INTERCONTINENTAL KAMPALA BECOMING REALITY
(An artists impression of the new InterContinental Kampala)
The Intercontinental Hotel Group and owners Kingdom Kampala no relation to the Gulf based Kingdom Hotels Group it should be pointed out are imminently releasing a formal statement on their new property, which is being developed from the ground up at the Shimoni site, a 17+ acres open space at the edge of Kampalas business district and will become the InterContinental Kampala.
The new luxury hotel will have 303 rooms and 34 suites, 6 restaurants and bars, a fully fledged Spa and Health Club, retail outlets and notably nearly 4.000 square metres of meeting and function rooms, making it the largest 5 star branded hotel in the city.
There are presently 171 InterContinental Hotels located in commercial and political capitals around the world and another 60 in the development pipeline, including the new hotel in Kampala. The nearest InterConti has so far been in Nairobi where the brand has generated a faithful following since the 1970s. IHG also operates a number of other brands like Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites, making it one of the worlds largest hospitality management company with over 4.400 hotels and over 650.000 guest rooms in over 100 countries. Another 1.100 hotels are in the development pipeline around the world, expected to create another 160.000 jobs in coming years. The InterContinental Hotels Group is particularly keen to expand on the Africa continent while volume wise the Far East and in particular China are carrying the largest share of the forthcoming expansion drive spread over several of IHGs brands.
John Bamsey, chief operating officer, IHG Middle East and Africa, said on the occasion of breaking the news: InterContinental hotels and resorts are committed to providing authentic luxury guest experiences, which are considerate and comfortable. We are looking to key international gateway cities to expand this brand, and with the rapid growth of commerce and the business community in Uganda, the InterContinental Kampala and adjoining conference centre are perfectly placed to offer unrivalled facilities and service from an internationally recognised brand, such as InterContinental. We are therefore very confident that this will be a very successful hotel and partnership with Kingdom Kampala.
From the owners side it was Mr. Sawan Ravani of Kingdom Kampala who added: The conference and NGO communities have the highest demand for business facilities in Uganda and we therefore believe that InterContinental Kampala, offering the countrys largest convention centre, is the perfect fit in meeting those demands and expectations. We are very happy to be partnering with IHG and look forward to introducing the InterContinental brand, and its exceptional global reputation for service, to Ugandas growing business community.
This correspondent broke the news several months back when reliable information has been ascertained that it was indeed the InterContinental Hotel Group which was going to manage the new hotel, after the construction contracts had been signed and ground was broken, although the formal announcement is only now going out. Watch this space for the most up to date news from East Africas hospitality sector.
One Response
this is the best, i love the IHG group.