Two hotels opening in Dubai are planning to make a distinctive mark on the burgeoning state.
The first is a Radisson SAS property, which will open later this year inDubai's Media City.
The 251-bedroom property will have a distinctive architectural or design feature in keeping with other Radisson properties such as Stansted, which has a wine wall scaled by wine waiters fitted with a climbing harness and ropes, or Berlin, which has the world's largest freestanding aquarium.
The Radisson SAS Hotel,Media City will have three stylish bars and restaurants, seven meeting rooms and an executive lounge with boardroom and business centre. There will be two pools (one rooftop), a fitness centre, separate male and female steam rooms and a spa with five treatment rooms.
The second property is being built by Dubai-based airline, Emirates. It will be the world's tallest building, at 70 storeys or 800 metres high, when it opens in 2008. The hotel will be built on Sheikh Zayed road and will have 560 rooms, 112 suites and a presidential suite.
Emirates says it hopes to break architectural boundaries with the property, which will have rooms jutting out from the main tower in curved wings. The hotel will also have a health club with fitness centre and spa, 15 food and beverage outlets and a rooftop bar with panoramic views ofDubai.
Dubai received 5.4 million visitors in 2004, which is expected to increase three-fold in the next decade.
