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InterCon Doha spruces up

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The InterContinental Doha in Qatar’s capital is investing millions in a major refurbishment of the 13-year-old hotel, according to its general manager Anderas Pfister.

'We are investing $40 million in the property, including a new extension to the existing building, new and refurbished restaurants and a renovated lobby,' he told TTN on the sidelines of the ATM.

'Although we are a successful hotel, after looking at the competition and new designs in the market, we felt a facelift of the property was necessary. So, we are adding an extension to the property, 118 executive rooms and two new restaurants,' said Pfister, who is also area general manager of InterContinental Hotels Group Qatar.

Under the revamp the fish market restaurant will be replaced with a new South American concept down by the beach with the possibility of a beach club, pending approval. Also the Tex Mex restaurant will give way to an Asian seafood live-cooking restaurant. 'The idea is to bring all Asian flavours – Singapore, Hong Kong China, Indonesia, Thailand – into one upscale restaurant. We will also move the Belgium Café into the new extension. This restaurant will accommodate around 400 and include an outdoor area,' he said.

The extension will include an InterContinental branded spa which will have 20 treatment rooms – 10 for women and 10 for men – and high-end products.

In addition there will be 18 new chalets each offering an area of 270 sq m and 78, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 79 to 150 sq m. 'We will brand these as InterContinental residences. These additions will bring out total inventory to 460 rooms over the next one-and-a-half years,' he said.

With the current boom in the construction and the banking industry, the upcoming 2022 World Cup and the opening of the new airport, there is more business coming in, says Pfister.

'We are lucky that we have both business and leisure customers. With the growing number of construction and consultancy companies in Doha, there will be a need for long-stay options, so our chalets and apartments are coming up at the right time,' he said.

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