Hilton announces 300-room hotel bound for Erbil

Erbil with its dramatic citadel and picturesque mountain scenery has significant tourist potential.
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Hilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement with the Mihtab Group to develop the first Hilton Hotels property in the rapidly growing city of Erbil, as part of a Kurdistan expansion.

The project will deliver 300 rooms including 30 suites, and a further 10 chalets. The resort will also feature a large health club and eforea: spa, an outdoor and indoor pool and an upmarket retail arcade.

“We’re tremendously excited to become part of its energetic and thriving city community. Establishing a strong presence in Kurdistan supports our ambitious strategy to open a further 40 hotels in the Middle East & Africa within the next four years,” said Rudi Jagersbacher, president of Hilton MEA.

Expected to open in 2016, the new property will be a second for Hilton in Erbil after it announced plans to develop a DoubleTree Suites in the city.

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“As we face a surge in domestic and international travel to Iraqi Kurdistan, the addition of a new property by Hilton Worldwide, and the well-known quality it represents, will be a major boost to the range of hospitality offerings currently available,” said Zmnako Yasin Ismail Qadir, head of Mihtab.

The Hilton hotel will also boast five meeting rooms, two boardrooms and one of the largest multi-purpose ballrooms in the city, with capacity for up to 1000 people.

The property will be located in Erbil’s upmarket residential and commercial district, an area close to the city’s main access road famous for its picturesque, mountainous landscape, and where a number of foreign embassies planned within the next two years.

“Iraq is a significant new market for our brand and we are thrilled to be able to welcome guests to one of the most beautiful and unexplored areas of the Middle East,” said Dave Horton, global head of Hilton Hotels & Resorts.

Leisure travelers are now being attracted by the relative stability and the temperate climate of Northern Iraq as an attractive destination, and National Geographic recently listed Kurdistan in its Top 20 best trips.