Bahrain’s property market continues to soar, with both hospitality and residential projects opening at a fast rate. Juffair Boulevard has combined the two, offering a mix of short and long-term stay apartments, so Kristian Harrison spoke to General Manager, Ved Parkash, to find out why it’s the new hotspot in town.
After a troubled construction period, which began before the pandemic but was put on hold for a year during the heaviest period of restrictions, Juffair Boulevard opened its doors in January 2022 with a soft opening and will be fully-operational from the first day of Eid-Al-fitr.
Located adjacent to Juffair Mall, the ultra-modern property combines the best of both worlds, offering 102 well-fitted modern hotel rooms and 99 modern luxurious apartments (66 one-bedroom apartments and 33 two-bedroom apartments).
General Manager Ved Parkash is the perfect man to have at the helm, having graduated in Hotel Management from the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering & Nutrition in Pusa, New Delhi. He then worked at a premium hotel in Delhi for six years before moving to Bahrain in 1989. Since then, he has worked for various hotels groups before settling at the Atiram Group, and is now operating Juffair Boulevard.
In a highly competitive industry, offering plenty of choice new ventures need to stand out from the rest. Ved believes Juffair Boulevard has all the tools needed to succeed in this regard.
“It’s very true that the hotel and travel industry has become very competitive and challenging, not only in Bahrain but worldwide,” he explains. “Now that restrictions have somewhat lifted, people are willing to spend money on vacations and staycations again, so we have to ensure that Juffair Boulevard is their destination of choice.
“There is pressure on us to hit the ground running, but I believe we offer substantial benefits to prospective customers. As mentioned, we are catering to various needs rather than one specification with both: the hotel and the apartments, which have all the facilities to be a ‘home away from home’.
“Our amenities include a spacious swimming pool alongside a kids’ pool, a sunbathing deck, gym and health club, spa and selection of food and beverage outlets, some of which are open now and the rest which will launch after Ramadan.”
Juffair Boulevard’s staff have been specifically trained to cater to both hotel and residential and special care has been made to ensure all COVID-19 protocols are still being adhered to.
“In some ways it’s a learning process,” says Ved. “We have never opened a property during a pandemic before so we are still learning how to improve the business on the customer-facing side, in terms of reassurances they want from us that perhaps they didn’t need before the pandemic, and from our side we still need to follow all the rules and regulations given by the Ministry of Health in accordance with the traffic light system currently in place.
“We continue to modify our operation accordingly, which does result in business fluctuating, but this is important for the safety of people and I am sure things will soon get even better and we can get back on track. I’m hugely optimistic that Juffair Boulevard will be a grand success,” he concludes.
