RIU to open two hotels in Hammamet, Tunisia in 2009

Sept. 16, 2008 - PRLog -- Riu is betting its all on Tunisia, with plans in place for new inaugurations and renovations. The chain has projects for two new hotels in the destination in 2009: the ClubHotel Riu Marco Polo and the Riu Palace Hammamet Marhaba, both located in the popular destination of Hammamet. RIU has also begun a complete overhaul of the Riu Imperial Marhaba hotel, which will have a large thalassotherapy centre as of November, RIU's third in the country, among other services.

RIU's hotels in Tunisia are a complete success with the company's guests, proof of which are the Hotelo de Gulet Prize awarded to the destination's seven hotels this summer by the Austrian tour operator and the Gold Medal Award, British tour operator Thomson's annual prize.

ClubHotel Riu Marco Polo (http://www.riu.com/en/clubhotel-riu-marco-polo-hammamet.html)  will be opening its doors in Yasmnie, Hammamet in April 2009. This 4-star hotel will be RIU's third in Tunisia and its first establishment in the ClubHotel range, the line that caters most closely to young people and families and is known for its first-rate all-inclusive service. The hotel will have 460 rooms and is located on the seafront opposite a beautiful white sandy beach. Guests can also enjoy the marina and the lively variety of the zone’s leisure offer.

The Riu Palace Hammamet Marhaba hotel is RIU's new luxury proposal in Tunisia (http://www.riu.com/en/hotel-riu-palace-hammamet-marhaba-h...). The hotel, which is located on the seafront right on Hammamet beach surrounded by a lush garden, will become part of RIU's portfolio in June 2009. The new establishment will have a main building with 170 rooms, as well as restaurants, bars, meeting rooms and a major thalassotherapy centre. The 200 completely renovated bungalows set in the hotel's large garden brings the total number of rooms in the new Riu Palace Hammamet Marhaba up to 370 in all.

In turn, the Riu Imperial Marhaba has been the object of a complete overhaul in recent months. The work included the renovation of the 272 rooms and bathrooms, lobby bar and bar salon, common areas, gardens and swimming pools, as well as the addition of a new Italian theme restaurant. The reform also includes a new thalassotherapy centre that will open in November this year to become the third in a Tunisian RIU hotel, together with the centres at the Riu Park El Kebir (Hammamet) and Riu El Mansour (Mahdia).

The facilities at the latter hotel, the Riu El Mansour, were totally reformed in 2007, while the hotel Riu Park el Kebir added 61 villas to its offer.

RIU has been present in Tunisia since 1999 and currently operates seven hotels and a total of 1,991 rooms in the destination.

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The international RIU chain was founded by the Riu family in 1953 as a small holiday firm and is still owned by the family’s third generation. The company specialises in sun and sand holiday resorts and 50% of its establishments offer RIU’s acclaimed all-inclusive formula. RIU Hotels & Resorts now has more than 100 hotels in 16 countries which welcome over 2.7 million guests a year. RIU is currently the world’s 27th ranked chain, one of the Caribbean’s most popular, the leader in the Canary Islands’ accommodations offer and the third largest in Spain by revenue and number of rooms.