DALLAS-BASED Wilson Associates, a leading interior design firm, has been selected to design 19 of the 26 hotels going up simultaneously in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

The hotels are part of a $6-billion redevelopment of Makkah, where the Grand Mosque is visited by more than 65,000 pilgrims from around the world every day.
The hotels are being built by Jabal Omar Development Company.
The US firm will design more than 10,500 rooms in 25 towers, ranging from 20 to 48 storeys, all with views of the city and surrounding holy sites. Besides this, 17 grand lobbies and 40 food and beverage outlets, will also be designed.
Less than 500 days are left to complete the project, the contract of which is put between $15 million and $20 million, by industry experts.
Wilson will assign 15 to 20 designers and a dozen support staff to the project.
The firm has worked on 59 Middle Eastern properties in 15 years. Wilson Associates recently opened its first Middle East office in Abu Dhabi, UAE,  where it is designing two wings in the new Presidential Palace development.