Gaza's first five-star hotel offers luxury and hope in the midst of the blockades

Al-Mashtal not tourists, and sits next to a military camp training, but its very existence is a symbol of optimism

With hand-carved bed in the Royal Suite Al-Mashtal is you look directly at the setting sun casting pink and orange hues darkening over the Mediterranean. Below is an expansive terrace with sun loungers scattered wicker sun, generous swimming pool set in gardens with taste.

Six floors down, polished glass shelves line the piano bar. Crisp sheets of calico dress beds, fluffy bathrobes hanging in the shiny bathrooms. The oak reception desk in the vast marble floor lobby of the charming young woman with long hair and a friendly smile welcomes visitors.

It looks like a resort hotel in the prestigious, perhaps, Sharm El-Sheikh. But this city of Gaza, and if you turn your eyes from the setting sun you will see the Hamas military training camp in the neighborhood, which was recently bombed by Israeli warplanes.

Al-Mashtal's first and only five-star hotel of Gaza, an ambitious project in a place where there are no tourists and about 70% of the population lives below the poverty line. After a tumultuous history of the hotel is in the process of gradual opening of the first signs that she faces a difficult future.

Building, renamed the hotel to be operated by Mövenpick chain upmarket, in the end of 2006. A year later, Hamas took control of Gaza after bloody battles with their Fatah rivals, and Mövenpick pulled. The hotel has been preserved.

Then a year ago ArcMed, a Spanish group has agreed to take control and open a hotel. "I came to the hotel and saw the possibilities," said company president Anna Balletbo, whose relationship with Gaza for more than 40 years. "We decided to try it."

In her opinion there were more opportunities for job and training opportunities for the residents of Gaza, than a sober business proposal, though she adds. "Our only condition is to not lose money"

Once cleaned, furniture, appliances, hotel that was damaged during the war in Gaza in 2008-9, has opened 77 of its 220 rooms and two of his restaurants on May 1. He has hired 70 local staff to work with three Spanish manager and began training them to international standards.

Management immediately ran into difficulties with supplies. "Wherever possible we buy things from local market," said Balletbo. "We import only that we can not find in Gaza."

At that time there were long delays in obtaining import through tightly controlled crossings from Israel into Gaza. And when the hotel manager, Rafel Carpinell, wanted to put the duck on the menu, he found that residents of Gaza find the concept of eating birds is unclear. Mussels and mushrooms are also difficult to find.

Carpinell, who previously managed the hotel in Mallorca and in the Dominican Republic, already accustomed to the sound of Israeli air strikes during the eight months he spent in the Gaza Strip. "At first it was very difficult to understand, everything is destroyed," he said. "Now I just pass the days."

In the absence of tourists Balletbo hope journalists, visiting delegations and United Nations staff members will stay at the hotel. There are signs that the rich people of Gaza want to enjoy restaurants and café, and there are already a number of orders for weddings and conferences.

But the pool, which can be a big draw remains closed until management can figure out a way to avoid disturbing the conservative social mores of Gaza. Men and women prohibited from swimming together, and even if the hotel has some days, he has yet to find a way to ofscreening women swimmers from public view.

There was no interference with the hotel of Hamas, said Balletbo. As elsewhere in Gaza is alcohol free. Of the 70 employees, only five women and management has been careful to offer shifts that take into account their needs.

More Source:

Ghost Hotel: 13 Years for Completion - - arabiangazette.com
notesfrombehindtheblockade | Notes from Behind the Blockade
Lauren Booth : Articles, Blog & Thoughts
Blogs – South/South – The New Inquiry

Related News:

Details :
Submited at Tuesday, August 9th, 2011 at 7:00 am on Hotel by admin
Comment RSS 2.0 - leave a comment - trackback

Leave Comment Here...

404 Not Found