Gulf Construction Online - Exotic retreats

Interiors

Exotic retreats

01 July 2017

S&T executed the turnkey Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort and Spa project, giving it spectacular finishes.

Oman-headquartered Services and Trade Company (S&T) Interiors and Contracting, which this year marks four decades of service to the luxury fit-out sector, continues to build on its success with recent completions in the region having included the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort and Spa in Oman and the Lapita Hotel at Dubai Parks and Resorts in Dubai, UAE.

The Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort and Spa, on the Saiq Plateau on Oman’s fabled Al Jabal Al Akhdar or Green Mountain, is an exotic retreat perched 2,000 m above sea level on the curving rim of a great canyon. Elevated in both location and authentic luxury, Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar is claimed to be the highest five-star resort in the Middle East.

S&T Interiors and Contracting partnered with contracting company Al Jaber Engineering and Contracting (Alec) of the UAE to deliver this striking project, which officially opened late last year. The resort features a total of 115 luxury guest rooms and villas that overlook either the dramatic canyon or tranquil gardens.

S&T Interiors and Contracting’s contract included turnkey construction and high-end joinery and gypsum works for the five-star resort which is owned by the Oman’s Ministry of Defence Pension Fund (MODPF).

Duqm port ... the free zone has attracted $11-billion in investments.

The Lalit Hotel ... a recent project.

Commenting on the project, Waqas Al Adawi, vice chairman of S&T Group, says: “To be part of creating an iconic five-star resort and spa in the Middle East has been an honour and a unique experience. The Anantara project is a true example of our commitment to ‘Turnkey Solutions with a Difference’, providing end-to-end contracting for our clients.”

According to Balakrishna R P, managing director S&T Interiors and Contracting, Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar resort is one of the most comprehensive projects done by S&T.

“It reflects our turnkey contracting capabilities (construction, interiors and procurement), a fruitful joint venture partnership with Alec and proves our ability to accomplish large-scale complex projects to client satisfaction,” he says. “Executing a distinctive project like this reaffirms our ability to manage formidable challenges with tight deadlines and deliverables. We have once again proven our pursuit for excellence and commitment to quality and best creative output.”

Fit-out work for the Lapita Hotel – an Autograph Collection hotel in the heart of Dubai Parks and Resorts – involved provision of full joinery, loose furniture, wall panelling, flooring and specialist finishes. Lapita is a Polynesian-themed resort hotel built alongside the development’s Bollywood Park, Legoland Dubai, Riverland and motiongate theme parks.

Established in 1977 and part of Oman-based S&T Investment Holding, S&T Interiors and Contracting operates across 10 countries in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. It has managed over 150 global projects in the hospitality sector and high-end residential and commercial projects.

Al Burj Lounge at Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar ... high end.

S&T Interiors and Contracting has also worked on other prestigious projects in the region including Anantara Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort in Abu Dhabi, UAE; Dubai International Airport Concourse 3; and the Ritz Carlton Al Bustan Palace Hotel, Muscat, Oman.

Internationally, it has recently completed fit-out of the Mövenpick Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

“This was S&T Interiors and Contracting’s maiden project in Colombo. Launch of the Mövenpick Hotel is a historic moment in the hospitality sector in the country as it is the first five-star international brand to be built in the last 25 years in Sri Lanka,” says a spokesman for the company.

Early this year, S&T also successfully completed renovation and refurbishment of The Lalit, London.

“S&T transformed this architecturally significant Victorian building into the stunning 70-room The Lalit Hotel in London’s Queen Elizabeth Street. This Grade Two-listed property has been painstakingly restored by S&T using the best in British craftsmanship, and combines the finest Victorian architecture with Indian overtones,” he says.

Meanwhile, S&T Interiors and Contracting has won the Silver award for the second consecutive year at the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2017 for its global groupwide HSE (health, safety and environment) initiatives. The prestigious annual scheme is run by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

S&T’s global HSE initiatives included Visual Impact Training (VIT), Care – HSE global newsletter, HSE posters, heat stress awareness training, and emergency evacuation training, the spokesman says.