From May 19, 2021, the Lagos hospitality market will experience service and facility offerings on a higher level as Marriott International makes bold statements with its latest hotel in Lagos and Nigeria.
For the first time since berthing in the Nigerian market after the acquisition of Protea Hotel Group, Marriott International is opening a major hotel; an amazing product and the largest of its outlets in Nigeria and probably West Africa.
Welcome to Lagos Marriott Hotel Ikeja, a premium brand for lovers of premium hospitality service and those who want to travel brilliantly.
Standing tall on Joel Ogunnaike Street in Ikeja GRA, the new hotel has improved the skyline of the GRA with its 11 floors and 250 well-appointed rooms spread across the 11 floors.
Apart from being the skyscraper in Ikeja GRA, Lagos Marriott Hotel Ikeja is also a 5-star hotel, offering luxury, comfort and convenience amid serenity of its prime location.
Read Also: Marriott to open first premium hotel in Lagos May 19
Inside the hotel are most modern hospitality facilities, as well as some one-of-akind facilities, especially the exclusive crew lounge. For the discerning guest, there are 206 standard rooms, 44 suites (including three presidential ones), well-equipped gym and continental restaurants. There are also VIP lounges, 1,000-capacity ballroom, executive meeting rooms, 400-capacity car park among others.
The restaurants are truly amazing. They include; Korikoko, a 200-seater African themed restaurant, Azura grills, themed around the Nigerian outdoor point and kill joint, and Wakame, the signature restaurant, which is a rich blend of Asian cuisines.
Also sticking to the Marriott culture, there is an in-club located at the first floor of the building.
Well, such luxurious offerings do not come cheap.
It took six years and around N40-N45 billion to deliver the amazing hotel.
Credit goes to Sifax Group, a conglomerate with investments in various sectors of Nigeria’s economy and beyond, which partnered Marriott International, renowned global hotel brand, to actualize the dream of boosting the Nigerian hospitality market with quality products, a 5-star for that matter.
Marriott International is most excited and grateful to Sifax Group for delivering on the project at a time most hoteliers are abandoning ongoing projects worldwide due to the economic realities of our time, especially the harsh impact of the pandemic.
For Janse van Rensburg, the hotel’s general manager, Lagos Marriott Hotel Ikeja is a premium brand of Marriott and the most luxurious hotel in Nigeria so far.
The rationale for the huge investment in the hotel, according to him, is the desire to offer premium hospitality services to the Lagos market.
With the premium services in place, he assures guests of an unimaginable premium experience like never before. “We assure them of world-class hospitality, super customer satisfaction and royalty treatment. Frequent travelers who have points using the Marriott hotel franchise globally can also redeem their points here in Nigeria too. We have an inclub system for our premium members located on the first floor of the hotel”, he said.
While the humongous size of the edifice is intimidating, the general manager explained that the unique selling propositions of the hotel are more intimidating. According to him, the various amazing products on offer are non-existent in the country’s hospitality industry, security of guests is very paramount as every door and window in the facility is bomb-proof, while pricing is also very commensurate with the quality that the hotel offers.
With all these qualities going for the hotel, Rensburg noted that they earned it a place in the classic premium category on the Marriott quality ranking. Moreover, Marriott Hotel, the franchise owner, will manage the hotel for quality assurance purposes.
From the owner’s perspective, Mac-folly Hospitality Limited, the hospitality subsidiary of Sifax Group, is proud of the huge investment and world-class quality of the hotel, which made Marriott International, the manager, to rate it among its Classic Premium Category.
Expressing his excitement, Chike Ogeah, managing director, Mac-folly Hospitality Limited, applauded Taiwo Afolabi, group executive vice chairman, SIFAX Group, for bankrolling the multi-billion naira investment, adding that his vision of a premium hospitality business in Lagos has manifested through the new hotel.
“The building of this hotel took us six years. We took our time to tastefully select all the materials and equipment that were used in order to serve our clients the best. As a man that has travelled all over the world and experienced first-hand hospitality at its peak, our chairman, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, decided to build this hotel in Nigeria in order to promote the hospitality and tourism industry in Lagos and provide opportunities to further improve the economy.”
The owners and managers urge discerning guests to visit to sample the very latest and best hospitality product in town, from May 19, 2021, when the hotel will officially open its huge doors to the public.
