WITH international sanctions against Iran lifted, the country is set to receive its first five-star foreign-run hotel, the Gran Meliá Ghoo, a resort property to be located by the Caspian Sea in the city of Salman Shahr.
Spain’s Meliá Hotels International signed a contract on March 2 with Iranian businessman Ahad Azim Zadeh to manage the resort, due to open in June 2017, and which will be part of a new mixed-use residential and shopping complex.
Gran Meliá Ghoo will be located in a 130-metre tall tower, with 319 rooms and a 500m2 presidential suite. Facilities will include seven restaurants and bars, more than 1,300m2 of conference space, two swimming pools and a spa.
Meliá Hotels’ vice president and CEO, Gabriel Escarrer, said: “We have always been pioneers in the development of new markets for tourism, which is why we take on this challenge, one that is important for the future of the country. We firmly believe in the tourism potential of Iran.”
Iran is looking to boost arrivals from the current five million a year to over 20 million by 2025. Sanctions had restricted foreign investment into Iran since 2006.
