By Roy Kietzman » Bahrain’s hotel industry is growing, with more than a hundred hotels and more due to change the skyline. In addition there are dozens of attractively furnished flats and guesthouses. Whether looking for a hotel with a beach, one with a wi-fi connection or where you can organise an exhibition or congress, you’re sure to find just the accommodation you want.

You can choose between hotels to luxuriate in or others which are quiet havens with all the facilities and services you’re looking for. Most top-class hotels have business centres, swimming pools and health centres.

Some of the hotels can easily handle modest-sized business meetings, others major congresses with all the demands that such events make.

Bahrain boasts eight five-star hotels though the four-star properties will also have amenities to keep business people satisfied.

Thankfully, five-star hotels have uniform room rates for standard rooms so there’s no need to shop price but look at quality and features, choosing a hotel suiting your requirements.

Rates quoted by hotels usually do not include service charges and standard government levy, which add 20 per cent to your bill.

Featured here are some of the more popular accommodations in Bahrain.

Banyan Tree Desert Spa and Resort, Al Areen

This soon to be opened spa and resort will be the only all-villa private pool resort in the Arabian Gulf and one of the Middle East’s most luxurious hideaways.
The resort boasts 78 luxuriously appointed villas. Each villa, a delectable mix of traditional Arabian and contemporary design, provides a peaceful haven for relaxation and rejuvenation.
With private open-air and jet-pools, oversized infinity bathtubs and sprawling master bedrooms, set amidst beautifully manicured gardens and water features, the villas are the ultimate in desert opulence.
Perfect for the spa connoisseur, the resort boasts the Middle East’s largest spa and hydrotherapy area (10,000 sq. m.), a world first in terms of size, design and treatments. Guests will benefit from the combination of Arabian aromatherapy know-how and the ancient wellness philosophies of the Far East.
The resort offers no fewer than six international restaurants and lounges, providing the diner with a tempting range of possibilities. Taking pride of place is Saffron, the resort’s signature Thai restaurant which floats majestically on a lake.
Banyan Tree Al Areen offers some of the finest conferencing and banqueting facilities in the Middle East, making it the perfect choice for any occasion, from weddings to corporate retreats. All function rooms are beautifully appointed and fully equipped with the latest technology.

The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa

Situated on the north coast of Bahrain, this seven-storey luxury resort, with 245 newly renovated rooms and suites, is located within a 20-acre urban resort complex on the seafront of Manama.

In addition to the main hotel, you can also enjoy panoramic ocean views of the Arabian Gulf from one of 23 elegant and spacious villas. Strategically located along the beach and tucked into lush greenery, the villas provide the ultimate in privacy.

The private beach sweeps around a picturesque lagoon and private island. Among the features you can enjoy are indoor and outdoor pools, a magnificent hammam with plunge pools, steam room and sauna, a gymnasium equipped with cardio-vascular stations, resistance machines and free weights, floodlit tennis courts on the beachfront, an air conditioned indoor squash court and a 22-berth marina.

A selection of eight restaurants and bars offers fine local and international cuisine, while the expansive conference and meeting facilities are equipped with the latest technology.

There is also a fully equipped business centre, with Mac and PC terminals; zip drives, CD writer; laptops, fax machines and printers for hire; desktop publishing services; and multi-lingual translation services. A “Technology Butler” is on-call 24 hours.

InterContinental Regency Bahrain

The Regency Inter-Continental pampers the executive with its summit executive seventh and eighth floors which have a dedicated check-in and check-out service. In the summit executive lounge, an Internet station is featured. Complimentary breakfast, evening cocktails and the executive-floor meeting room with butler service are available.

Suites offer an in-room safe, fax machines, high-speed Internet connection, DVD-VCD-CD player, an impressive mini-bar and electronic key lock. The first-floor business centre has a time-shared office adjacent to three private boardrooms which can be equipped with PCs and the latest business software.

Two hospitality lounges for coffee breaks, business meals and just plain relaxation are opposite the boardrooms. Off the lobby are a number of shops but the heart of Manama’s shopping district is just a few steps away from the Regency.

At the fitness centre, separate ladies and gents’ gymnasiums with sauna and whirlpool are available. The outdoor pool terrace boasts a temperature-controlled swimming pool close to a kids’ pool with its tranquil waterfalls.

An outdoor jacuzzi is part of the health-club facilities. For major conferences, Al Rifa’a Ballroom, with about 800 square metres of space, can accommodate up to 1,000 persons. In addition, five meeting rooms are available, handling up to 100 participants.

Sheraton Bahrain

The Sheraton Bahrain Hotel is a few steps away from Manama’s shopping district. However, the hotel has its own popular shopping wing with dozens of distinctive shops vending everything from antiques and carpets to stylish jewellery and haute couture fashion.

The seventh-floor business centre provides complete services to the demanding businessman: Internet, computers, wi-fi access, secretarial services, photocopying, fax, even document lamination, binding and colour printing. The Sheraton can accommodate meetings from eight to 700 participants in its 13 rooms.

Of particular note is its Awali Ballroom done in a classic oriental style and accommodating up to 300 guests. Overhead projectors, liquid-crystal display (LCD) screens, microphones and speakers can be provided.

Image Spa is a wonderful place to get reinvigorated with its array of head-to-toe treatments. Basically a woman’s spa, men should make a prior appointment. The health club has an outdoor swimming pool and, indoors, a steam bath and sauna.

All guest rooms have safety-deposit boxes, an iron and ironing board and tea- and coffee-making facilities. Deluxe rooms offer DVD players, and, in addition, executive rooms have a fax machine. Public areas, restaurants and rooms have wi-fi access.

Crowne Plaza

The 250-room Crowne Plaza boasts the adjacent Bahrain Conference Centre which has seven meeting rooms, handling from five to 60 participants. The main hall, however, can accommodate a congress for up to 1,700 delegates with teleconferencing facilities. Overhead projector and LCD screens are available.

The hotel has a business centre on the second floor, with PCs, Internet access, scanning and photocopying facilities available. All rooms have an Internet connection and tea- and coffee-making facilities.

At the health club, two squash courts and a tennis court are available in addition to a swimming pool, sauna, steam bath and jacuzzi. Whether working out in the fitness centre or on the court, guests enjoy relaxing in Tracks, a sports outlet with a menu for the health conscious.

Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel, Residence & Spa

All rooms at the 246-room Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel have an Internet connection and tea- and coffee-making facilities. Suites are equipped with a VCR. Nine meeting rooms can handle 15-30 participants but the Grand Ambassador Suite accommodates 500 delegates.

The ballroom can be divided into four subsections, each handling 100-200 participants. Ample foyer space exists to have an exhibition outside the meeting area. A sauna, steambath, jacuzzi, massage salon, two tennis courts and two squash courts as well as a swimming pool are part of the fitness-club offer.

Gulf Hotel

The Gulf International Convention and Exhibition Centre is the crown jewel in the facilities at Gulf Hotel. At the centre, a meeting of 20 participants or a congress for 2,500 can be accommodated and boasts the Middle East’s largest rear-projection system as part of its audio-visual equipment as well as satellite conferencing facilities.

GICEC has total surface space of 4,780 square metres, 1,604 sq. m. in the main Al Dana Hall which could handle 75 stalls for an exhibition. Power-supply units, light rigs, a built-in stage, catwalk facilities and retractable partitions for dividing up the hall into separate conference areas are all available.

Equipment for simultaneous translation into three languages for 100 delegates is available. In addition, you can have tele- and video-conferencing, closed-circuit TV and mobile audio-visual systems.

At the hotel itself, Awal Ballroom has space for up to 700 for a major conference along with a 2,580 sq. m. exhibition area.

The business centre facilities include access to secretarial services and use of boardrooms. A private check-in at the sixth-floor executive lounge is provided for executive-floor guests.

Airport-hotel transfers are made by limousine. Rooms are equipped with a computerised electronic safe, fax machine, direct telephone/fax line and VCR player.

A complimentary breakfast buffet or Japanese breakfast is served and a personalised butler service is provided. The spouse stays free in the same room, and a late check-out can be arranged, subject to availability, up to 6 pm.

Moevenpick Hotel Bahrain

Bahrain’s first hotel with wi-fi facilities, Moevenpick Hotel is ideal for the business traveller. Just beyond the airport, the five-star hotel has more style and class than the conventional airport property.

In addition, a business centre has Internet, fax, B&W or colour photocopying and a small meeting room for two to seven persons.

All suites at the hotel have a fax and printer and all rooms are soundproof and have a minibar and safe. Three-quarters of the rooms overlook the lagoon and pool. The pool, referred to as an “infinity” pool, is considered one of the largest in Bahrain with 580 square metres and gives the impression of blending right into the lagoon.

Moevenpick offers five meeting rooms which can accommodate up to 40 participants to a room.

LCD screens and overhead projectors are available along with flipcharts and technical equipment. The hotel has a new, fully outfitted ballroom. 

Moevenpick also has a gymnasium.

Golden Tulip Hotel

The  two tennis and badminton courts at the 250-room Golden Tulip Hotel help guests to work off the stress. During those hot months, the water in the swimming pool is chilled but heated in winter.

Two plunge pools (or jacuzzis), a sauna, steambath and workout room are also available in the health club. A business centre provides a computer with Internet access, secretarial services and faxes.

All rooms offer safety-deposit boxes.

Five meeting rooms can handle up to 25 participants each though the entire ballroom, which can be divided into three sections if required, accommodates 400 persons for a conference. An overhead projector and LCD screen are available for meetings.

Mercure Grand Hotel Seef

Mercure Grand Hotel Seef boasts 120 suites at BD80 for a double. The penthouse has a breathtaking vista from the 14th floor of Manama and the northern shores and bays of the Gulf.

The hotel is located in the heart of the burgeoning business and shopping precinct of Bahrain, just across the highway from Bahrain International Exhibition Centre and smack dab next to the handsome Al A’ali Shopping Complex. Two meeting rooms, with overhead projector, LCD screens and Internet connections, can each accommodate up to 100 participants.

Suites include a high-speed Internet access port, a personal safe, DVD players, stereo system as well as coffee- and tea-making facilities. A business corner has Internet, printing and other facilities. At the summit of Mercure is a workout room, swimming pool and sauna.

Al Safir Hotel & Tower

Al Safir Hotel has a cyber-café where Internet stations are available with BD2 per hour rates including bottomless coffee and tea service. 

Two boardrooms can handle 10 to 20 delegates while the ballroom itself accommodates between 150 and 200 people for large conferences.

Overhead projectors and an LCD screen are available.

The hotel has 120 rooms and suites at BD30 (single) and BD35 (double). A jacuzzi and swimming pool are available.

An adjacent tower has more extensive health and fitness facilities as well as perks for business guests.

Ramada Hotel

The Ramada Hotel, located on the outskirts of the popular Adliya restaurant-café-nightspot precincts, has become a favourite home to business people visiting Bahrain. Located across from the Prime Minister’s court, the hotel has 123 rooms including a meeting room accommodating 25 participants.

Le Rendez-vous conference room can handle 60 delegates and is equipped with an overhead projector. The business centre has an Internet connection but fax, photocopying and scanning are also available from the reception or executive offices.

A swimming pool, mini-gym and a massage centre for men help guests relax after a stressful day.