Billionaire Hisham Talaat Moustafa is rebuilding the century-old golf course at the foot of the Pyramids with the world's top course designer

Legacy Hotels has signed a formal partnership with world-renowned golf course architects Robert Trent Jones II to redevelop the golf course at the Mena House in Cairo, reviving one of the most historically significant sporting venues in the Middle East and North Africa and giving it a world-class redesign for the first time in over a century.

The agreement was signed by Omar Hisham Talaat, Chief Business Development Officer at Talaat Moustafa Group, the Egyptian conglomerate whose hospitality arm ICON owns a 51 percent stake in Legacy Hotels, and by architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. himself.

The Mena House is one of Egypt's most iconic addresses. Originally a hunting lodge built in 1869 for the Egyptian Khedive Ismail Pasha, it was converted into a hotel in 1886 and has hosted royals, heads of state and literary figures across nearly 140 years of continuous operation, including King George V, Queen Mary and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle among its historic guests. The hotel sits directly in front of the Giza Pyramids, giving its golf course a backdrop that no amount of design genius can manufacture and no competitor can replicate.

That setting is exactly what makes the RTJ II partnership significant. "The Mena House golf course spans over 100 years, embodying a unique heritage experience rather than just history," Omar Hisham Talaat said at the signing. He said the course's position in front of the Pyramids makes it a premier destination for golf enthusiasts worldwide, and that the redevelopment is designed to modernise the layout and introduce high-end facilities that meet current international luxury standards.

Robert Trent Jones Jr., whose firm has previously designed the Madinaty and SouthMED golf courses for TMG, described the Mena House commission as among the most significant his firm has undertaken globally. "Our partnership aims to revive and transform this iconic historic course into an exceptional world-class golfing destination, particularly given its unique setting overlooking the Pyramids of Giza," he said. He expressed anticipation that visitors from around the world would come to enjoy an experience that blends sport, heritage and history in a combination that exists nowhere else on earth.

TMG has been systematically expanding its golf portfolio alongside its broader hospitality ambitions. Hisham Talaat Moustafa, CEO and Managing Director of the group, has led Egypt's Egyptian Golf Federation and has spoken publicly about using world-class tournaments and courses to drive Egypt's positioning as a premium golf destination. Golf participation in Egypt rose approximately 25 percent in a single year recently, and TMG has been investing in amateur and professional tournaments, junior programmes and international partnerships to capitalise on that growth. The Madinaty Golf Club, another TMG property designed by RTJ II, received the Asian Tour's Players Choice Course of the Year award.

Legacy Hotels owns seven historic properties across Egypt, including the Marriott Mena House Cairo, the Sofitel Winter Palace in Luxor and the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan. TMG's ICON hospitality arm acquired its controlling stake in Legacy in December 2023, giving the group direct management control over assets that had previously operated under third-party management arrangements. The acquisition expanded TMG's dollar-denominated revenue and gave it direct access to Egypt's most internationally recognised hotel brands.

The Mena House golf course redevelopment sits within a broader Egyptian government push to position the country as a global luxury and sports tourism destination. With the Mena House overlooking the Giza Pyramids on one side and the modernised course on the other, TMG is betting that the combination of history, luxury and sport will draw a calibre of international visitor that fills high-rate rooms and generates tourism receipts beyond what standard sightseeing alone produces.