Dubai’s Rotana to open first Edge...

Rebranded beach hotel to reopen in 2025 with 14 dining venues and five pools

Dubai-based Rotana will open its first Edge hotel in Egypt, following an agreement to rebrand and expand Sea Beach Hotel in the coastal city of Sharm El Sheikh.

This will be the first Edge hotel in Egypt with UAE-based hotel management company aiming to unveil 30 Edge-branded properties in the Middle East by 2027. Once reopened in 2025, it will be known as The Sea Beach Hotel, Edge.

The concept of Edge is group a collection of independent hotels that keep their identity but also benefit from leveraging Rotana’s expertise and scale.

Currently managing a portfolio of more than 100 properties (9,394 keys) across six brands in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Türkiye, Rotana will roll out 43 new properties in 26 cities in the region by 2026.

The Sea Beach Hotel on the Red Sea currently has 470 rooms which are being renovated, plus a new extension is being added for 234 rooms and suites, with work due to be completed in 2025.

The upgraded accommodation will include 14 F&B outlets, five swimming pools, a water park with 28 slides and a 250-metre stretch of beach. There will also be a kids’ club, health centre, sports facilities and conference facilities, as well as a medical clinic.

A popular tourist destination, Sharm El Sheikh offers family-friendly beach escapes, year-round sun and the chance to visit the country’s historical wonders. It is also well known for its diving and coral reefs.

Egypt is a popular destination for travellers from the GCC in 2025 thanks to its climate, culture, relatively weak currency and the long-awaited opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). Slated to fully open its doors on 3 July, the world’s largest archaeological museum complex is home to more than 100,000 artifacts spanning 700,000 years of history.

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

Egypt follows Saudi in driving the Middle East and Africa’s hotel development pipeline, with 5,891 rooms expected to open in 2025, the latest data from CoStar showed.

Kostas Nikolaidis, CoStar’s Senior Account Executive for MEA said Egypt is experiencing “renewed investor interest” after years of currency devaluations. “Foreign investment plans are accelerating with the hospitality sector featuring high on the agenda,” he added.

Hilton is set to triple its presence in Egypt with plans to open 25 hotels across the country, bringing the group close to its mid-term goal to operate more than 40 hotels in Egypt. Marriott is also committed to enhancing its portfolio in the country, recently outlining plans to convert a historic 1940s government building in downtown Cairo into a 500-key Autograph Collection Hotel, the first Autograph property in the country.

Recent openings in Egypt include the world's largest Sofitel, which debuted in downtown Cairo with 615 rooms and suites and sweeping Nile views, and the 255-key Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi.

For more information, visit www.rotana.com

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