News & Press Releases
Gulf Hotels Group Reopens China Garden at Gulf Hotel Bahrain as Part of Wider Renovation and Expansion plan
Relaunch of the Chinese restaurant, marking three decades since its 1996 debut, comes alongside renovations at Takht Jamsheed and Café Délice, as Gulf Hotel Bahrain continues its transformation under Marriott’s Autograph Collection
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain – 6 September 2026: Gulf Hotels Group (GHG), Bahrain’s leading hospitality company, today reopened China Garden at Gulf Hotel Bahrain following a full renovation, under the patronage of H.E. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce. The ceremony, held three decades after China Garden first opened at the hotel in 1996, was attended by the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Kingdom of Bahrain, business officials, senior editors and representatives of Bahrain’s media, and GHG’s Chairman, Vice Chairman and board of directors.
The reopening forms part of a broader renovation plan under way across Gulf Hotel Bahrain’s dining portfolio, as Gulf Hotels Group reinvests in some of its most established restaurant brands. Alongside China Garden, GHG has also recently completed renovations of two other long-standing restaurants at the hotel: Takht Jamsheed, known for its Persian fine dining and live entertainment, and Café Délice, the hotel’s all-day Middle Eastern and international café. The work has run alongside Gulf Hotel Bahrain’s own phased renovation, following the Group’s agreement with Marriott International in 2024 to integrate the property into the Marriott’s Autograph Collection portfolio and the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty programme, while the hotel continues to operate under GHG management and retains its original name.
The renovation also marks a further step in China Garden’s own growth beyond Gulf Hotel Bahrain. Known for Szechuan, Cantonese and Peking specialties prepared by a dedicated team of Chinese chefs, the restaurant extended to Al Liwan in 2024 and, later that year, introduced Zen by China Garden, a concept restaurant led by Chef Wang at Time Out Market Bahrain in City Centre Bahrain. Across its locations, the brand has kept its emphasis on authentic Chinese cuisine and traditional cooking techniques, an approach GHG credits with the concept’s three-decade run in a dining market that has changed considerably since it first opened.
Ahmed Janahi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Hotels Group, said “The renovation programme across both our hotels and restaurants reflects the company’s long-term commitment to reinvesting in our properties and contributing to the growth of Bahrain’s tourism sector,” he said “China Garden has been part of Bahrain’s dining scene for thirty years, and this renovation is about ensuring it continues to meet the expectations of our guests without losing the authenticity that built its reputation,” he said. “It is also part of the wider strategy we have set for the Group: renewing our restaurants and hotels, growing our brands into new locations, and building a portfolio that can compete regionally as well as at home.”
Gulf Hotel Bahrain, the Group’s flagship property and the first five-star hotel to open in the Kingdom, in 1969, remains at the centre of a multi-year renovation programme that the Group says will continue over the coming years as part of its wider strategy of growing its hotel and restaurant brands across the region.
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For more information, contact:
Noor Alhayki
Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing
Gulf Hotels Group
Tel: (+973) 17746333
Mobile: (+973) 37911777
Noor.alhayki@gulfhotelsgroup.com
www.gulfhotelsgroup.com
About Gulf Hotels Group
Gulf Hotels Group BSC is a public limited liability company quoted on the Bahrain Stock Exchange incorporated in 1967, under the name of Bahrain Hotels Company. The Group is chaired by Mr. Fawzi Kanoo and is led by a Board of distinguished, well-established, and influential businessmen. The vision of the Bahrain Hotels Company was to provide a standard of hospitality unrivalled on the Island, which was duly delivered with the opening of Bahrain’s first 5-star property, the Gulf Hotel. 59 years later, this philosophy remains the same although the Group has continually expanded and upgraded its services to meet the modern-day demands. For more information, please visit www.gulfhotelsgroup.com.