Saudi Crown Prince unveils new hospitality brand to revive kingdom’s heritage

Boutique Group, a new hospitality brand, that will manage and convert several historic and cultural palaces in Saudi Arabia into ultra-luxury boutique hotels, was launched today.

Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, announced the launch of the company that will reinvigorate the kingdom’s heritage and culture to create a unique hospitality experience.

HRH Crown Prince announced the launch of @boutiquegroupsa, #aPIFcompany that will develop historical and cultural palaces in the Kingdom into luxury boutique hotels to enhance the Kingdom’s position as a leading tourist and cultural destination.
Read more: https://t.co/vgz7Vjikjq pic.twitter.com/JcLf6pFFle

— Public Investment Fund (@PIF_en) January 20, 2022

The first phase of the project will focus on the development of three historic palaces in cooperation with the private sector. These include the Al Hamra Palace, that will offer 77 keys, including 33 luxury palace suites and 44 luxury villas in Jeddah; Tuwaiq Palace – which will provide 96 keys including 40 luxury palace suites and 56 luxury villas; and the Red Palace, which will offer 71 keys, including 46 luxury suites, and 25 luxury guest rooms.

Both Tuwaiq and Red palace are located in Riyadh. Boutique Group will conflate the kingdom’s culture and heritage with modern amenities to provide an exclusive hospitality experience to its guests.

Boutique Group revives heritage by converting historic and cultural palaces into ultra-luxury boutique hotels. #Vision2030 #aPIFcompany#Boutique_Group pic.twitter.com/aa2dU8Z989

— Boutique Group | مجموعة بوتيك (@boutiquegroupsa) January 20, 2022

The announcement is in lockstep with the PIF’s strategy to focus on promising sectors – such as tourism and hospitality – to support the kingdom’s regional and international position as a tourism hotspot, a statement said.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF, said: “The Crown Prince’s launch of the Boutique Group underlines PIF’s mandate to unlock the capabilities of promising sectors in Saudi Arabia that can help drive the diversification of the economy and contribute to non-oil GDP growth.

“The group will enhance the kingdom’s already unique tourism offerings, strengthening Saudi Arabia’s position as a leading regional and international tourism and cultural destination and contributing to Saudi Vision 2030.”

Saudi Arabia has a unveiled a slew of hospitality projects to underpin the economy and boost its touristic outlook.

Last year, the kingdom’s Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) signed nine hotel management agreements with international brands to operate resorts in the first phase of development at the Red Sea project.

Read: Saudi’s Red Sea project signs agreements for nine hotels with 1,700 keys

Upon completion in 2030, the project will have 50 hotels offering up to 8,000 hotel rooms and approximately 1,000 residential properties across 22 islands and six inland sites.

PIF also said last year that it will invest almost $3bn on Soudah Development, a tourism project in a mountainous region near the kingdom’s border with Yemen.

Read: Saudi wealth fund commits $3bn to build mega mountain resort project, Soudah

Saudi Crown Prince also launched a masterplan to sustainably develop the historical area of AlUla.

Read more: Saudi Crown Prince launches master development plan for AlUla