CHI Hotels to operate from Sharm El Sheikh

CHI signed a 15-year technical services and management agreement with the owning El Salam Company for Tourism Development, led by its chairman, Mr. Salim Hamza El Nasharty, for the operation of the converted and partly refurbished 254-bedroom hotel.

Previously known as the Royal Plaza Hotel since its opening in 2004, the Ramada Plaza - Naama Bay - Sharm El Sheikh is located on a vast tract of land measuring some 11,000 square meters, just three minutes from the town center and 300 meters from the seafront promenade. It also has its own private beach 500 meters away at Sharm El Maya, which can be reached by hotel minibus.

Facilities at the refurbished hotel include a restaurant, piano bar, two swimming pools, a rooftop spa and gymnasium, pool and beach bars, a spacious meeting room, several retail shops, 24-hour room service, and an in-house laundry. Most bedrooms have a balcony and are equipped with satellite TV, minibar, air conditioning, direct-dial phones, and in-room safes. Bathrooms feature shower/tub combinations and hair dryers.

“This is a great step forward for us in the region,” said CHI’s chief executive officer and managing director, Tony Potter. “It is our second hotel management agreement in Egypt within the space of one year and the first time we’re bringing the Ramada Plaza brand into Naama Bay in Sharm. Our other hotel under management in the region, the Tiran Island Hotel, has performed well over the past year, and this has encouraged us to further explore other opportunities in this vastly popular country of Egypt. We now look forward to the opening of our third CHI management property there, the luxurious Corinthia Resort Hotel, which together with the Tiran Island Hotel and Residences, will complete the upscale Corinthia Beach Resort in Montazah, Sharm El Sheikh, offering our guests an unparalleled holiday experience,” concluded Tony Potter.

The Tiran Island Hotel and Residences and the Corinthia Resort Hotel are owned by Cyrene Tourism Investment Corporation of Egypt, headed by its owning chairman and CEO, Mr. H. Mansouri.

Sharm El Sheikh is a city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and has become a leading tourist resort thanks to its dramatic landscape, year-round dry and temperate climate, and long stretches of natural beaches. Its waters are clear and calm for most of the year and have become popular for various water sports, particularly scuba diving and snorkeling, which are considered to be among the best in the world. Coral reefs and marine life, unmatched anywhere in the world, offer a spectacular and dazzling time for divers. All around are Bedouins, colorful tents, mountains, and sea.

Close to the hotel, Naama Bay is the heart of Sharm El Sheikh and features all the amenities one could expect of a top-class tourist resort, including casinos, discos and nightclubs, golf courses, windsurfing and other water sports, horses and camel riding, desert safaris, and nearby ancient attractions. At night, the pedestrian promenade is vibrant with life, there are street cafes, restaurants, and many bazaars selling local products and souvenirs.