After five years of planning and work, Hotel Riviera opened on June 1 at the old industrial site in a new area of Moss.
Here – with water and garden as the closest neighbor – it opens Norwegian Hospitality Group (NGH) A unique hotel in a Norwegian context, we have to believe the hotel manager Peter Wilhelmsen.
We are very much looking forward to opening the hotel and welcoming guests. It would be a destination hotel, a different hotel in a different price range. It won’t follow others in the industry – but will add a new allure to Moss, Wilhelmsen (53) tells Hotellmagasinet.no.
The development is a collaboration between NGH and Höegh Eiendom, but NGH is responsible for the operation. The hotel is part of Nordic Hotels and Resort, which in turn is owned by Petter Stordalen.
Hotel manager with long experience
The 53-year-old says the vast majority of department managers are employed, and that there will be about 100 in all.
In the second week of January, NHG held an audition at the Verket Scene in Moss to recruit more staff. 210 people were present at the grand event.
– We need, among other things, cooks, waiters, therapists, cleaners, receptionists and all other possible positions in the hotel. I hope and believe that a lot will fall into place after testing. At the same time, we’re having a good dialogue with NAV and Moss’ general recruiters. We want to give people with gaps in their resume a chance with us, says Wilhelmsen.
Who have pockets full of experience. He attended officer school, hotel vocational school, studied economics and logistics – and completed degrees in the hotel industry inside and out. He lives in Drammen.
The hotel’s name is inspired by riviera, which means “where the sea meets the land”. The hotel is spread over 14 floors, has 172 rooms, and seven different meeting rooms of various sizes.
– With us, we chose to call it the Social Club section. Here, each room has its own name such as the Havana Club, Palm Springs, St. Tropez, Capri, and Miami to name a few. The rooms are designed with inspiration from each of these places. Outside, in the busy area, is an open kitchen, a so-called show kitchen, and a bar where people can socialize—but at the same time enjoy dinner in their room, he says.
L-shaped swimming pool on the roof
In addition to the brasserie and beach club with outdoor seating, there is an impressive spa and wellness department with an L-shaped pool and fitness center on the top floor. The pool is 22 meters long and 11 meters wide with a counter current system. The pool also has a built in jacuzzi, seating, lights and water falls.
Traditional sauna, steam sauna and cold bath. There are underwater speakers in the pool, and music becomes central.
Wilhelmsen would not comment on the price of the beauty, but stresses that it is “expensive.”
– The section on the 14th floor will be a club concept with music and bars. The hotel manager says the roof is open so the L-shaped pool goes from inside to outside.
From the hotel you can almost throw yourself into the Oslo Fjord.
– The location is great with a public park and beach just outside the door, he adds.
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