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Blue sky thinking

Published: 04/02/2008 - Filed under: Archive » 2008 » February 2008 » Destinations » Features » Features » Destinations » Features » Destinations » Middle East and Africa »

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From the 14th floor of the Thuraya Tower in Dubai Media City, a sizeable chunk of  “New Dubai” is laid out like a map. Dominating the panorama is the Palm Jumeirah, the daring engineering marvel transformed from ruler’s dream to concrete reality, with villas, apartment blocks and a steady stream of traffic darting on and off the main trunk – it’s now home to 1,000 residents. On the horizon, the slightly Gothic-looking Atlantis Resort is now up (although it won’t be open until late this year) and in the foreground, the Westin Mina Seyahi, sandwiched between Le Méridien Mina Seyahi and the One and Only Royal Mirage, has shot up from nowhere and will open in June, opposite the thriving Media City and Internet City free zones.

This is Dubai’s most dynamic district, where new is soon old and change seems the only constant. Around the corner is Dubai Marina, with its 200 towers, 3.5km-long man-made water channel and 700 berths, and where Grosvenor House, recently voted “best new business hotel” by Business Traveller readers, stands majestically. It’s hard to see where the marina ends and the similarly tower-faceted Jumeirah Beach Residence starts – indeed, you could make the same comment about much of the New Dubai district. Business travellers who used to know this area as a humble coastal strip containing the Ritz-Carlton, Oasis Beach, Hilton Jumeirah and the Sheraton Jumeirah now find themselves surrounded by 36 residential towers, four hotel towers and four beach clubs. In less than five years, the area has changed beyond recognition.

New Dubai now presents corporate visitors with a clear alternative to the city-based hotels, with many properties offering top-notch services which blur the traditional business and leisure boundaries – and with more business in the area there’s understandably more reason to stay here, particularly with the traffic on the main Sheikh Zayed Road presenting commuting challenges. Executives now have more choice in this pulsating district, at all ends of the pricing spectrum.

Working here is an agreeable option too, as most residents will testify. Samantha Wood, area director of PR and communications for the Middle East and Africa at Hilton Hotels, says: “Dubai has grown from a little village to a cosmopolitan metropolis – it’s so exciting to be a part of a new city that is constantly developing and embraces change. The only negative is the traffic, although now that I’ve moved house to be near my office in New Dubai, I only have a five-minute drive, which is just great.”

The US$81 million Emirates Marina Hotel and Residence (a member of hotel representation company Utell’s Luxury Collection) is a 59-storey property which recently opened its doors, featuring a variety of hotel room and apartment configurations, including 24 spacious studios, and six one-bedroom, 170 two-bedroom, and 55 three-bedroom apartments. There are also six exclusive penthouses spanning a massive 300 sqm each.

The hotel’s larger-than-standard rooms and apartments are designed to combine the best of two worlds – the comfort of staying in a plush hotel, complete with 24-hour room service, and the independence of a fully furnished apartment with kitchens containing modern appliances.

Its Timeless Spa occupies almost an entire floor with massage and beauty treatment rooms, and guests can treat themselves to indigenous products such as dates and frankincense. The spa level includes his-and-hers saunas, whirlpool baths, the obligatory gym and outdoor pool, relaxation deck, business centre, meeting room and concierge services.

To promote the launch, a web-based offer is available until December this year (emirateshotels.com) offering 35 per cent off published rates, which start from Dhs1,430 (£194) for a studio and Dhs2,252 (£306) for a two-bed suite. The rate includes free internet access, full breakfast and a 20 per cent discount spa voucher.

Nearby, the Intercontinental Group opened its first budget brand hotel in the region last summer, the 244-room Express by Holiday Inn Dubai Internet City – the first of 22 Express outlets planned across GCC countries and Jordan by 2010. But the group is not discarding the top end either, with three new properties in Dubai Festival City: the Intercontinental, which opened in November, Intercontinental Residence Suites (March 2008), and a Crowne Plaza (due to open this month).

Michel Augier, vice-president finance and business support at Intercontinental Hotels Group for the Middle East and Africa, says: “Currently, hotel options in the Middle East for travellers on a budget are quite limited, with many people having to select more expensive accommodation in order to guarantee themselves satisfactory levels of amenities and service.”

There are unlikely to be too many budget options, however, on the Palm Jumeirah, the luxury island with a completion date of 2010. The 28 beachfront hotels located on the crescent section will open by the end of 2009, and brands which have signed up include Hilton, Radisson and Mövenpick.

Work starts soon on the centerpiece of the island, the Trump International Hotel and Tower, which will be a luxury 61-storey mixed-use hotel and residential building located on the trunk. The 5.4km-long Palm Monorail, the first of its kind in the Middle East, is due to open at the end of 2008.

The Marina Residences development at the tip of the trunk is half completed and the handover of units is also scheduled for the end of this year. On completion, the 560-hectare mixed-use development will include an estimated 6,000 freehold units and be home to more than 70,000 hotel and property residents. The island will also be the final resting place of the QE2, which will be converted into a luxury hotel.

Developer Nakheel is also busy in the vicinity with “the World”, the 300 man-made islands designed to resemble the world map. Land reclamation is nearly complete and should be finished this year, when the first investors will begin constructing their properties. Most of the islands are now in place and these will add 232km of beachfront, albeit exclusive, to Dubai’s coastline.

Sales of the individual islands are by invitation only and cost between US$15 million and US$45 million. A number of celebrities are rumoured to have bought into the project, including former Mötley Crüe member Tommy Lee, who is reported to have purchased the island of Greece for his former wife Pamela Anderson. Reports have also linked Rod Stewart and David Beckham to the project, but neither of these has been confirmed.

The second Palm, the Palm Jebel Ali, will be the centre of a completely new city, which will be home to up to 1.7 million people by 2020. It will offer 70km of beaches, luxury hotels, and a mixture of housing types. Construction of the island is progressing on schedule, with primary breakwater work completed in December 2006, and reclamation of land from the original master plan now finished. Work on the island’s infrastructure began in April 2007, starting with the construction of six bridges which will connect the island to the mainland. The first residents should be moving in by 2010.

More jaw-dropping engineering feats lie around the corner, adding momentum to the New Dubai bandwagon. The recently announced 75km Arabian Canal is set to reshape the southern part of Dubai and transform the Jebel Ali landmass into an island, at a cost of US$61 billion, making it among the world’s most expensive projects.

It will be built in two parts – a US$11 billion, 75km-long canal which will snake from the Palm Jebel Ali to the Palm Jumeirah, due for completion in 2010, and a US$50 billion “city within a city”, which will cover 20,000 hectares along the canal’s southern flank. Developed by Limitless, the real-estate arm of Dubai World, the project will transform the arid terrain which stretches from the outskirts of New Dubai to Jebel Ali.

Ultimately though, New Dubai is something of a misnomer; this is not so much a geographical location as an ongoing ideology, which arguably started with the launch of Emirates’ services 22 years ago, and is still going strong. Projects are mounting up well away from so-called New Dubai itself in the downtown area of the city, including Dubai Festival City, Culture Village and Business Bay. Plus, just outside its limits lies the mega-development of Dubailand, a leisure and theme park venture which will contain the Bawadi hotel strip, complete with 29,000-plus rooms.

And let’s not forget, the UAE itself is less than 40 years old; so in the grand scheme of things, the whole story of Dubai’s development is really one big novelty.

Westin prepares to open

Starwood Hotels and Resorts is gearing up for the opening of the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina in June, the first Westin resort in the UAE. The property will create one large resort for the group, since it is located next door to Le Méridien Mina Seyahi.

The hotel will have 294 rooms, including 216 deluxe rooms, 52 Westin executive rooms and 24 suites and also include a spa and fitness facility, three themed restaurants, and three bars, with access to Le Méridien Mina Seyahi’s eight restaurants and bars.

Executives will be able to unwind on the Westin Heavenly Bed and enjoy the new “sensory welcome”, which consists of a white tea scent, music, lighting and botanicals (natural, herbal and organic body and skin care products).
Starwood is also targeting the MICE sector with its 836 sqm ballroom, Italian-designed conference centre with ten venues, outdoor beachside amphitheatre and a variety of lawn and barbecue areas for up to 5,000 guests.
Other attractions include a 1,200-metre private shoreline, 238-berth marina, five swimming pools, a watersports centre, sailing academy, health club with aerobics studio, gymnasium, sauna, deep-sea fishing, and golf and polo services.

Getting there

• Emirates has five daily flights to Dubai from Heathrow, three from Gatwick, two from Manchester and Birmingham, and one from Glasgow and Newcastle. Return fares from Heathrow start at: £355 (economy), £1,276 (business class) and £2,464 (first class); Gatwick: economy £352, business £1,270, first £2,458; Birmingham: economy £355, business £1,399; Manchester: economy £485, business £1,397; Glasgow: economy £485, £1,397; Newcastle: economy £418, business £1,401.
• British Airways operates two daily flights to Dubai from Heathrow. Return fares start from £375 (economy), £751 (premium economy), £1,307 (business class) and £2,801 (first class).
• Virgin Atlantic flies daily to Dubai from Heathrow. Return fares start at £365 (economy), £755 (premium economy), £1,036 (business).
• All-business class carrier Silverjet offers one daily flight to Dubai from London Luton. Return fares start from £1,099; fully flexible from £2,198.
• Royal Brunei has one daily service to Dubai from Heathrow; return fares from £315 (economy), or £1,633 (business class).

All fares quoted are for midweek flights in mid-February, including a Saturday night stay

Future Attractions

DUSIT THANI

Dusit International is expanding in Dubai, exporting its brand of Thai hospitality into several new properties and brands this year. Dubai Marina will see 146 units in the Dusit Residence, while the Dusit Palm Jumeirah Island will have its five-star Dusit  Devarana brand, as well as a Dusit Thani and a Dusit Residence opening in 2010.Distinguishing yourself in a crowd isn’t easy, but the shape of Dusit’s existing hotel, the Dusit Thani Dubai hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road – which it has managed since 2001 – is a fairly good advert, designed in the shape of two palms folded together in a traditional Thai greeting. Visit dusit.com.

GROSVENOR HOUSE

When Grosvenor House first opened in 2005, it was surrounded by cranes. Not any more – Dubai Marina has well and truly arrived, and the Grosvenor House West Marina Beach by Le Méridien consists of two 45-storey towers with 217 rooms and suites and 205 private apartments. Home to the Buddha Bar, an outpost of the famous Paris bar of the same name which is open until 3am at weekends, and the Indian restaurant Indego, run by Michelin chef Vineet Bhatia, Grosvenor House is a sign that Dubai has moved to a new level – particularly if you have sundowners in Bar 44, the cocktail bar on, you guessed it, the 44th floor. Visit grosvenorhouse-dubai.com.

JUMEIRAH

Jumeirah is the name most associated with the five-star hotels of Dubai, both because of the Jumeirah Emirates Towers, and also the Burj Al Arab. It has plans to open 50 properties in the next few years, and has completed its renovation of the Jumeirah Essex House overlooking Central Park in New York. Meanwhile, back in Dubai, the brand is showing how ahead of the curve it is with a planned new property in the heart of Dubai Healthcare City. The hotel tower will feature 439 rooms and suites over 34 stories while the residential component of the project will feature 406 serviced apartments over 42 storeys, leased on a short to medium-term basis. In addition, the hotel tower will feature four dedicated floors of special care units, equipped with the latest medical equipment and fully serviced by highly qualified medical staff, a first for the region. Visit jumeirah.com.

MONARCH

The 33-storey Monarch Hotel is bidding for the title of “most luxurious hotel”. The hotel has 236 rooms, suites and serviced residences, and is located at One, Sheikh Zayed Road. With a staff-to-guest ratio of 3.5 to one, and all room rates including private butlers, airport transfers, breakfast and wifi, it promises to satisfy the most demanding travellers. Personal trainers for wellness assessments and individual fitness plans are available at its health club, which features an outdoor pool, spa bath, sauna, gym and the Mandara Spa. There are also eight restaurants and lounges in the hotel offering European, Indian and Japanese cuisine, as well as fine dining at the Empire restaurant. Visit refad.com.

ROTANA

Rotana Hotels and Resorts has plans for a massive expansion (mainly in the Middle East), from its current list of 25 hotels to 64 by the end of 2012. By the end of 2008 the choice of properties in Dubai will include the new five-star Amwaj Rotana Resort, the Media Rotana Hotel in Media City, the Rose Rotana Hotel, the Al Sufouh Rotana Suites, as well as Centro by Rotana, Barsha and Centro by Rotana, Diyafa. Visit rotana.com.

TIARA

Tiara Hotels and Resorts is another new brand debuting in Dubai. Its first 309-room property opens this summer on Palm Jumeirah, followed by a 332-room property, Tiara United Towers, on Sheikh Zayed Road in winter 2009. Both hotels promise “thought luxury over bought luxury” and “a revolutionary hospitality experience with a commitment to guest-centric service and facilities. All Tiara properties will be fresh and unconventional spaces for people who appreciate a personalised environment that responds to their individual needs”. Visit tiara.com.

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