DUBAI, UAE—InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has signed a new franchise agreement with Airport Hotel Limited that will see the Old Manor House at Plaisance Airport become Holiday Inn Mauritius – Plaisance Airport. The 140-room property will be the first Holiday Inn to open in Mauritius and will join IHG’s InterContinental Resort Mauritius, which opened in 2009.
The agreement is a response to the need for a hotel at the airport driven by the ongoing growth of the tourism market in Mauritius. The country has seen a three-fold increase in passenger traffic since 1990. The hotel will help service the increased passenger traffic through Mauritius Airport as it continues to expand into a global business, leisure and tourism hub.
“With a new terminal at Mauritius Airport in the pipeline, the need for an airport hotel has never been greater,” said Jacques Marrier d’Unienville, chief executive officer, Omnicane Limited. “With Holiday Inn, we know we will be delivering a reliable, quality service to visitors to Mauritius. IHG’s consideration for the local environment and the unique qualities of the site such as its mature botanical diversity has also impressed us, and we are delighted to be partnering with them on this exciting project.”
The 20-year license agreement will see IHG redevelop the 3-acre site. The hotel and its grounds will be developed in keeping with traditional Mauritian vernacular in its design and character. Creative use of decorative steelwork combined with hardwood timber shutters and pergolas brings out a distinctive local feel to the architecture.
Facilities at the hotel will include a gym, a spa, a bar lounge and terrace, a swimming pool, a restaurant, five meeting rooms, and a large banqueting room with a breakout area into the garden.
