton's most ambitions project to date with the managerial appointment to Qasr Al Sharq

"It is an honour to be associated with what will become the region's most luxurious hotel.  Levels of service at the palace will be second to none, and will provide a benchmark for the industry - within the Middle East and abroad," said de Beer.

With extensive hospitality sales and destination marketing experience, Akram Sha'ar has been living and working in the Kingdom for over five years and was most recently Director of Sales and Marketing for a leading Jeddah-based tour operator.  He joins Qasr al Sharq as the Director of Business Development, and as such is tasked with cross selling the diverse banqueting facilities of the 414- room Jeddah Hilton with the exclusive services that will be available only through the palace.

"The palace will offer the perfect compliment of high end luxury to large events such as high profile weddings and international conferences. Guests will be able to utilize the Jeddah Hiltons outstanding conference facilities and rooms, while CEO-level executives may wish to indulge and enjoy a stay in  the Palace. Similarly for weddings that take place in the Jeddah Hilton, Qasr al Sharq will offer a convenient first night honeymoon location" stated Sha'ar.

-Ends-

Note to Editors:
Hilton International (HI), an operating division of the UK based Hilton Group plc, owns the rights to the Hilton brand name throughout the world, with the exception of the USA, where the Hilton brand is owned and managed by Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC).

HI currently operates 31 hotels in the Middle East - 17 hotels in Egypt, eight hotels in the UAE, three in Saudi Arabia and one each in Oman and Kuwait. Hilton's heritage in the Arabian Peninsula stretches back over 30 years, when it became the first international hotel brand to open a property in the UAE - the Hilton Al Ain in 1972.

Qasr al Sharq is Hilton's first palace property. New Hilton properties are under development in, Doha - Qatar, Ras Al Khaimah - UAE, in addition to the Arabian Peninsula's first Conrad hotel in Dubai.

Hilton International operates 403 hotels, with some 261 branded Hilton and 142 under the mid-market Scandic brand. Under a joint venture agreement, Hilton International and the North American based Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC) share responsibility for the Conrad brand, which includes 17 hotels in 12 countries.  A global marketing alliance between Hilton International and Hilton Hotels Corporation extends the number of hotels operated by both companies worldwide to over 2,700 - over 500 of which are branded Hilton.

Hilton Worldwide Resorts is an upscale, global resort network with a collection of 57 resorts, located in exotic places, making up the world's largest global choice.  Currently, 36 resorts are operated by Hilton International - including four all-inclusive Coral by Hilton resorts, 18 by Hilton Hotels Corporation and three by Conrad. Hilton International Grand Vacations Company presently operates four resorts in Scotland and Egypt, comprising 271 time-ownership units.

Hilton International employs over 71,000 staff in 80 countries. Committed to doing business in a responsible way, Hilton International's aim is to bring a positive benefit to the societies in which it operates through high quality services, economic growth, environmental protection, community involvement and employment.

For further information please visit our corporate website at www.hiltongroup.com or to download images please visit www.vismedia-online.com

The Hilton Reservations and Customer Care telephone numbers in the Middle East are as follows:
UAE - 8000 20000 11
Qatar - 800 97103
KSA - 800 82000 10 
Egypt - 19009
Bahrain - 8000 4058  
Jordan - 00 202 5805927
Kuwait - 371 1434 
Lebanon - 00 202 5805928
Oman - 800 788788
Syria - 00 202 5805926

© Press Release 2006