[QUOTE=leeky;25690172]I remember they burned the Sheraton (I was down at Shwaibah) but not this one.
Where was it located?
[QUOTE=khabah;25690045]Hi guys -
I know this one's a long way off but after nearly three decades of having left the Kuwaiti market, Hyatt is FINALLY returning with a Grand Hyatt in 2020.
Hyatt originally managed a beachfront hotel in the Al-Bida'a area of Kuwait in the 1980s called the Hyatt Regency Kuwait. It left Hyatt and rebranded before the Iraqi Invasion of 1990 as an independent hotel called Kuwait Regency Palace, which was then burned down and all but destroyed during the Invasion itself.The Iraqis also burned the Sheraton, Radisson Blu and Ramada Al Salam hotels down; they also torched the lobby of the-then Le Méridien [now JW Marriott].
Do you remember where the residential districts of Salwa and Rumaithiya are? The current Regency is located on the seaside just north of Salwa and across from Rumaithiya. It's essentially a major gutting and reconstruction of the bones of the old Hyatt/Regency Palace.
Back to the new Grand Hyatt though: the site is located in Al Zahra, an upscale residential district within five minutes of Kuwait International Airport and just down a highway from downtown Kuwait. The location is quiet but convenient; 360 is a posh mall with the likes of Cartier, Saint Laurent and Gucci occupying prime space with a Bloomingdale's coming next year. I live right behind the construction site so I'll keep a keen eye on the development.
Great news, however; I expect nothing less than the best quality from the developers.
khabah