RAMALLAH, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has opened the 171-key Mövenpick Hotel Ramallah, considered the war-torn city’s first 5-star hotel.
The franchise hotel owned by the local Arab Hotels Co. targets primarily corporate travelers to the West Bank in the Israel-controlled Palestinian Territories. Local officials hope the US$40 million hotel—which took 10 years to complete—succeeds as a symbolic step toward Ramallah’s modernization and peaceful future.
“The past is the past,” General Manager Daniel Roche tells Agence France-Presse. “We believe in the future of the country and the future of this hotel. It’s a beautiful investment and an opportunity for Ramallah.”
The hotel will have to deal with political realities, however, such as deliberate inspections of all imported goods by Israeli authorities. Among other things, this means Mövenpick’s trademark ice cream will not be available for some time.
Hotel amenities include outdoor pool, fitness center, seven conference rooms, an Italian restaurant and an upscale cigar bar.
