Two international hotel chains - Marriott International and Movenpick Hotels and Resorts - make their debut in the Saudi city of Madinah this month.

On November 1, Madinah welcomes its first Marriott property, the 150-room Madinah Marriott Hotel. This is the third Marriott hotel in the Kingdom, the others being located in Jeddah and Riyadh.

The hotel is located just 700 m from the Prophet's Mosque and some rooms have a direct view. Situated on the corner of First Circle Road and Omar Bin Al Khattab Street, the hotel is across from the new Imarah, the new offices for the governor.

The 10-storey building features rooms with varying configurations such as king-sized beds or two double beds. For dining, the Madinah Marriott offers a coffee shop and a fine-dining restaurant.

The Madinah Marriott along with over 2,100 Marriott-affiliated hotels worldwide participates in Marriott Rewards, the guest reward programme that allows members to earn their choice of points or airline miles for dollars spent during each stay.

Marriott International, a leading worldwide hospitality company celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2002, has over 2,600 operating units in the US and 65 other countries and territories.

It operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Ramada International brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club International, Horizons, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Marriott Grand Residence Club brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centres.

Meanwhile, Movenpick's new hotel, the five-star Madinah Movenpick, is to open early this month.

Movenpick Hotels & Resorts signed a management contract with Abraj Al-Mohammadiah for Real Estate Development Company Limited for the operation and management of the hotel, valued at over $50 million, in September.

The 223-room property is Movenpick's second operation in Saudi Arabia, and follows its recent taking over of the management of the five-star Movenpick Resort Al Nawras Island in Jeddah. The hotel is located close to the Green Dome, and within a three-minute walking distance of the Prophet's Mosque.

Andreas Mattmuller, senior vice-president Middle East of the Swiss-based Movenpick Hotels & Resorts says: "I am particularly pleased with this new development, which will now allow Movenpick Hotels & Resorts to create a cluster of hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in line with our development strategy for the region."

The Madinah Movenpick provides 160 deluxe rooms and 63 spacious suites including a Royal Suite. Most rooms have a direct view of the Green Dome and Al Baqie. Hotel facilities include rooms for wheel-chair access, non-smoking rooms, extensive parking area, limousine transfers and VIP services.

The Madinah Movenpick will also be linked directly to a shopping mall, covering an area of 4,500 sq m and consisting of 70 prominent shops featuring international and local brands.

The facility features a Movenpick restaurant serving international cuisine, a lobby lounge offering fresh coffees and home-made pastries and two speciality restaurants - one Moroccan and one Iranian-themed, all offering a variety of culinary experiences and authentic ambience.

Conference and banquet facilities include a large banquet hall with a capacity of 350 guests, and three additional meeting rooms for 15 to 60 guests. The venues are ideal for banquets, prestigious weddings, conferences and seminars.

"The hotel's facilities were designed to provide luxurious comfort and services to the local Madinah community and contribute to making the Madinah Movenpick the most attractive city destination, totally orientated to catering to those on pilgrimage and on business," says Dr Mohammad Al Mutabagani, chairman of Abraj Al Mohammadiah for Real Estate Development Company.

Jean-Gabriel Peres, president and CEO of Movenpick Hotels & Resorts comments: "This is a valuable and important addition to our rapidly expanding portfolio in the Middle East, which recently saw the openings of our new hotels in Cairo-Media City, Beirut, the recent extension of our Dead Sea Resort & Spa, the extension of the Movenpick Resort El Quseir, a new resort project in El Alamein due to open in spring 2003 as well as the recently opened Movenpick Resort Al Nawras Island in Jeddah."

Movenpick Hotels & Resorts is currently represented with 45 hotels in 12 countries and focuses on two hotel types, the business and conference hotel and the holiday resort, to meet the respective specific needs of the guests. The hotel group is represented in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Qatar.