PROPERTY NEWS

Many years of neglect by its original owner seem now forgotten as a new hospitality facility has risen from the ashes of the former FESTAC ‘77 Hotel, which at a time was also called Durbar Hotel, in Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos State.

This time around, the newly refurbished hospitality facility is known as the Golden Tulip FESTAC Lagos, the only such facility in Nigeria under the internationally renowned Golden Tulip Hospitality Group.

The hotel is now open to the public, offering exquisite Mediterranean and African cuisines in line with its catch phrase of "international standards, local flavours."

The four-star hotel is situated on seven hectares of land site in a secure and serene environment, complemented by landscaped gardens.

Its strategic location makes it easily accessible from different parts of Lagos and is only 30 minutes drive away from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport and 15 minutes drive from the city centre.

The facility has 471 exquisitely furnished rooms and suites on eight floors, providing solutions to the accommodation and conference requirements of prospective guests. All the rooms and suites have Internet connectivity.

The General Manager, Golden Tulip FESTAC Lagos, Mr. Sadiq Kahn, said, "Other facilities include bars with two different styled restaurants offering Mediterranean and local cuisines, 24-hr room service and WI-FI Internet facility in all hotel outlets. The 1,000-square metre conference centre has ultra modern and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities."

Other facilities in the hotel are seven meeting rooms with various sitting capacities and a business centre. The leisure and fitness facilities include fully equipped gym with a room for aerobics, a massage room, sauna, steam bath, outdoor adult and children sparkling swimming pool, two floodlit tennis courts as well as twin squash courts, all in a secured environment with 24-hour police patrol and in-house security presence as well as CCTV cameras and monitors.

The facility also boasts of in-house laundry and dry cleaning services, jogging tracks, sauna and steam bath facilities, seven hectares of exotic tropical garden, two in-lobby ATM machines, four gifts and amenities shops and an in-house clinic.

The hotel also comprises 12 banquet and conference rooms varying from 25 square metres to 45o square metres.

Khan said that hotel derived strength from a sound management team whose motivation, professionalism and spirit of innovation represented her greatest asset when it comes to meeting and exceeding customer expectations.

The Sales and Marketing Manager, Mr. Emmanuel Ele, said, "The Golden Tulip Hospitality Group has more than 780 hotels with 75,000 rooms in over 50 countries worldwide with the group head office in Lausanne, Switzerland, offering services in the middle, upper and luxury scales.

"It is also a major player in the global travel and tourism industry. The Group is also a benchmark in services for companies and public institutions. Presently, the Golden Tulip Group has hotels spread across countries in Africa."

The former Durbar Hotel was acquired by a consortium led by UAC Property Development Company Plc in 2002 from the Federal Government through the assistance of the World Bank‘s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation.