PRS Oberoi, Chairman of the Oberoi Group.

By Anand Holla


With India-based global hotel giant The Oberoi Group opening a luxury hotel in Dubai last year and chalking out plans to manage an upcoming luxury beach resort in Ajman, the charms of Qatar certainly couldn’t have been kept them away for long. The Oberoi Group has now made its way into Doha by entering into management contracts for two new luxury properties in Qatar.
The planning of the projects – a 250 key luxury hotel being developed in West Bay, and a 148 key luxury serviced apartment building located in Lusail – is now underway with the construction all set to begin early next year. Both the properties are expected to be complete in mid-2018.
Voted the World’s Best Hotel Brand by Travel + Leisure, USA, this year, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts are known for their impeccable standards of luxury and service. The hotel in Doha will mirror those very standards, while the Lusail serviced apartments will draw Oberoi’s exacting standards to a serviced apartment residential complex, said a note by The Oberoi Group.
Both Qatar projects are being sponsored by Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company (SAQ). P R S Oberoi, Executive Chairman, The Oberoi Group, who is popularly known as “Biki”, said, “We are extremely pleased to have been selected by the Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company (SAQ) to assist them in the design and management of these two projects and we look forward to bringing the Oberoi hospitality to the Qatar market.”
When asked why his group chose to manage these two new projects in Qatar, Oberoi told Community, “As you know, Doha is a very important location for business and for leisure. We expect both projects to be very successful.”
Oberoi said that that they are hopeful of being able to compete successfully with other luxury hotels in Doha. “Our two projects in Doha are being planned as true luxury projects. We are confident that they will be as good, if not better, then other competitive projects,” he said.
Biki Oberoi is the son of late Rai Bahadur MS Oberoi, the founder of The Oberoi Group. Oberoi is credited with placing Oberoi hotels on the international luxury travellers’ map with the opening of several new luxury hotels in important locations, thus redefining architectural and design standards in luxury hospitality. A key aspect of this is the development of hotels that reflect their environment.
Among numerous awards and accolades, Oberoi, in 2001, was awarded by King Mohammed VI of Morocco the Grand Officer of the Alalaoui Wissam, which is one of the highest awards in Morocco. The award was conferred in recognition of Oberoi’s contribution to tourism and to Indo-Moroccan relations.
Founded in 1934, The Oberoi Group operates 30 hotels, a Nile Cruiser and a Motor Vessel in the backwaters of Kerala. The Group has presence in six countries under the luxury ‘Oberoi’ and five-star ‘Trident’ brand. The Oberoi Group is also engaged in flight catering, airport restaurants, travel and tour services, car rentals, project management and corporate air charters.