African hotel operator Serena Hotels has expanded its Ugandan portfolio of properties by signing a contract to operate the Ranch on the Lake resort near the capital city of Kampala.

The property will be rebranded and renamed as Lake Victoria Serena Resort, and will be wholly owned by the Pearl Development Group and managed by Serena Hotels under its local company, TPS (Uganda).

The property will complement Serena's existing five-star city hotel, The Kampala Serena Hotel.

Lake Victoria Serena Resort is set on the shores of Africa's largest fresh water Lake and source of the River Nile, Lake Victoria.

Facilities at the 124-bedroom resort include a range of restaurants and bars, conferencing facilities, a health club and a luxury Maisha-branded spa. The interior of the hotel has been designed by Jon Cavanagh of Symbion International.

A 18-hole championship golf course is also being built on site and expected to open by Christmas 2010.

The Serena Hotels' Managing Director, Mr. Mahmud Janmohamed said: "With this new property we hope to help broaden the appeal of Lake Victoria as a destination by offering both a value for money product and the reliability."