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Westin Hotels are going 100% nonsmoking. Minibars are disappearing from rooms. Now Kempinski Hotels of Germany, backed by the Paris-based Guidance Financial Group, are rolling out a new, halal, 100% alcohol-free chain, called Shaza Hotels.

Aimed at the Muslim traveler, the shariah-compliant chain will be based in Dubai, but it plans to open 20 hotels in urban centers in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The lack of booze won’t necessarily be part of the advertisements, though:

the Islamic and Arab angle is being downplayed in the marketing pitch; the promotional literature that expresses, in a contemporary design-led environment, the aesthetic art of living and values of the Middle East and North Africa. Each property will contain unique concepts such as ‘hammam influenced spas and bathrooms and restaurants inspired by an array of regional cuisine’.

Sounds swanky. If successful, the concept might spread elsewhere, too. Just probably not in Cancun.

(image: greybeard)
tags: travel | hotels | halal | sharia | Kempinski | Shaza