Imagery courtesy of JDAW Consult.

Earning our ‘Project of the Week’ accolade this time is a luxury Hilton resort heading to Hawassa, Ethiopia, on the banks of Lake Awassa near the Amora Gedel National Park.

The five star Hilton Hawassa will be set across a 563 sq m estate in the Great Rift Valley.

Local expertise

Local Ethiopian firm Sunshine Construction is developing this $42 million site, while compatriot JDAW Consult was hired as the architect, with HPM Dubai as project management consultant.

The property will feature 169 guestrooms and villas, with an outdoor swimming pool and spa complex acting as its centrepiece.

In addition to four dining options, including a specialty restaurant and pool bar and grill; the property will feature extensive meetings and events space, with more than 1,000 sq m of ballroom and pre-function area, as well as a further six meeting rooms.

Schedule slippage

The hotel was first announced in 2015, with an initial completion year given as 2020. However, project delays have now seen that stretch to Q1 2024.

At the time, Hilton Worldwide senior vice president of development, Europe and Africa, Patrick Fitzgibbon, said: “With a strong legacy of hospitality in Ethiopia, Hilton Hawassa Resort & Spa will join Hilton Addis Ababa in offering world-renowned service, in this rapidly evolving part of the country.”

Leading Ethiopian position

The chain’s then global head of full service brands, Rob Palleschi, commented: “Having held a leading position in the Ethiopian hotel market since 1969, we are delighted to be continuing our strong tradition of offering guests the very best in hospitality in this part of the world. I look forward to seeing the development progress as we surpass our 50 year African presence.”

Sunshine’s EVP part owner Selamawit Samuel, and part owner added: “We are excited to add Hilton Hawassa Resort & Spa to our hotel portfolio. It will give us geographical diversity in our hotel developments – adding tremendous value as we team up with Hilton.”

Many TOPHOTELNEWS articles draw on exclusive information from the TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database. This subscription-based product includes details of thousands of hotel projects around the world, along with the key decision-makers behind them. Please note, our data may differ from records held by other organisations. Generally, the database focuses on four- and five-star schemes of significant scale; tracks projects in either the vision, pre-planning, planning, under-construction, pre-opening or newly opened phase; and covers newbuilds, extensions, refurbishments and conversions.

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