Rooted in legacy, driven by results.
Pine Cliffs Hotel, A Luxury Collection Resort
Algarve, Portugal
UHM is the hospitality arm of the Al Bahar Group, founded in 1937 by the visionary Mr. Mohamed Abdulrahman Al-Bahar. As one of Kuwait’s most respected business conglomerates, the Group has built a diversified portfolio spanning multiple industries and remains a pillar of the region’s economy.
Backed by this legacy, UHM combines entrepreneurial agility, institutional strength, and global best practices to deliver fully integrated hospitality solutions from concept to operational maturity.
1992
The journey begins with the opening of Pine Cliffs Hotel, a Luxury Collection Resort in the Algarve, Portugal. This landmark project, Europe's first fully integrated mixed-use resort, combines a luxury hotel with residences and world-class leisure, setting a new blueprint for the industry.
UHM is the market leader in mixed-use and branded residence development, creating integrated hospitality destinations where hotels, residences, wellness, retail, and F&B operate as a unified ecosystem.
Since the 1990s, we have partnered with leading global brands from Marriott, IHG, Hyatt, Accor, Wyndham & Yotel, selecting the right brand for each asset based on ownership goals and market positioning. With a presence across Europe, the Middle East, India, and the USA, we deliver end-to-end management from concept to operations, combining local expertise with institutional-grade standards to optimise performance and long-term value in both hospitality assets and branded residences.
UHM provides end-to-end hospitality expertise across development, operations, and asset management, combining global partnerships and multidisciplinary capabilities to maximize asset performance and deliver long-term value for owners and investors.
UHM has a strong track record in the development and management of large-scale, mixed-use destinations that deliver long-term value and sustainable returns. Our integrated developments combine hotels, branded residences, retail, dining, and premium lifestyle assets—including golf courses, wellness facilities, and sports academies—into high-performing, future-ready destinations.
Creating Integrated Destination Communities
Every component of a UHM development is strategically planned to create vibrant, self-sustaining communities where hospitality, residential, retail, and leisure offerings seamlessly complement one another. This holistic approach enhances the guest and resident experience while strengthening the investment proposition.
Unlocking Cross-Asset Value Creation
By designing assets to work in synergy, UHM maximizes cross-utilization, drives incremental demand across all components, and creates multiple revenue streams. The result is a resilient ecosystem that enhances asset performance, increases long-term value appreciation, and delivers superior returns for owners and investors.
UHM specializes in managing branded residences and holiday homes within integrated hospitality environments, ensuring consistently high standards of luxury, service, and asset performance.
Our portfolio includes dedicated holiday home brands such as Bespoke Holiday Homes & Residences and Rosastays, each designed to deliver curated stays, professional asset management, and consistent guest experience standards across short- and long-term rental assets.
Residences are maintained to global luxury benchmarks and seamlessly integrated with full hotel services—including concierge, wellness, dining, and housekeeping—delivering a unified lifestyle experience and enhanced value for owners and investors.
UHM delivers hotel and resort operations through a forward-looking, performance-driven approach focused on guest satisfaction, operational efficiency, and long-term asset value creation.
Guest experience is elevated through empowered on-site teams trained to deliver seamless, memorable journeys that drive loyalty and reputation. This is supported by our dedicated training platform, Excellence Hub, mandated for all guest-facing teams to ensure consistent service standards across the portfolio.
Operational performance is optimized through advanced property management systems, data-driven decision-making, and integrated technology platforms. These capabilities enable teams with real-time insights and analytics to enhance profitability across all departments while maintaining exceptional service quality.
UHM’s wellness portfolio, led by the Serenity brand family, transforms hospitality assets into destinations of wellbeing and experience-led value creation. Serenity – The Art of Wellbeing is a globally recognised luxury destination spa brand offering holistic treatments, advanced therapies, and award-winning guest experiences across leading international destinations. Pure - The Essence of Life enables efficient activation of smaller or underutilised spaces through boutique spa concepts that maintain Serenity’s elevated standards in a more intimate format, while Active by Serenity integrates fitness, recovery, and mental wellbeing into a next-generation wellness offering designed for modern hospitality environments. Together, these concepts enhance guest engagement, strengthen positioning, and unlock long-term asset value. OUR WELLNESS PORTFOLIO
UHM’s Food & Beverage brands delivers scalable, experience-driven dining concepts designed to elevate destination appeal and drive incremental revenue. With a portfolio of over 65 active venues and 10 distinctive F&B and lifestyle brands, UHM offers proven franchise and management models tailored to hotels, resorts, and mixed-use developments. Each concept is built on operational excellence, adaptability, and strong commercial performance, transforming F&B outlets into high-performing social and culinary destinations while creating sustainable value for owners and investors. OUR F&B BRANDS
UHM is led by an experienced team of hospitality executives with decades of international operating expertise across multiple markets and disciplines. Guided by Executive Chairman Carlos Leal and regional leadership from CEO Klaus Assmann for the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia, the company combines strategic vision with operational excellence to deliver sustainable growth, maximise asset performance and create long-term value for owners and investors.
Chairman of the Board
Talal Jassim Al Bahar oversees the Group’s investments through the IFA consortium. A graduate of Loyola University, California, he leads a decentralized organization with independently managed business verticals, fostering flexibility.
Executive Chairman of the Board
Carlos Leal serves as both the CEO at United Investments Portugal (UIP) and the Executive Chairman at United Hospitality Management
Board Member
Guido is a Belgian national, with University qualifications in Germanic Philology and specialized in Scandinavian Languages and Literature. He studied at the Universities of Ghent and Oslo.
Board Member
Hubert is Vice Chairman of YOTEL, the revolutionary hotel concept that turned the hotel industry on its head; a Director of United Hospitality Management, an international hotel management company with operations in Europe, India and the Middle East; and a Partner at Arzan Investment Management, a global investment house specialized on the hospitality and residential segments.
Chairman of the Board
Talal Jassim Al Bahar oversees the Group’s investments through the IFA consortium. A graduate of Loyola University, California, he leads a decentralized organization with independently managed business verticals, fostering flexibility.
Executive Chairman of the Board
Carlos Leal serves as both the CEO at United Investments Portugal (UIP) and the Executive Chairman at United Hospitality Management
Board Member
Klaus Assmann is an accomplished executive with deep expertise in luxury hotel management, asset management, retail and large-scale mixed-use operations.
Board member
Deepika Arora is a visionary hospitality leader with over 17 years of experience across hotel operations, strategic expansion, owner relations, and portfolio management.
Chief Executive Officer
Middle East, India & South East Asia
Klaus Assmann is an accomplished executive with deep expertise in luxury hotel management, asset management, retail and large-scale mixed-use operations.
Managing Director
India
Deepika Arora is a visionary hospitality leader with over 17 years of experience across hotel operations, strategic expansion, owner relations, and portfolio management.
Global Director of Serenity
Global
Maria d'Orey is the Founder and Global Director of Serenity – The Art of Well Being. With more than two decades of experience in luxury hospitality, she has developed and expanded one of the region's leading wellness brands, overseeing strategy, concept development and operations across Portugal and the Middle East.
Global Director of IT
Global
David embraces the role of Head of IT for UHM, setting the strategy and leading multicultural teams to drive the company towards new opportunities.
Vice President Operations
Europe
Hélder Martins is a hospitality executive with more than 27 years of international experience leading complex luxury, lifestyle and upper-upscale hospitality operations across Europe, the Americas and Africa.
Vice President Operations
Middle East
Dominic Arel is a popular figure among hoteliers in UAE bringing close to 30 years of experience in luxury hospitality and hotel pre-opening projects.
VP - Operations
India & Southeast Asia
Ricardo Leal is an accomplished hospitality executive serving as Vice President – Operations for India & South East Asia, bringing over two decades of international leadership experience in...
Group Executive Vice President – Projects & Development
MIDDLE EAST
Tariq D. Kamal is Group Executive Vice President, leading UHM’s regional portfolio of projects and developments and overseeing their end-to-end delivery.
Vice President Development
ME, Africa & Asia
Panos Loupasis is a seasoned hospitality expert with more than 27 years of multi-cultural experience. He joins UHM from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, where in his last role he served as Managing Director for Türkiye, the Middle East & Africa.
Regional Director of Revenue Strategy
Europe
Sandro Fonseca has been appointed Regional Director of Revenue Management Europe for United Hospitality Management, recognizing his exceptional expertise, leadership, and contributions to the organization.
Regional Director of Procurement
Europe
Manuela brings a wealth of experience to the table, having navigated diverse roles in the hospitality sector, as Director of Supply Chain at Pine Cliffs Resort, a Luxury Collection by Marriott, and as Cluster Procurement Manager for the Algarve region at Hilton.
Regional Director of Finance
Europe
Rui Costa is a hospitality finance leader with over 10 years of experience across Portugal, the UK, and international projects.
Regional Director of Marketing
Europe
Rosa Santos is a passionate Marketing and Communications Director with more than 15 years of experience shaping brand strategy, storytelling, and global market presence for luxury hospitality, real estate, and education brands.
Regional Director of Finance
ME & India
Sunny leverages his extensive expertise to drive financial excellence across the organization. His responsibilities include overseeing financial operations, developing strategic financial plans, and managing budgetary allocations to optimize...
Regional Director of Sales
ME & India
Rola Chakroun is a proficient commercial leader with over 20 years of experience in the hospitality and real estate sectors. As Regional Director of Sales for UHM Middle East, she has built a reputation for driving sales performance...
Regional Director of Marketing
ME & India
Kiran Kumar is a seasoned hotelier with a proven track record of excellence in hospitality Marketing and Sales, boasting over 20 years of experience across the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, United Kingdom, and India.
Regional Director of Human Resources
ME & India
Jane has accumulated over 15 years of experience during her tenure at Marriott, refining her expertise across 12 Marriott brands in four countries: India, Qatar, UAE, and Bahrain
Regional Director of Revenue Strategy
ME & India
Valentin Crepieux is a highly accomplished hospitality and commercial strategy executive with extensive leadership experience across the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
Regional Director of Sales
Europe
Dulce Domingues-Dennett is an award-winning Regional Director of Sales – Europe with over two decades of experience driving commercial success across the UK and Europe.
Regional Human Resources Manager
Maxine Leal is a Human Resources professional with over seven years of experience in the field, currently serving as Regional HR Manager at UHM (United Hospitality Management) since August 2026 — the hotel management arm of Grupo UIP, one of Portugal's leading investment, real estate development, and hotel management groups.
United Hospitality Management delivers seamless hospitality solutions through a 360°
operational model. Rooted in integrity, innovation, and efficiency, the approach integrates
Franchise & Management, Hospitality Services, Advisory, and Manpower Solutions to enhance
performance and guest satisfaction across every asset.
