Latest news with #Steigenberger
Zawya
29-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Honouring 95 years of steigenberger: H World International showcases legacy and bold expansion plans at ATM 2025
H World International highlights regional expansion plans across the Middle East, Africa, and India by 2028 Dubai, UAE, H World International, a leading global hospitality management group, is proud to commemorate the 95th anniversary of its flagship brand, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, a legacy rooted in culture, hospitality, and innovation. As part of this momentous occasion, the Group will showcase nearly a century of hospitality excellence at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025, unveiling a dedicated booth that pays homage to the brand's origins while celebrating its evolution into one of the world's most recognised hotel names. From its humble beginnings in Germany 95 years ago, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts has become synonymous with timeless luxury, authentic experiences, and a deep connection to place. The brand continues to elevate every moment for its guests, blending cultural richness with modern curiosity. 'We are proud to celebrate 95 years of Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, a brand that has stood the test of time,' said Siegfried Nierhaus, Vice President and Head of Business Development of H World International for the Middle East, Africa, and India. 'Our participation at ATM 2025 is more than a showcase; it is a celebration of our journey, experiencing the Steigenberger brand grow to a globally admired symbol of hospitality. As we look ahead, we are excited to continue our expansion across key growth markets, bringing the Steigenberger experience to even more guests across the Middle East, Africa, and India.' As part of its regional growth strategy, H World International is targeting the opening of several new hotels across the Middle East, Africa, and India by 2028. The Group's presence will grow across the UAE, Oman, and Egypt, with additional properties scheduled to launch in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The expansion reflects rising demand from both leisure and business travellers in the region, particularly from key source markets such as Germany, and China. In Egypt, where the brand already operates 16 hotels and six Nile cruise ships, Steigenberger will further strengthen its presence with the highly anticipated opening of the new five-star luxury wellness retreat, Steigenberger Resort Saint Catherine, in Q4 2025. Set in the heart of the Sinai Peninsula, this sanctuary-inspired destination will offer a blend of wellness, heritage, and spiritual reflection, a retreat that redefines luxury against the backdrop of one of Egypt's most sacred landscapes. Other upcoming additions include the Steigenberger Resort Ayalora, Residence and Spa on the northwestern coast of the Red Sea and the Steigenberger Resort Lakeside Byoum – Fayoum. Together, these properties reaffirm H World International's commitment to curating culturally rooted, immersive travel experiences that go beyond the ordinary. As Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts celebrates 95 years of hospitality excellence in 2025, H World International invites partners, travellers, and stakeholders to honour its rich heritage while shaping the future together. With a focus on legacy, innovation, and immersive storytelling, H World International's presence at ATM 2025 will serve as a dynamic tribute to a brand that continues to define the art of hospitality. About H World International H World International combines the strengths of seasoned brands with international hotel expertise. The company is represented in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa, as well as in the Asia-Pacific region, and is advancing expansion with a balanced blend of lease, management, and franchise hotels. Eight unique brands are united under the umbrella of H Rewards – the consumer-focused and simple booking platform and unique loyalty program with more than 270 million members worldwide. H World International is part of H World, one of the world's largest and fastest growing hotel groups. Further information is available at Steigenberger Icons are extraordinary hotels that combine unique historical value with modern concepts. At Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, guests enjoy an unforgettable and top-class hotel experience. Jaz in the City is a lifestyle brand concentrating on music: always in sync, lively, and unique. House of Beats supports local heroes and is an innovative brand with an uncompromising community approach. IntercityHotel is synonymous with flexible mobility and central locations and offers high standards for design and comfort. Maxx stands for what is most important in the mid-scale range of the market. Zleep Hotels offer Danish design, quality, and Scandinavian simplicity at an affordable price. Ji Hotel serves guests with a reserved eastern aesthetic, well-designed technology, and plenty of room for individuality. Book your stay at
Trade Arabia
28-04-2025
- Business
- Trade Arabia
H World International showcases legacy, expansion at ATM
H World International is celebrating the 95th anniversary of its flagship brand, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025. The group will showcase nearly a century of hospitality excellence and unveil a dedicated booth to honor the brand's origins and its evolution into one of the world's most recognised hotel names. Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, originating in Germany 95 years ago, is known for its timeless luxury, authentic experiences, and deep connection to place, blending cultural richness with modern curiosity. 'We are proud to celebrate 95 years of Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, a brand that has stood the test of time,' said Siegfried Nierhaus, Vice President and Head of Business Development of H World International for the Middle East, Africa, and India. 'Our participation at ATM 2025 is more than a showcase; it is a celebration of our journey, experiencing the Steigenberger brand grow to a globally admired symbol of hospitality. As we look ahead, we are excited to continue our expansion across key growth markets, bringing the Steigenberger experience to even more guests across the Middle East, Africa, and India.' As part of its regional growth strategy, H World International is targeting the opening of several new hotels across the Middle East, Africa, and India by 2028. The Group's presence will grow across the UAE, Oman, and Egypt, with additional properties scheduled to launch in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The expansion reflects rising demand from both leisure and business travellers in the region, particularly from key source markets such as Germany, and China. In Egypt, where the brand already operates 16 hotels and six Nile cruise ships, Steigenberger will further strengthen its presence with the highly anticipated opening of the new five-star luxury wellness retreat, Steigenberger Resort Saint Catherine, in Q4 2025. Set in the heart of the Sinai Peninsula, this sanctuary-inspired destination will offer a blend of wellness, heritage, and spiritual reflection, a retreat that redefines luxury against the backdrop of one of Egypt's most sacred landscapes. Other upcoming additions include the Steigenberger Resort Ayalora, Residence and Spa on the northwestern coast of the Red Sea and the Steigenberger Resort Lakeside Byoum – Fayoum. Together, these properties reaffirm H World International's commitment to curating culturally rooted, immersive travel experiences that go beyond the ordinary. -TradeArabia News Service
Mada
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Mada
Museum, market and a missing C: My visit to Art Cairo 2025
I had barely stepped into Art Cairo 2025 (February 8-11, 2025) when the first work struck me: 'This is an early Inji Efflatoun!' It felt like running into a long-lost friend, though I had never seen the painting in real life before. The 1941 piece was unmistakably from her dark surrealist period — the kind of work that has resurfaced in recent years with the renewed interest in Egyptian surrealism. Beneath it was another painting from her prison years (1959-1963). While I could date both, the labels did not bother to provide that historical context. I turned around, and there, to my left, was a large-scale painting by Tahia Halim (1919-2003). Another corner, and suddenly, an iconic Zeinab Abdel Hamid drawing — a study for her famous aerial view of a teeming street. My eyes did a full sweep of the booth: Naima Shishini (1929-2018), Gazbia Sirry (1925-2021), Marguerite Nakhla (1908-1977), Amy Nimr (1898-1974), Menhat Helmy (1925-2004) — a roll call of Egyptian women artists. My eyes glazed over, and I started taking photos of each work — panicked art historian behavior. Who knows when these works will next appear, and where? Then, a wave of terror. Who owned these works? And why were they on sale? Before I could spiral into full-blown panic, the booth attendant intervened: 'No, no, we're not a gallery. We're the museum.' 'The museum?' I blinked. 'Yes, the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art.' 'At the Opera House?' 'Yes.' It took a moment to recalibrate. The museum dates back to 1928, when the Société des Amis de l'Art, chaired by Mahmoud Khalil, organized its first landmark exhibition, L'Exposition d'Art Français au Caire: 1827–1927, which became the museum's foundation. Over the years, the museum has been relocated several times: it was demolished in 1962, where the Steigenberger now overlooks Tahrir, and its collection was stored in Dokki for decades before reopening at the Opera House in 1991. While it is now open to the public, it had been closed for a couple of years, for another round of renovations, which were, predictably, subpar. Ironically, the museum's display at the fair was far better than its actual premises. The Museum of Modern Egyptian Art had been given a booth, side by side with commercial galleries (25, to be precise), at a fair where art was being sold — an odd, albeit novel arrangement. But why? 'Because people don't know the museum,' the representative attending the booth explained. I looked around for a brochure, a book, something to frame this as a pedagogical effort rather than a peculiar sales pitch. Nothing. Just paintings. This is the sixth edition of Art Cairo, held this year at the Grand Egyptian Museum. The fair is the realization of the vision of Mohamed Younis, management consultant and founder of Azad Gallery in Zamalek (established two years prior to the fair), who saw an opportunity in 2019 to create an international art fair in Egypt. Open to the public, with VIPs comped and visitors paying LE350 per ticket, the fair sprawls across three halls. The museum booth was the first — pleasant — surprise, followed by three others that stood out: one dedicated entirely to Egyptian artist Samir Rafei (1926–2004); another run by a Lebanese gallery showing a small selection of Egyptian work, including two exquisite watercolors by Samuel Henry, who converted to Islam in 1961 and became Adam Henein (1929–2020). The works have a bit of a shrouded history. I learned informally through conversations that they were drafts for a commission of icons (which was later retracted) for the Coptic Church of the Virgin Mary on Marashli Street, designed by Ramses Wissa Wassef. Titled Samuel and Jesus, the works are delicate, ethereal icon-like studies of figures in soft washes of color, with precise feature details — reminiscent of the finely rendered hands in frescoes from Akhenaten's era. Did I want to buy them? A portion of the sales would support young Lebanese artists. The third booth presented itself as part of a new initiative by collector Rasheed Kamel, titled Through a Collector's Eye, which will rotate works from private collections at Le Lab, a contemporary and collectible design gallery, as well as in future editions of the fair, showcasing an array of works 'from the SWANA region.' The works on show included two pieces by Effat Naghi (1905-1994) and Hamed Abdalla (1917-1985). With trepidation, I reflect on the corpus of Egyptian modernism, often wondering about the swift shifts in provenance, the continuous absence and disappearance of its works from public collections. In this sense, I share the sentiment of concern and 'cultural obligation,' the term used to describe the mission driving Kamel's initiative. By this point, my initial excitement was beginning to settle. The displays — not all, but most — were roughly mounted. Paintings were hung slightly off-kilter, lighting was haphazardly angled, casting stressful reflections on the works. And my personal pet peeve? Badly transferred vinyl lettering. If you insist on a dramatic label, 'Egyptian Surrealism Icon' (Rafei), at least make sure it's straight. Still, for those works alone, the fair was worth visiting. Beyond these highlights, the fair unfolded with galleries from Cairo, as well as Ramallah, Jordan, Damascus, Dubai and others hailing from Europe. Some were familiar, but most were not. Many galleries — Egyptian especially — leaned into an effort to showcase 1990s-born artists, though, regrettably, none stood out. Much of the work felt overdesigned, packaged for sale. A genre that appears is necessary, because it weans neophyte collectors into buying at a lower price point, but much of it I simply classify as counterfeitish modern art. Booth attendants hovered, price lists at the ready, before you could even make eye contact with a painting. It felt like a date coming on too strong. Familiar motifs abounded — plenty of ancient Egyptian references, inevitable homages to Egypt's cultural icons (Umm Kulthoum, naturally, again and again). Some works verged on the derivative, conveniently reminiscent of artists like Helmy El-Touni, friendly attempts but paling in comparison to a few of the original works also on show (returning to the first booth). Curiously, there was an abundance of sarcophagus-themed works. Then there were the tiny but very unfortunate mishaps, like the only Syrian gallery accidentally omitting the letter 'C' from Damascus on its signage. I am not its audience, but the language used is steroidal — glitzy AI-esque. What is 'an unrivaled chorus of history' and an 'experience that melds venerable wisdom with dynamic energy'? The fair, as self-proclaimed, definitely leans into 'a sensational fusion of history and contemporary art.' Then there's even more overkill fodder, like the fair being dedicated to hashtag peace-to-all-nations, olive trees, border transcendence, vague solace and connection — are they trying to allude to Palestine without mentioning it? There is an accompanying program — not very exciting to me — though I commend the effort of streaming the talks live on Instagram. I tuned into one while stuck in traffic once. The atmosphere? A steady crowd drifting through to soft electronic music for lounging. Young couples with strollers, a new class of collectors, moneyed. The energy was carefully curated, even if the fair itself felt like it was still finding its footing — awkward and ambitious. Oh and, tucked away where everyone is absolutely going to miss it, there is a series of ten paintings by young teens — some of the most authentic flickers of work — odd, quirky. A cross in a house, surrounded by black and blue flying fish. An awkward apologetically smiling earth-like head of a bureaucrat holding an ankh like a microphone. A parachute lifting off with a parcel. The works, created through a community art workshop, were planned in collaboration with Alwan wa Awtar, a Moqattam-based NGO that has spent the last 20 years using art as a critical tool to break the poverty cycle for underprivileged youth. Subtle and unexpected, they were a weird reality-check.
CairoScene
10-02-2025
- CairoScene
This Hotel in Alexandria Once Played Host to Al Capone & Om Kalthoum
Built in 1929, Alexandria's Cecil—now Steigenberger—once played host to Winston Churchill, Al Capone, Agatha Christie, and more. Anyone who has walked the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, on a calm breezy Friday morning can attest to this: the city breathes history, pulsates with the air of a bygone era, and evokes an almost surreal sense of being thrust into the yesteryears of the 20th century. Besides the siren song of the Mediterranean, and the pleasantly incessant coos of its avian residents, it is the city's standing relics of architectural history that truly make it, well, Alexandria. Prime amongst these wonders of edifice design is Alexandria's Cecil (now Steigenberger Cecil) Hotel. Built in 1929 on the plot of land that once housed Cleopatra's Needles, a pair of Egyptian obelisks which now stand on the Thames Embankment in London, The Cecil Hotel was commissioned by Jewish French-Egyptian millionaire Albert Metzger, who named the hotel after his son, Cecil. Brought to life by Mansoura-born Italian architect Alessandro-Loria, The Cecil was built to embody the Romanesque and Gothic aesthetics of the Italian city of Florence, Alessandro-Loria's home. Today, almost a century later, the hotel's façade has not changed. With five floors of 85 rooms and suites brimming with classical furnishings and décor, the hotel, in its earliest days, saw some of the world's most prominent figures walking down its halls—from world leaders such as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Egyptian King Farouk to globally renowned artists such as Agatha Christie, Josephine Baker, and Omar Sharif, to name a few. Its legendary frequenters were perhaps the reason why British writer Lawrence Durrell chose The Cecil as a prominent setting in his referential Alexandria Quarter series. However, this era of opulence would soon take a turn, and the members of the French-Egyptian Metzger family would find themselves cast away from the palace they had built and called home. In the mid 1900s, during the height of the Israeli-Arab tensions, the Jewish exodus forced the Metzgers to leave the only country they had ever known, fleeing towards England by way of Libya, Malta, and Italy, and eventually settling in Tanzania. In 1952, The Cecil fell into the hands of the Egyptian government as part of the then-widespread nationalisation movement. It was then managed by myriad different governmental agencies. Such was the case for hundreds of Egypt's historical residences. Yet, The Cecil seemed to embody a certain type of endurance, one that managed to ward off unwanted change to its charm. For years, despite operating only as a shadow of its past self, The Cecil stood sentient on the coasts of Alexandria's corniche, where it held its historical prominence amidst both a global and local milieu. In the 1970s, following the death of Albert Metzger, the Metzger family attempted to reacquire their Alexandrian home in a legal battle that would last decades. Eventually, in 1996, the family won the case. However, the ruling would not be carried out, as it was opposed by the government in fear of setting a precedent. The family and the government met in court again, and, finally, years of back and forth trials resulted in the Metzger family getting legal ownership of the hotel, later selling it back to the Egyptian government, ending the decades-long clash. In 2007, The Cecil officially became The Sofitel Cecil Hotel. Seven years later in October 2014, it would be acquired by the Steinberger Group, which still owns the hotel to this day. Rebranded as The Steinberger Cecil Hotel, it still retains the essence of its past—from the mechanical elevator that has become the source of many tourists' instagram stories to the plaques on every room door bearing the names of the celebrities that once stayed within. Though The Cecil has been renovated time and time again, upon visiting, one cannot help but catch a whisper of a conversation held eons ago within the historical walls of The Cecil.
