KEMPINSKI Hotels plans to open luxury hotels and lodges in key destinations in Africa over the next few years.

The company has signed a management agreement with the Simba Corporation for a 200-key hotel in the heart of Nairobi and a luxury tented camp in the Olare Orok Conservancy in Masai Mara, both set to open under the Kempinski banner this year.

Further, the development of the 269-room Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra is well under way with an opening set for the end of 2012. Kempinski also has plans to open a third property in Namibia, a managed residence in Nigeria, a hotel in Angola, in addition to the two properties planned for Kenya and one in Ghana, extending its reach even further into Africa.

Kempinsiki’s expansion in the Middle East and Africa, which saw the opening of three hotels in the region since September 2011, with four more set to open before year end, is part of the overall strategy to double its portfolio to 121 hotels worldwide by 2015.