Aspire Zone Foundation announces 2 Year Anniversary of The…

Doha, QATAR – 7 December, 2013 – THE TORCH DOHA, member of Leading Hotels of the World is preparing to celebrate two years in operation in the 5-star luxury hotel market, as the flagship project situated at the heart of Doha’s Sport City, Aspire Zone.

The Torch Doha opened its doors to public in January 2012 and is designed to provide exclusive access to latest in-room technology, fine dining and International caliber sporting and leisure facilities.

In the second year of operation the hotel succeeded to position itself among the top luxury hotels in Doha in terms of service, occupancy levels and revenue.

Moreover, on the operational side, the property has hosted meetings and conferences as well as world-class sports teams and personalities throughout the two years. Many of them have declared that hotel facilities and Aspire Zone training amenities have exceeded their expectations and will definitely return to Doha. Due to its convenient location, THE TORCH is able to service the highest sporting demands ranging from accommodating sports delegations during major sports events or training and pre-competition camps.

Recently THE TORCH DOHA has received world acclaim, recognized as Global Winner at World Luxury Hotel Awards 2013 in the “Luxury Rooftop View Hotel” category at a Gala Dinner and awards ceremony at Indigo Pearl Resort Phuket, Thailand.

World Luxury Hotel Awards 2013 welcomed some of the world’s top hoteliers & leading decision-makers. The spotlight was turned on some of the world’s most sought after hotels, lodges and resorts. The 2013 World Luxury Hotel Awards voting was based on a country, continent and global basis. Each luxury hotel could participate in 1 up to 3 most appropriate categories from a selection of 50 categories available. The hotels in turn were competing within the category/categories selected on a country, continent and global basis. Properties that received the most votes won on the global basis. Final results were based on votes cast by travellers.

Hotel Manager, Mr. Sherif Sabry declared: “It is an amazing achievement to receive worldwide recognition at the World Luxury Hotel Awards 2013. We were honoured to represent the region at this year’s ceremony. Moreover, it is extremely encouraging for our property to have been highly recognized on the global hospitality scene.”

Marinique de Wet Director of the World Luxury Hotel Awards commented: ”Our belief is that service excellence is the most critical factor in a hotel’s measure as a luxury hotel and winning a World Luxury Hotel Award would enhance performance levels if industry peers can be judged against other major players in the field. We can always be inspired to greater levels of excellence meaning exceeding customer’s expectations and paying attention to detail.”

Another remarkable achievement of the hotel is the award for “Best New Hotel Construction & Design” received at the 2013 International Hotel Awards in London this month.

On the occasion, Mr. Gerhard Foltin, General Manager of THE TORCH DOHA, says: “The tower is the result of comprehensive architectural, engineering and technical design, shaped to represent a colossal torch. The construction was completed in 18 months – a real challenge to enable its designated function of hosting the flame for the duration of the 15th Asian Games in 2006, the highest positioned flame to date. The private walkway connecting the hotel to Villaggio mall is made of dismantled material from the Ras Abu Aboud Bridge, the oldest bridge built in Qatar, a harmonious blend between historical heritage and new modern design.”

THE TORCH DOHA received the World’s Best International Hotel Award after competing against a number of hotels and resorts from every corner of the world to receive this top recognition. The finest hoteliers from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the UK and the Americas gathered at the glamorous Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Sunday, November 3rd 2013 to attend a glittering gala and to hear the long-anticipated results of the International Hotel Awards global competition.

World’s Best awards were given out for the world’s most impressive hotels for a variety of categories and property types, for hotel architecture, construction, interior design, marketing and website. A highly experienced team of professionals who cover the whole range of hospitality disciplines judged entries prepared by the hotels and selected the winners. The Chairman of the Judging Panel is Sir David Michels, Retired CEO of Hilton Hotels.

Recently THE TORCH DOHA has upgraded the unique iPad in-room solution, a customized software introduced for the first time in a 5-Star hotel in Qatar in September 2012. The system allows guests to control all room features including order from in-room dining, mood & ceiling lights, curtains, room temperature, internet on iPad and TV, listen to music and radio and many others. The upgraded system allows access to guest services, hotel promotions, Youtube, pillow menu, local visitor information, Prayer direction and 40.000 online publications.

The software allows for complete guest autonomy, increased speed of service, better understanding of guest preferences and better communication between guests and staff members.

The iPad solution has been introduced in collaboration with Aspire Katara Investment and Aspire Zone Foundation and developed and implemented by Mahindra Satyam.

General Manager at The Torch Doha, Mr. Gerhard Foltin reveals: “It is great to witness the positive feedback the iPad system has received with the past year We have re-defined the idea of luxury service in the Middle East hospitality. Introducing the iPad system in all rooms and suites shows that our vision focuses on guest convenience, control and speed of service. Guests can now enjoy a new found autonomy while we streamlined our operation.

“We are aware that technology plays a vital role in enticing the luxury travelers and encourages them to choose between properties, return to the same property and recommend us further to others. This is why we always try to keep them entertained and engaged with our service”, Foltin continues.

THREE SIXTY revolving restaurant has received a TripAdvisor® 2013 Certificate of Excellence award, honoured as a top performing restaurant as reviewed by travellers on the World’s Largest Travel Site. The accolade honours hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding guest reviews on TripAdvisor. Only the top-performing 10 per cent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award.

The Torch Doha has been honoured as top performing 5-star luxury hotel in Qatar as reviewed by travellers on the world’s leader website in booking accommodation, booking.com, being rated at 9.1 out of 10 in 2012 and 9.4 out of 10 year-to-date based on online reviews.

The certificate honours hospitality excellence and is given only to establishments that achieve a high number of reviews and consistent high ratings.

THREE SIXTY restaurant has been also recognized at the Time Out Doha Awards in two categories - Contemporary European and Romantic and received the Highly Recommended Award in 2012.

The Torch Doha chefs completed the highly competitive Salon Culinaire at Diyafa 2012 with 23 medals - 2 Gold, 4 Silver and 17 Bronze. Considered a major highlight of the event, the Chefs’ Competition attracted the country’s leading chefs which competed across sixteen categories while being evaluated by a judging panel made up of International culinary and hospitality experts

Other important awards adding up to the hotel’s record are: Gold Medal obtained by Chef Hani Mohammed in the Italian-themed competition at Doha’s Taste and Fun Food Festival 2012 organised by Qatar Tourism Authority in February, as well as two medals, one silver and the other bronze obtained at Diyafa 2011 Salon Culinaire by Rodel Noja in the Vegetable Carving, respectively Chocolate Showpiece Competition.