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Jumeirah Frankfurt set for September opening

18 May 2011 by BusinessTraveller

Dubai-based luxury hotel operator Jumeirah is gearing up for the opening of its first property in continental Europe, with the 218-room Jumeirah Frankfurt set for a soft opening in August, before it is officially unveiled this September.

The 25-floor, new-build hotel is attached to the MyZeil shopping centre, and is the last piece in Frankfurt’s central PalaisQuartier redevelopment project, also comprising a 135-metre office tower and the reconstructed 18th-century Palais Thurn und Taxis.

The Jumeirah hotel has an enviable location close to the stock exchange, pedestrian shopping areas and the city’s opera house, which will help it to compete with the likes of Villa Kennedy (a luxury Rocco Forte property situated on the south bank of the River Main), and other upmarket brands including Intercontinental, Westin, Hilton and Steigenberger.

The hotel will have a total of 218 rooms starting from 35sqm, with 65 suites and a further 50 categorised as Grand Deluxe Rooms, measuring between 44 and 54sqm.

“In fact we could have had over 100 suites,” said general manager Dagmar Woodward “but we decided to call the smaller suites ‘large guestrooms’. We have about 50 of those, which is great for roadshows as we are able to offer a large number of identical huge rooms.”

Among the largest of these roadshows are the biennial Frankfurt Motor Show, being held this year during September, and the world’s largest book fair held annually in October. Woodward expects the hotel to have an 80-20 business to leisure mix, and with the German economy booming she said that the hotel is opening “at a great time for Germany, but also at a great time of the year for Frankfurt”.

Facilities will include a dedicated conference floor, with a ballroom capable of accommodating up to 300 delegates, as well as four further meeting rooms, a pre-function area and a business centre. The group’s signature Talise Spa will offer five treatment rooms, two saunas and a relaxation area, and guests will also have free access to a 5,000sqm Platinum Fitness First gym (part of the MyZeil shopping mall but with direct access from the hotel), with features including an indoor swimming pool.

The hotel’s restaurant will offer “modern German cuisine with an Austrian twist”, the twist being Austrian executive chef Martin Steiner, previously at luxury brands including Relais and Chateau, Savoy and Kempinski. Commenting on the restaurant’s cuisine Woodward said that “We’re not looking for a Michelin star – we want to have a restaurant that’s busy, that’s buzzing, where locals feel comfortable to go there, and not just on expense accounts. “

There will also be a lobby bar with an open fireplace and views of the Palais Thurn und Taxis, as well as a café with terrace area and direct access to the shopping mall.

The hotel’s interiors are by Peter Silling and Associates (also responsible for the recent refurbishment of the Steigenberger Frankfurt Hof), with rooms featuring timber floors, 42-inch plasma screen TVs, Bose surround sound systems, and “a warm and restful colour palette of walnut, honey and nutmeg”. Many rooms have open bathrooms “providing generous spaces through a smooth transition to the living area”, and all feature original artwork by German artist Hartwig Ebersbach.

Jumeirah Frankfurt will join two existing London hotels as the only European properties within the portfolio. The Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa is currently under development in Mallorca, and in 2008 the group announced it would be opening a property in the Scottish city of Glasgow, although this project is no longer listed on the group’s website.

For more information visit jumeirah.com.

Report by Mark Caswell


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