Hospitality
Al Safir Hotel, Set To Welcome Guests After Major Renovation
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Mr A Hameed Al-Halwachi
Bahrain Confidential interviews Mr A Hameed Al-Halwachi, Managing Director at Al Safir about the hotel’s renovation.
32 | Bahrain Confidential | January 2013
he ISO certified Al Safir Hotel, in Juffair is opening its doors once again after a major revamp. The luxury four-star hotel has been renovated from scratch and the end result is remarkable! An impressive building and pristine interiors greet us – floral arrangements, one of the hotel-staff playing peppy notes on the trumpet, to mark the festive season, luxurious upholstery, divine photography depicting Bahraini culture, adorning the walls, proactive staff, the works! We ask Mr Al-Halwachi why the management chose to renovate what was already a beautiful hotel! “It’s been twelve long years since we’ve been in the market,” he shares, “it was about time we re-did our hotel, primarily because a substantial chunk of our business comes from accommodation. We’ve had good business over the last decade and renovation would help us provide our guests with better facilities. Mr Al-Halwachi has seen Al Safir grow over the years. He tells us about his role in the renovation project, “When I began at Al Safir, I promised my superior that I’d stay with the hotel for the next 20 years and in these two decades build five hotels. I’m pleased to put on record that, with the help of my dedicated team I’ve managed to keep my word. We have today the Al Safir Hotel, the tower and Grand Safir. God willing, we will come up with our fourth, Safir City which is a five-star, by 2015. We started off in December 1999 with the bare minimum. It’s been challenging to put hotel policies together, recruit the best talent in the industry, set operations in our kitchens and handle the other aspects of the hotel.” Mr Al-Halwachi says, with a smile, that even for the renovation project he has gotten himself involved with almost every detail, even aspects like the colours of