IHG Signs Deal for World's First Hotel Indigo Branded Residences in Egypt's Ras El Hekma

IHG Hotels and Resorts has signed an agreement with Mountain View for Development and Real Estate Investment to create the world's first Hotel Indigo branded residences at Ras El Hekma on Egypt's North Coast. The development will be called The Residences at Hotel Indigo Mountain View Ras El Hekma. A separate 100-key Hotel Indigo hotel was signed for the same masterplan. The companies announced the deal on Monday.

The project marks the first standalone Hotel Indigo residential offering. Hotel Indigo sits in IHG's luxury and lifestyle portfolio alongside InterContinental, Six Senses, Regent, Kimpton, and Vignette Collection. These residences are also the first application of the brand's design philosophy to a residential product. Hotel Indigo is a neighborhood-inspired brand that reflects local culture, character, and stories; it operates across more than 100 properties globally.

IHG already operates 10 hotels in Egypt under InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Staybridge Suites. The company has a pipeline of 26 additional hotels scheduled to open in Egypt. The Ras El Hekma project is IHG's first branded residences project in the country.

Haitham Mattar, IHG's managing director for India, Middle East and Africa, said the signing reflects brands evolving beyond traditional hospitality.

Ras El Hekma is on Egypt's Mediterranean North Coast, roughly 350 kilometers northwest of Cairo and 85 kilometers west of Marsa Matrouh. The area has long stretches of undeveloped coastline, clear water, and proximity to Alexandria and Cairo. The Egyptian government is investing in road and infrastructure connectivity to the North Coast.

The area became one of the most closely watched development zones in the region after the UAE agreed in early 2024 to invest $35 billion in coastline development at Ras El Hekma. That deal, between Abu Dhabi's ADQ and the Egyptian government, was one of the largest single foreign direct investment transactions in Egypt's history. It gave Egypt an immediate foreign currency injection during a balance of payments crisis. For IHG, the new residential project places a lifestyle brand inside a zone whose future shape is already being set by those investments. For a brand tied to local character, the setting is unusually direct: Ras El Hekma is undeveloped enough to be shaped by the masterplan around it.

Mountain View's Ras El Hekma masterplan is a beachfront community with hospitality, residential, retail, and leisure components. Mountain View was established in 2005 and has developed more than 24 projects across East Cairo, West Cairo, the North Coast, and the Red Sea Coast. In 2024, the company expanded into Saudi Arabia through a partnership with local developers, launching One Mountain View and Hayat Mountain View.

Amr Soliman, the founder of Mountain View, said the ambition is to make Ras El Hekma a year-round integrated coastal destination.