Hilton Worldwide has opened a Doubletree by Hilton hotel in Aqaba, Jordan, the first branch of the brand to be launched in the Middle East.

The hotel, which overlooks the Red Sea, contains 173 rooms, a swimming pool, two whirlpools, a sauna and steam room, and a fitness centre, as well as 220m² of meeting and event space.

The launch is the first of four hotels in Hilton’s development pipeline for Jordan; the second, another Doubletree hotel, is scheduled to open in Ras al Khaimah, UAE, next week.

Hilton Worldwide currently operates 46 hotels and one convention centre in the Middle East & Africa, totalling to more than 14,500 rooms across 15 countries.