To the more timid businessman, breaking ground on another exclusive beach club in Lebanon might not seem like a sound investment at the moment — given this summer’s grim tourism receipts and the grimmer questions over the civil war next door and how long that will go on. But the doom has done little to gloom the enthusiasm of another breed of developers who see so much long-term profit potential on Lebanon’s beaches that they won’t be deterred by a bit of war.
Among the new investment destinations is Nikki Beach, a project for a 46-villa seaside resort with hotel and club south of Beirut that is being developed as collaboration between local property company Zardman and Nikki Beach EMEA Hotels and Resorts, a unit of the Miami-based brand that specializes in glamour hospitality.
Forget your troubles in luxury
The chief underlying asset for the project is a 42,000-square meter seafront property in Damour and Zardman touts the location and accessibility from Beirut as selling points sure to attract investors when sales open later this month.
According to the developer, the project will entail a boutique hotel on the property, as well as amenities that five-star resort patrons would expect: spas, multiple swimming pools, restaurants, water sports, a fitness center and more.
However the resort's biggest asset, according to general manager of Zardman, Makram Zard, is its very limited capacity. “We are being very exclusive with sales,” he says, adding that, “If a client comes in with no background or familiarity with us we simply will not give them information. You will not see billboards advertising the sale [of our villas], we know who we want to attract.”
But another key selling point will be the Nikki Beach moniker aiming to brand the resort with global glitterati appeal. “We will operate the hotel and Zardman will sell villas. We will focus on quality of service and invest heavily in staff training,” Jihad Khoury, the chief executive of Nikki Beach EMEA Hotels and Resorts, tells Executive.
Set for delivery in 2014, the resort would be the third Nikki Beach in the Middle East and North Africa region, after resorts that are scheduled to open (with different partners) in Qatar this year and Cyprus in 2013. Plans for expansion of the Nikki Beach brand in the Middle East date back a few more years but did not pan out either in Lebanon or in Aqaba, Jordan.
Lebanon's 225-kilometers long coastline is dotted with many clubs and resorts in every price range and type, from the low-key bohemian to the techno-blasting beach party. Offering a glimpse on what Nikki Beach will use as lure for its clientele in Lebanon, the group eagerly flashes that it was once called the “Sexiest Place on Earth" in a British newspaper and voted the “World's #1 Sexiest Beach Bar” by international media outlets.
“When we met with the people from Nikki Beach we clicked right away,” says Zard. “We had the same vision for the project and knew this is something we would both benefit from.” Most of Zardman’s staff are in their 20s and early 30s — "a very young company,” according to Zard — and are tapped into what the mostly young and affluent clientele that Nikki Beach attracts worldwide are looking for in a beach destination.
Villas will start at around $320,000 and reach up to $600,000, and are offered in three sizes: 105, 125 and 155 square meters. Payment plans for the villas start at 15 percent down with the remaining balance to be paid over a four-year period. For the overall design, the Beirut office of US-based Soma Architects was tapped to lay out the villas, with Gatserelia Nawar & Associates handling the interiors.
A sunny (and sandy) future
The Damour project will be Zardman’s first resort and while eager to disclose the price range for the villas the company would not disclose the cost of the entire planned development or the value of the assets it brings to the beach. Zardman holds a 27-year renewable lease on the land but would divulge in an interview with Executive only that the deed is held by its founder, and former Lebanese Canadian Bank chairman, Georges Zard Abou Jaoude.
According to Khoury, Nikki Beach EMEA Hotels and Resorts came aboard the project in 2011 after all licenses and planning for building structures had been completed. His rationale for getting involved is that Lebanon will remain a regional reference in hospitality and high-level entertainment and Nikki Beach would be seen as missing out if it did not open a branded resort here.
Khoury radiates confidence that the new project will be a winner even as the current wind is blowing tourism straight in the face. “It is an act of faith and as Lebanese, we have to have courage. The good years will more than make up for the bad ones," he says.
