JJW Hotels and Resorts to Take Over Management of Le Meridien Penina

16 September 2013

JJW Hotels and Resorts has today announced that it will take over the management of Le Meridien Penina with effect from October 1, 2013.

First published on the Penina Golf Resort website

The hotel has been managed by the Starwood Group and operated as Le Meridien Penina since 2005. Starwood Group and JJW Hotels and Resorts have now mutually agreed to transfer the management of the hotel to JJW Hotels and Resorts. With effect from October 1, 2013, the hotel will be rebranded as the Penina Golf Resort.

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, Founder and Chairman of JJW, said: "The Penina Golf Resort is a very special hotel with a unique place in the history of the Portuguese Algarve. JJW Hotels and Resorts will work hard to preserve and celebrate that heritage and ensure our loyal guests return to the Penina Golf Resort year after year."

The move comes 25 years after JJW Hotels and Resorts' owner, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, first began investing in the Portugese Algarve region.

Sheikh Al Jaber continued: "From my first business dealings in the Algarve in the late 1980s, I have been impressed by the beauty and the culture of the country, the warmth and hospitality of the people. The Algarve represents a key part of my strategy for the growth and development of the JJW Hotels and Resorts brand and I remain very committed to my existing and future investments in the region."

Details of the plan to grow the JJW Hotels and Resorts brand in Portugal will be unveiled in the near future.

In the beginning of this year JJW Hotels and Resorts made an equity investment of 100M Euros in the local economy, which secures the continued employment of 600 local people.

The original five star hotel in Portugal's Algarve, the Penina Golf Resort boasts the region's largest private swimming pool, a nearby airstrip suitable for small aircraft and a private beach area, in addition to two 18-hole golf courses with the superb golfing facilities, which have resulted in the resort being chosen to host the Portuguese Open on numerous occasions.

JJW Hotels and Resorts also own and operate the Dona Filipa Hotel and San Lorenzo Golf Course, Pinheiros Altos Golf Course, and Formosa Park Hotel, in Ancão Beach.

In addition to the properties in Portugal, JJW Hotels and Resorts owns and operates a number of luxury hotels and golf resorts across Europe, including the Grand Hotel Wien in Vienna, the Scotsman Hotel in the UK and Hotels Balzac, La Tremoille and Hotel de Vigny in Paris.