Kuwait Regency Palace
I passed by the Kuwait Regency Palace today and managed to take some pictures of the construction thats taking place there. Many of you might remember Kuwait Regency from before the Gulf War, it was one of the best hotels in Kuwait and most school graduation ceremonies used to be held there, I’ve had two graduations there personally. They were also known for their incredible indoor tennis courts and during the Iraqi invasion the hostages from the British Airways flight 149 were even held captive at the Kuwait Regency. Well the place is getting a huge makeover and as you can see from the picture above the tennis courts are currently being used as offices. The hotel should be soft launching by the end of the year with the proper launch by early next year. I took some more pictures which you can see by clicking on continue below.
I think its really great that the place is getting a renovation instead of being completely demolished and rebuilt. I also love the way the name has progressed in time, when it first launched it used to be part of the Hyatt group of hotels and it was called Hyatt Regency, it then became Kuwait Regency and now with the relaunch it will become just The Regency. Sadly the indoor tennis courts will no longer exist once the renovation is completed.
Print
Email
Related Entries
Jazeera Airways Prices
Salaries in Kuwait
Brazil Vs Kuwait
Kuwait Airways Sucks?
Vintage pictures of Kuwait
20 Comments, add your own...
1. Teach | September 18th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I remember we were all ”called to assemble” there during the invasion- most of us stayed away!!
After the war i joined the beach club and loved it. It was secluded and not busy, no overpowering English expats, just a quiet beach and some great staff. Lovely place, always a shame it never did better in recent years.
2. 2twentythree3 | September 18th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
wow, looks like they are doing a ”pretty” good job.
3. iRise | September 18th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
I hope they don’t turn this into another gaudy hotel…
4. Nobu | September 19th, 2008 at 1:37 am
They used to have a disco in the roof level in the 80s, didn’t they?
5. Jacqui | September 19th, 2008 at 1:44 am
My graduation was there. It’s going to be weird seeing it all different, you know what everything that changes feels different at first.
Especially watching those old movies you had on VHS rather than DVD or HD Downloads.
6. TanGo | September 19th, 2008 at 9:35 am
unless this hotel is run by a decent international group,
it will remain a dead-beat : ( just like Safir..
7. zaydoun | September 19th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
That place has been a victim of long-time mismanagement for years, even decades… but it always had its own charm and and probably the best hotel beach in town. It has so much potential, and with the right professional management it could be a truly great hotel
Many of you may not remember this, but when it first opened it was actually a Hyatt but then the owners decided they could “easily” run it themselves and… well here we are now.
Btw, the new hotel being built where the old Messilah Beach hotel stood will be run by Jumeirah International. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I found out!!
8. zaydoun | September 19th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Nobu… yes it did, but fat chance reopening it now!!
9. jo | September 19th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
teach.. us over powering english expats are one of the reasons you could bloody go to that beach club, remember the war my friend without us i guess you would not be in kuwait right now!!! ass
10. jo | September 19th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
we need some nice beach front ethnic huts in kuwait giving people reason to go to beach fronts.
i guess new breath of fresh air in terms of new hotels along that beach front will be great! i hope its run effectively.
11. ISF-Man | September 19th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Why would they get rid of the indoor tennis court!? that’s just ridiculous
12. Teach | September 19th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
jo- not all English are over powering my dear, but you so obviously are………………… actually I believe the Americans had more to do with liberating Kuwait than the Brits, but let’s not get into that.And I would be here in Kuwait whether it had been liberated or not.
By the way, I am a Brit too, but have the foresight to recognise that the majority of the expat population here are right up their own arses.
Have a nice day.
13. Moey | September 20th, 2008 at 3:03 am
I had my ceremony there too. amazing hotel
14. Bu Yousef | September 20th, 2008 at 4:09 am
Mark, I agree with your last paragraph regarding the renovation vs demolition as well as the evolution of the hotel’s name.
Jo – get a life…. or leave!
Teach – I fully agree with your reply to Jo except for the final wish.
15. hammoodee | September 20th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
damn that’s old!
16. Teach | September 20th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Ahlan wa sahlan Bu yousef :)
17. jo | September 21st, 2008 at 10:52 pm
what ever check your history book.
bu yousef- leave where my friend? big words
19. regihlesyw | May 10th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
my grandpa owns this hotel it is going to be nice
20. Senzi bianca | May 13th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
i was born here :)….my mom use to be a chef in the pastry kitchen in the 90’s…there construction goes all the way to the back….
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed