Business & Finance Group - Real Estate - Abu Dhabi: Hyatt will open two luxury hotels in Abu Dhabi within the next 12 months as part of a major expansion in the South West Asian region, the hospitality operator said on Tuesday.

This year, the first Hyatt property in the UAE capital, Hyatt at Capital Centre, is expected to open followed by the planned opening of the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi in early 2011, the company said at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai. These are in addition to the planned opening of Hyatt Regency Pune, Grand Hyatt Goa and Hyatt Regency Chennai in India this year.

Hyatt also plans to expand into 15 new Indian markets - including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune - over the next five years. The company has chosen India as the first location outside the United States for its upscale select service brand, Hyatt Place.

In Mumbai in April, Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, said approximately one-fourth of Hyatt’s global pipeline of more than 120 properties is earmarked for India: “We’re proud of the business relationships we’ve developed and look forward to leveraging our experiences to become the preferred brand for our associates, guests, and owners in this important region. We have been an investor in the Indian market for nearly 30 years, and we are committing additional capital, as we participate in selected developments with Indian partners.”

Conveniently linked to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, the 189-room Hyatt at Capital Centre, occupying levels 18 to 32 of the 525-foot Capital Gate building, will have a sleek, contemporary design, Hyatt said in a statement. Due to the unique contour of the tower, each room in the hotel will have a different shape and orientation and the hotel’s ‘sky lobby’ will be suspended 80 metres above the ground on the 18th floor, offering panoramic views of the city.

Located on the northern part of Saadiyat Island, surrounded by the 18-hole championship Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and fronting a nine kilometer (5.5-mile) stretch of natural beach, Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi will be the first resort hotel in the Park Hyatt brand in the Middle East. It will be the third Park Hyatt property in the Middle East and the fourth Hyatt property in the UAE.

Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi will be located within Saadiyat Beach District, which is in close proximity to Saadiyat Cultural District, which will be home to the Zayed National Museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi museums. Occupying seven hectares (18.5 acres), Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi will feature 270 spacious guest rooms with a minimum of 55 square metres (592 sq ft) of space, 44 villas, a selection restaurants, as well as facilities dedicated to conferences, events and recreation.