Another year, another new project.

Well, not so much new, but this particular icon needed a lot of work done: the Radisson Blu Hotel Kuwait, formerly known as the Radisson SAS, closed on December 23, 2010 to spend the entirety of 2011 undergoing a full reconstruction and renovation in order to shift from a faded, dated building to a modern, cleaner symbol of hospitality. Interesting note: the hotel was the first SAS hotel to open outside of Scandinavia when it was launched in the early 1980s.

The scope of the project involves the following:
- Reconstruction of the main hotel building and entrance
- The addition of a new top floor on the main building housing a sky lounge with panoramic sea views
- Redesign and refurbishment of the lobby, corridors and public spaces
- Complete overhaul of all guest rooms and suites
- Renovation of the Al Bustan and Peacock restaurants
- Renewal of ballrooms and meeting facilities in the main building

During the course of the renovation, the hotel will keep the Al Hashemi ballrooms/meeting facilities open, as well as the Rangoli [Indian] and Al Boom [steak/seafood] restaurants. The Peacock's menu, despite popular rumors floating about, will NOT be transferred to Rangoli while the main restaurant itself is redone; instead, Rangoli will feature a buffet in the vein of the all-day Al Bustan restaurant. The Royal Viking Club and all of its facilities will also be open during the process.

The hotel is due to reopen during the first half of 2012.

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who are the consultants and contractors involved with this project's renovation?

Amazing design, but i'm not sure about keeping the Al-Hashemi..

The hotel is due to reopen during the first half of 2022.
Just in time for Qatar's world cup. :D

المشروع شغالين فيه أكيد ؟؟ اليوم شفت مكانه عند ارابيلا

The renovation is officially in action.

Workers removed all hotel signage from the building's exterior in the first week of January, and have now begun to empty out and demolish the rooms.

Attached below are photos of the project's progress, courtesy of the hotel's dedicated Facebook group. They're going to set up a live webcam soon, and have already established their own channel on YouTube [RadissonBluINKuwait].

Good luck, Blu!

CT

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by Radisson Blu Hotel

is the ship ( hashemi) still there? it was there about a month back hope it remains

is the ship ( hashemi) still there? it was there about a month back hope it remains

unfortunately not any more they dismantle the ship and they are using the wood as scaffold

http://www.texastexas.com/images/kuwait/aroundtown/dhows/Al_boom/dowinside2.jpg


















April Fools :lol:

nooooooo! that was one of my favorite landmarks in Kuwait but why did they dismantle it?

^^

Yeah, what retards. Why would you spend all that effort to build the largest dhow in the world and then dismantle it? For scaffolding?! Leish, did the world run out of wood? If they're being this cheap with the scaffolding, god knows what they're skimping on in the hotel itself.

With the new look of the hotel, it would have looked very weird, and unpleasant to the eye.. i think they did the right, it would've looked out of place as it did.

it was built in 2000 and was very beautiful from outside and inside! its like chopping the giant red wood tree for a toothpick !

LOL, apparently its skouli's April fools !

unfortunately not any more they dismantle the ship and they are using the wood as scaffold

April Fools :lol:
Well, you certainly fooled ME!!!

Skoulikimou, it is a late April fool. please for next year make it on MAY :P :S,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Thank GOD I didn't tell anyone !!! I was about to explode regarding this topic !!

Good one Skoulikimou, But next year I'll bring my own April Fool to this lovely forum :D. hell yeah am good at it :).

And yes a lot of creepy smiles :S

good one skoulikimou i had a doubt they were gonna do it but i was carried away by the pic!