The Rosewood Al Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh, has revealed plans to overhaul all its restaurants at the end of 2012, in a bid to ramp up its reputation as the number one gourmet destination in Saudi Arabia. The hotel, which relies on over 50% of its revenue to come from F&B, will tighten concepts and transform ‘international continental’ offerings into defined Japanese and grill restaurants.

Erich Steinbock, regional vice president and managing director, said: “The hotel is 12 years old and we know the tastes of the market have changed. Some of our concepts have become diluted – they’re still doing well – but they need tweaking.”

The renowned Globe restaurant, which is situated in a three-storey glass dome, will be transformed into a Japanese ‘experience’ serving traditional Japanese fare with the emphasis on high quality produce. The restaurant will have its own elevator, redesigned to match the restaurant’s interiors, with a private entrance on the ground floor – meaning guests won’t have to walk though the hotel to reach the restaurant.

Cristal will turn into a grill – serving grilled meat and fish, with the emphasis on simple, high quality food. Il Terrazzo, the Brazilian restaurant, will lose its African influence, and go back to serving traditional Brazilian meats and salads.

The Tokyo-based design company, Super Potato, has won the contract to redesign all the restaurants.

“A lot of our F&B revenue comes from banqueting,” Steinbock went on to explain. “We can seat 5,000 in-house for corporate events, shows and royal weddings. However, if the restaurants do better, the banqueting will do better – they go hand-in-hand.”

Source: hoteliermiddleeast.com

Researcher: Nic, D2