Jeddah, the ancient 'Bride of the Red Sea', famous the world over as the gateway to the Holy Cities of Makkah and Al Madinah, has the Kingdom's newest deluxe property.

This dramatic new monument - the Jeddah Hilton - majestically overlooks the Red Sea with dramatic views of Jeddah and the mountains behind, and provides the ideal location and facilities for oil executives visiting western Saudi Arabia.

The impressive triangular-shaped design allows each face of the building to command expansive perspectives on the city and spectacular balconied views of the sea. With 414 deluxe rooms, Amiri and luxury suites, conference, meeting, business, banqueting, restaurant and recreation facilities the Jeddah Hilton is by far the largest hotel complex in Saudi Arabia, and one of Hilton's leading flagship properties in the world.

In a city which prides itself on sophistication and a cosmopolitan atmosphere, the Jeddah Hilton has made its mark since its opening in July last year. Designed for the business and leisure traveller and the corporate business sector, the hotel hosts meetings, conferences, banquets and weddings.

The hotel is also challenging many of the leading hotels around the Middle East for its sheer class and the monumental scale of its facilities. The Hilton's Al Qasr Ballroom can accommodate 1,200 people while the 3,600 sq m Hilton Hall has a capacity for 2,500.

External access sets the tone with a spacious roadway surrounded by a stepped series of falaj with fountains before entering the main entrance to the hotel. The reception atrium includes a magnificent circular garden courtyard of exquisite marble and granite, conceived as an oasis contained within a vast volume of space. The triangular atrium is awe-inspiring from ground level or when rising vertiginously upwards more than 50 m in the high-speed lifts.

Built by Haif Trading and Contracting, one of the Kingdom's leading construction companies, work on the $450 million Jeddah Hilton began in 1992 to create a unique purpose-built hotel complex reflecting the grandeur of its prime location.

The realisation of this high specification project was extremely challenging due to its close proximity to the sea. An important requirement was for the property to have extensive underground parking, a mammoth engineering task. The site was excavated through the sand and coral with special dewatering techniques applied to eventually provide underground parking for 500 cars.

As well as the Jeddah Hilton, the Hilton Hall and Al Qasr Ballroom the complex will include the Hilton Palace (almost its mirror image architecturally) due to open early next year, and other planned expansions to meet future demand.

Hagop A Doghramadjian, general manager, is a seasoned Hilton hotelier, having worked in senior positions in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Rabat and took up his Jeddah appointment in October 2000, almost a year before the hotel opened.

''This is a very serious property in terms of the actual scale and facilities available. The property has also become in one year one of our leading and most successful flagship Hilton properties anywhere in the world. Although we already have a significant presence in the Middle East, Hilton is actively developing markets in the region as part of our global strategy,'' he says.

''During the pre-opening period and since July 2001 our approach has continued to be adaptive and responsive to customer requirements. We have been fine-tuning our seasonal approach to clients as we have the advantages of being able to concentrate on the business and leisure markets equally.

''We worked very closely with the owner's representatives, and the international architects and designers to provide feedback on how best to meet the changing expectations and requirements of all guests to ensure that the hotel was fully equipped with the latest range of facilities and services.

''Guest needs have changed dramatically in the last few years and as we are targeting the discerning high-end business and leisure sectors, the hotel must provide state-of-the-art telecommunication systems in guest rooms as the norm including Internet, modem and laptop connection points as well as satellite television,'' adds Doghramadjian.

In terms of food and beverage, the hotel has five dining and entertaining outlets already opened. The Amwaj panoramic rooftop restaurant on the twelfth floor has become a place to visit for both hotel guests as well as Jeddah residents. Other restaurants such as the Al Khayam Persian restaurant and the CafŽ Vienna coffee shop, the first two outlets to be opened last year, have also proved to be popular places. There is even an unusual and stylish American diner, The Manhattan, that has just opened with a gleaming Harley-Davidson motorcycle in its foyer and popular with young Saudis,'' he continues.

According to Doghramadjian, business volumes have been higher than expected with occupancy rates more than 60 per cent, a challenge when there are more than 400 rooms to fill each night.

''Certainly, and without being arrogant, we have adopted a flexible and adaptable approach to providing an enhanced standard of service and a range of facilities to meet the expectations of our clients. For the corporate business sector, we have 12 executive meeting rooms proving to be extremely popular with banks, pharmaceutical and IT companies.

''We hosted the Jeddah Economic Forum earlier this year that allowed our banqueting, ballroom and conference halls to be used to the optimum. Later this year we have an international advertising conference and the Kingdom's first national tourism conference and next January, we will again host the Jeddah Economic Forum,'' he adds.

''Naturally, many other Jeddah hotels are upgrading services and facilities in the city but I am confident of further growth regardless of what other properties do because we are responsive to market demands and also because the property is comparable to the very best in the region.

''We have a ripple effect in the hotel with lots of nice surprises as superior finishing work is evident throughout and this is translated throughout the property into the atrium, guest rooms and all public areas with generous allocations of space and height, wider corridors, and room sizes larger than the norm. The Jeddah Hilton undoubtedly has the wow factor,'' he says.

In fact, the entire complex provides a continuous array of outstanding perspectives ranging from artistic marble and glass mosaics in the various domes, walls and swimming pools either inside or outside the hotel such as the Hiltonia sports, health club and spa. These generous sports facilities include a huge gymnasium, fitness centre, billiards, two squash and three tennis courts and even a bowling alley.