The Rotana hotel group, based in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), has announced plans to open the Pontus Rotana Resort & Spa, Gonio in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, Hotelier has reported. The casino resort is planned for a 2026 opening. It will be Rotana’s first casino resort.
The resort, with 600 rooms and suites, will be the largest in the country and will have dining and a spa, pools and a children’s play area. It will be built at the Batumi beach area on the Black Sea, which is a tourist attraction and can be reached by Dubai by a three-hour flight.
A big investor in the project is Pontus Capital, which will help Rotana achieve its promise of “world-class gaming at the grand casino.”
Rotana president and CEO Guy Hutchinson commented, “We are excited to be partnering with Pontus Capital to debut the first Rotana branded five-star property in Georgia. Complete with glamourous architecture, a variety of fine-dining venues and elevated recreation facilities, Pontus Rotana Resort & Spa will deliver on our singular brand promise of ‘Treasured Time’ for guests and visitors alike.”
Irakli Varshalomidze, managing director from Pontus Capital, noted that Batumi “is a truly all-four-season city with mesmerizing natural beauty, [that] offers an attractive destination for visitors to experience Georgia. The Georgian culture and language have deep connections to the Arab world, making our partnership with Rotana a natural fit.”
The project is seen as part of a boom in casino investing in the U.A.E., with many investors—especially the “ultra-rich” as Hotelier characterizes them, from East Asia—expressing an interest in resorts that have a gaming component.
Hotelier cites the “Destination Dubai” report from the U.K.-based Knight Frank, a real estate consultancy, that notes that wealthy East Asians are more likely to invest in the Emirates if a casino is involved. The report, which was done in partnership with YouGov, surveyed nearly 200 “ultra-high” rich persons who have a net spending power of $2.5 billion and a net worth of $3.2 billion.
The report focused on the only scheduled casino resort in the U.A.E., Ras Al Khaimah’s Al Marjan Island, which will include a 1,500 room Wynn Resort. It is scheduled to open in 2027. Interestingly, despite the planned casino resort, the country’s laws currently ban gambling.
The Knight Frank report noted a growing interest among investors who have not yet invested in the island. They want casinos, the report says. Nearly half said they would buy property in Dubai if there was a casino in the city. Forty-five percent say they expect the U.A.E. to open a casino by next year. But whether that will happen is ultimately the decision of the government.
