FRHI Expands in Egypt

Sharm El Sheikh // Photo by Daniel Lee via flickr
Sharm El Sheikh // Photo by Daniel Lee via flickr

FRHI Hotels and Resorts, the parent company of the Fairmont, Swissôtel and Raffles brands, just released new details of its tri-brand hotel development in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), and announced it has signed agreements with Citystars Properties for two new projects in the country. 

Citystars Properties, a developer of high quality mixed-use real estate in Egypt, will brand and operate all five projects. The new hotels will more than double the FRHI’s footprint in the country. 

The two new projects include a Fairmont hotel in Soma Bay, south of Hurghada, and a Swissôtel property in Katameyah, Cairo. Both are set to open by 2020. 

Fairmont Soma Bay will have 300 guestrooms and suites, including Fairmont Gold, the brand’s hotel within a hotel concept, and 150 Fairmont-branded residences for sale. Its food and beverage services will offer an all-day dining room, lobby lounge and bar, beach eatery and specialty restaurant. The hotel will cater to both business and leisure travelers, offering 27,000 square feet of meeting and event space, along with a wellness center and spa. 

The new Swissôtel property will have 250 guestrooms and suites, 38 Swiss Executive Club rooms, and 50 luxury residential apartments under the Swissôtel Living concept. The hotel will include several restaurants and lounges, as well as the brand’s signature Pürovel Spa & Sport.

In addition to the two new projects, the ongoing Sharm El Sheikh development, which includes a Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel property, is spread over 7.5 million square meters, and offers 22 kilometers of white sand beaches, an 18-hole golf course, and the largest man-made, swimmable lagoon in the world (as acknowledged by Guinness World Records). The complex was designed by Godwin Austen Johnson.

Fairmont currently operates several properties in Egypt, including Fairmont Nile City, Fairmont Towers, Heliopolis and Fairmont Heliopolis in Cairo.