News

wasl Asset Management Group, one of the largest real estate development and management companies in Dubai has announced the launch of the city’s second luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel, which is due to open in November 2020. The new location in Dubai’s Commercial District of Sheikh Zayed Road will complement wasl’s Mandarin Oriental hotel on the waterfront at Jumeira Beach, which will open in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The new hotel will be the centerpiece of the 63-storey mixed-use wasl Tower which is being developed as a commanding addition to the city’s skyline. Located on Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai’s main thoroughfare, the property will have direct access to the area’s key business districts and tourist attractions, including Dubai Opera House, City Walk and Dubai Mall, as well as the city’s two airports, being 20 minutes from Dubai International Airport and 40 minutes from Dubai South – Al Maktoum International Airport. The hotel will also include a full suite of on-site luxury entertainment and leisure facilities that redefine Dubai’s premium hospitality offering.

His Excellency Hesham Al Qassim, CEO of wasl Asset Management Group, commented: “We are pleased to be partnering once again with Mandarin Oriental to bring another elegant and sophisticated hotel to Dubai, which furthers wasl’s mandate to supply the Emirate’s hospitality sector with quality hotels. Combined with the premium property offering at wasl Tower, we are offering the height of luxury in both the hospitality and residential sectors, which wasl works to support in alignment with the vision of the UAE’s wise leadership.”

Both hotels are being developed in collaboration with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, the international hotel investment and management group with luxury hotels across the world, while Amsterdam-based UN Studio is the appointed architect of the 300-meter-high building, wasl Tower, which has been designed as an integrated urban environment that promotes connectivity and sustainability.

One of the hotel’s key attractions will be a beautiful double level sky lobby, offering stunning views of the beach and Sheikh Zayed Road from either end. Guests will access the sky lobby via a plush reception area on floor 35, with a club lounge, a lifestyle lounge and a tea lounge on the same level, while floor 36 features an all-day dining area.

The hotel includes 257 spacious and contemporary guestrooms, suites and serviced apartments, which will be located on floors 16 to 38 of the tower, providing outstanding views over Downtown Dubai and the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. All accommodation will reflect the local culture, with features inspired by both Emirati and oriental heritage.

Adding to wasl Tower’s residential offering, the hotel will also be home to 144 residences located on the tower’s upper floors, which will provide some of the most luxurious private homes in the city. The Mandarin Oriental Residences will have their own private access, with dedicated facilities including a Resident’s Lounge, while also benefiting from direct access to the hotel’s facilities and Mandarin Oriental’s legendary service.

The food and beverage offering at the Mandarin Oriental will feature award-winning restaurants headed by some of the world’s most celebrated chefs, with a variety of restaurants including a lively rooftop sky lounge with citywide views, a signature dining experience, an all-day dining venue, a poolside restaurant, a Club Lounge, and a signature Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop.

There will also be extensive banqueting and meeting spaces designed to accommodate social and business events, while the Spa at Mandarin Oriental will introduce Dubai’s most comprehensive spa, beauty and wellness services. The two-storey facility will feature 12 private treatment rooms, a wide-ranging fitness centre, vitality pools, heat and water therapies, and an outdoor swimming pool set within a landscaped garden terrace.

James Riley, Group Chief Executive of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group said, “Dubai continues to develop in stature as one of the world’s leading destinations, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to operate two luxury hotels in this important city. We look forward to collaborating again with wasl Hospitality and Leisure to create a second iconic property and to be extending our brand’s presence in the Middle East.”

His Excellency Hesham Al Qassim, CEO of wasl Asset Management Group, concluded: “We look forward to introducing new visitors and residents to the exceptional service for which Mandarin Oriental is renowned. The new project sets new standards for architecture, redefines the premium life style offered in Dubai, and is another milestone in establishing this city as the home of luxury hospitality and the world’s favourite destination.”

The hotel industry in Dubai, UAE, recorded strong occupancy levels during the first quarter of 2017 despite continued and significant supply growth, according to data from STR.

Based on preliminary data, Dubai recorded an occupancy level of 86.3 per cent, which was a 2.7 per cent uplift compared with Q1 2016. Average daily rate (ADR) was down 6.4 per cent over the same time period to an actual level of Dh795 ($216.4). As a result, revenue per available room (RevPAR) decreased 3.9 per cent to Dh686 ($186.7). Because Dubai has seen two years with consistent RevPAR declines, STR analysts see the Q1 occupancy growth as an indicator of performance recovery.

“A factor that likely played a big role in Dubai’s occupancy growth was the UAE government’s recent decisions to grant visas on arrival for Chinese and Russian nationals,” said Philip Wooller, STR’s area director for the Middle East and Africa. “While Dubai continues to add new supply, it also continues to add new leisure attractions, and expanding the market’s range of potential visitors can only help drive hotel demand and profitability.”

Occupancy increases were mainly pushed by the middle and lower tier hotel classes. Dubai’s midscale and economy classes experienced a combined 7.2 per cent year-over-year increase in occupancy, while Luxury hotels posted more moderate growth of 0.7 per cent. Upper upscale hotels reported a 1.1 per cent decline. STR analysts note that the midscale and economy classes experienced less substantial supply growth compared with other classes during Q1, although the Upper Midscale class, which recorded the highest rate of supply growth (over 13.9 per cent), also posted a substantial increase in occupancy (up 6.7 per cent).

Ahead of his presentation at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) on April 26, Robin Rossmann, STR’s managing director, notes that Dubai’s strong demand is impressive considering the significance of supply growth in the market.

“With more than 42,000 rooms currently under contract, Dubai has the largest pipeline of any city in the world,” Rossmann said. “The market faces several challenges over the next few years in maintaining a demand level that can offset some of this supply growth. On the positive side, Dubai continues to attract substantial leisure business, so this is definitely one of the top markets in the industry to keep an eye on from both a supply development and performance perspective.”

Dubai has been furnished with a quintessentially British offering with the opening of the new five star DUKES Dubai hotel on the west trunk of Palm Jumeirah.

This is the first international property for DUKES, which has proven a hugely popular destination with GCC visitors in London.

DUKES Dubai, which soft-opened for training in December, consists of 279 guestrooms including 64 suites, with a ladies-only Liberty Duchess floor featuring 20 rooms, as well as 227 fully furnished hotel apartments and six distinctive dining experiences.

“DUKES Dubai brings the very best of British hospitality to the emirate. The soft opening of the hotel in December was a great success and we have already received rave reviews. We look forward to welcoming visitors and treating them to this unique experience,” said Abdulla Bin Sulayem, CEO, Seven Tides.

Serving modern British brasserie-style cuisine, the hotel’s signature outlet Great British Restaurant (GBR) will operate under the culinary direction of executive chef Martin Cahill, serving quality British produce in a dramatic setting overlooking the Gulf. The meticulously planned menu of much loved dishes includes cod and chips, Lancashire hot pot, Colchester Oysters and Dover sole, with calorific sweets taken straight from the kitchens of the Home Counties.

For lighter bites and drinks, guests can head to DUKES Bar, which is famed for its signature selection of martinis.

Of course, guests can also opt to dine at the award-winning Manhattan style grill and bar, West 14th, already located within the same development, whose executive chef, Clive Pereira, was named Gastronomic Superstar at the Leaders in Hospitality Awards 2016.

“I currently divide my time between London and Dubai and it has given me great insight into the pent-up demand, expectations and trends of British travellers, essentially it helps me to take the pulse of the British outbound market. I am confident that our offering will not only match, it will exceed their expectations – brand loyalty is the key to success for DUKES Dubai,” said Debrah Dhugga, Managing Director of DUKES Dubai and DUKES London.

The remainder of the property’s food and beverage outlets will come online within the next six to eight weeks. This will include traditional Northern Indian restaurant Khyber, marking the first international outpost for the Mumbai-based family restaurant group. Visitors can also look forward to the Tea Lounge for afternoon tea and the Cigar Lounge, offering a sophisticated selection of fine cigars and malts.

Dubai’s tourism sector kicked off 2017 in high gear as the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Dubai Tourism, reported a 12 percent year-on-year growth over the first two months of 2017, which saw Dubai welcoming just over three million visitors, nearly four times the rate of the previous year.

Supported by growth in all key markets, China and Russia in particular drove the volumes and set the stage for a strong first quarter result. This period witnessed a 60 percent growth in overnight tourists from China with January alone peaking at 102 percent, while attracting a total of 157,000 Chinese visitors across just the first two months. Reflecting an even more significant percentage increase, Russian visitors jumped by 84 percent over the same period last year with February delivering a massive 140 percent volume increase to bring a total of 65,000 travellers in the first two months.

Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General of Dubai Tourism, said, “As we continue to invest in raising consideration for Dubai as the destination of choice for global travellers, our focus at Dubai Tourism is equally on increasing Dubai’s accessibility and removing barriers to travel by working closely with partners and stakeholders in the public and private sectors on both a federal and emirate level. Ultimately our collective aim is to make it as easy and seamless as possible for any prospective tourist from our diversified base of source markets to visit and revisit Dubai.”

“We are delighted to see visitor numbers make a strong start in 2017. We work closely with the government on initiatives to drive increased visitation, and the decision by the leadership of the UAE to offer visas-on-arrival to our Chinese and Russian guests has already proven an astute one, as we have seen an almost instant positive effect from both countries. Dubai Tourism has invested significant efforts in marketing Dubai as an appealing destination for visitors from China and Russia, and we are encouraged to see such promising results,” the Director-General added.

Following the visit of a high-level Dubai Government delegation and private stakeholders to China in October 2016, Dubai has progressively improved its ‘China Readiness’ at an overall city level across all aspects of the tourist journey, particularly across infrastructure components and key pillars of the destination proposition.

The Russian market has retained its trajectory of recovery that commenced last year, following a prolonged period of economic instability that resulted in a marked drop in Russian outbound travel. Having posted a year-on-year increase of 14 per cent in overnight visitation in 2016, the dramatic spike in 2017 so far is a strong indicator of the positive sentiment for outbound travel from the market, and more specifically the strong consideration for Dubai among couples and families.

“While the strong performance in January and February is encouraging and to be applauded, it is important to stress that we still have much to do as we face a dynamic global environment influenced by various macro-economic and geopolitical challenges. Nonetheless, we remain confident in the strength of Dubai’s appeal as a tier 1 travel destination and will continue to mitigate risks by pursuing a diversified source market strategy as we work towards our target of welcoming 20 million visitors per year by 2020,” Almarri concluded.

Dubai master developer Nakheel and Thailand’s Minor Hotels have signed a management agreement for a new 372-room hotel to be constructed at Ibn Battuta Mall.

Under the agreement, signed in Bangkok by Nakheel Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah and William E. Heinecke, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Minor International PCL, the hotel will be managed under the vibrant AVANI Hotels & Resorts brand, which offers guests relaxed comfort and contemporary style in city and resort destinations.

The 18-storey hotel for which a construction contract will be awarded in February this year is the second Nakheel hotel at Ibn Battuta and one of 16 in the developer’s hospitality project portfolio. Adjacent to the recently-opened Ibn Battuta Metro Link, which is directly connected to the mall, the hotel will feature a pool, spa, gym, all day dining restaurant, coffee shop and parking.

Minor Hotels’ portfolio currently comprises more than 20,000 rooms across 156 hotels, resorts and serviced suites in 24 countries under the Anantara, AVANI, PER AQUUM, Oaks, Tivoli, Elewana, Four Seasons, Marriott, St Regis, Radisson Blu and Minor International brands.

Nakheel Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah said: “Today marks yet another key milestone in our commitment to enhancing and diversifying Dubai’s hotel offering by bringing new, reputable international hospitality brands to the emirate in line with the Government’s vision. We are delighted to welcome Minor and the AVANI brand to Ibn Battuta Mall, which, with over 20 million visitors a year, is one of Dubai’s leading tourist destinations.”

William E. Heinecke commented: “We are very pleased to be partnering with Nakheel for the new AVANI hotel at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai. Having launched our upscale AVANI brand in the region last year, we are delighted to continue the brand’s expansion in the UAE with this new hotel and we are confident that the brand will prove successful in this key market.”

AVANI Ibn Battuta is the second Nakheel hotel at the mall. The first, a 372-room Premier Inn, opened last year. The hotels are part of Nakheel’s ongoing expansion at Ibn Battuta Mall, the first phase of which was completed last year with the opening of a 300,000 sq ft extension and 210 metre link to the Dubai Metro. The mall currently has 400 shops, restaurants and entertainment outlets across 1.5 million sq ft of retail space, with phase two of the expansion under way.

Nakheel has more than 5,300 rooms across a diverse range of hospitality projects.  Two are already complete and operational, with the rest at various stages of construction and development.

Nakheel’s hotel portfolio includes:

Ibn Battuta Mall:  AVANI-branded hotel with 372 rooms adjacent to the new Ibn Battuta Mall/Metro link. Management agreement signed.
Ibn Battuta Mall:  Premier Inn-operated hotel with 372 rooms directly linked to the mall. Opened October 2016.
Dragon Mart 2:  ibis Styles hotel with 251 rooms, directly linked to Dragon Mart.  Opened February 2016.
Dragon City:  Premier Inn-operated hotel with around 320 rooms, forming part of the Nakheel’s Dragon City expansion. Management agreement signed.
Palm Jumeirah: The Palm Tower, a 289-room luxury hotel, to be managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts under the St Regis brand, occupying the first 18 floors of Nakheel’s 52-storey hotel and residential tower. Under construction.
Palm Jumeirah: PALM 360, luxury twin-tower hotel and residential complex with 12,000 sq ft, branded penthouses and apartments. Upcoming.
Jumeirah Village Triangle:  251-room hotel to be managed by Hilton under its DoubleTree by Hilton brand. Letter of Intent signed.
Deira Islands: joint venture with Spain’s RIU Hotels & Resorts for a 750-room, all-inclusive beachfront resort.  Agreement signed.
Deira Islands: joint venture with Centara Hotels & Resorts, also from Thailand, for a 550-room, AED500 million resort and waterpark.  Agreement signed.

Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai is delighted to announce the completion of phase one in its extensive renovation programme which has been undertaken across its public areas including the Lobby Lounge and Dunes Café. The renovation programme has revealed a beautiful and modern, yet classical design and marks a new chapter in the evolution of Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai.

With the aim to create a contemporary haven of elegance that blends modern Arabia with Shangri-La’s legendary hospitality in the heart of Dubai, the hotel’s Lobby Lounge has been extended, whilst Dunes Café has been designed as a more private dining space set aside from the lobby by pods which shield the area discreetly from the hustle and bustle. Steel and gold chandeliers are suspended from the lobby ceilings, whilst a welcoming and open guest arrival lounge provides a warm and uplifting first impression for guests. A stunning ‘wave’ chandelier designed by bespoke chandelier designers, Lasvit, hangs in the entrance of the hotel weighing the equivalent of over 700 bags of sugar. Another spectaular chandelier hangs in the two-storey staircase connecting the lobby and dining outlets. In the lobby itself, plentiful flashes of gold and ruby red detailing reflect the jewels of traditional Arabian souks. In addition, 4,212 hand-cut, blue, tiger’s eye stone tiles have been pieced together to form the entry walls to the six lobby elevators. The stone is also featured on the tables in the Lobby Lounge. Tiger’s Eye is a semi-precious stone believed to hold soothing qualities and has been introduced to bring a further sense of calm to the surroundings.

The hotel’s impressive, atrium-style lobby area has been designed by Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA) the world’s leading hospitality interior design firm. The new layout  across the renovated areas of the hotel has been planned in a manner which enables guests to effortlessly mix work with pleasure. Host a business meeting in the new stylish Lobby Lounge, meet friends for drinks, enjoy Asian High Tea or watch the world go by while having a specialist tea or coffee.

Located on the ground floor, Dunes Café is convenient and perfectly placed for casual dining with friends or business associates. The live open kitchen, featuring numerous culinary styles, is a showcase for the best of international cuisine.

The renovation project, which began in June 2016, has taken over 5.5 million minutes of man-time from the start to the end of phase one.  Phase two includes the renovation of 302 rooms and suites to be completed in 2018, which will place Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai firmly as one of the most desirable destination hotels in Dubai for both international business travellers and tourists as well as discerning locals alike.

The soon to be renovated guest rooms are being designed with style and comfort front of mind. A touch of classic glamour is conveyed through the warmth of Asian-influenced, wooden fixtures and fittings combined with white, blush and pastel blue soft furnishings. With every guest room situated on the highest floors of the hotel, each visitor will enjoy inspiring and far-reaching views either across the Arabian Sea, or of the architecturally inspiring Dubai city skyline.

Mr Gerhard Hecker, general manager of Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai, said: ‘It is our mission to ensure we create truly memorable and elevated experiences for our guests. I am delighted to finally reveal our newly renovated public spaces and am confident this will further enhance our guests’ experience. I very much look forward to welcoming both existing and new guests as we enter the next stage of our hotel’s history in this vibrant and growing Emirate’.

Rotana, one of the leading hotel management companies in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe, today announced plans to open seven new hotels in Dubai, four hotels in the capital Abu Dhabi and one in Ras Al Khaimah by the end of 2020. Six of the upcoming properties will be five-star hotels, with the remaining properties comprising of a mix of four and three star hotels and hotel apartments.

Upon completion, the new hotels will add 4,360 keys to Rotana’s existing inventory, taking its fast expanding portfolio in the UAE to 44  properties, including 21 in Dubai and 17 in Abu Dhabi, with a room inventory of 11,782  (6,682 in Dubai alone and 5,100 in Abu Dhabi).

The total value of the 12 upcoming properties managed by Rotana in the UAE is estimated at USD 1.7 billion.

Omer Kaddouri, President & CEO of Rotana, comments: “The UAE is our home market and even as we pursue our global ambitions and expand our footprint into new geographic regions, the country continues to remain the fulcrum around which Rotana’s business strategy is developed and implemented. With us bringing to the local market 12 new properties within the next four years, we further express our commitment to supporting the UAE’s tourism ambitions and reaffirming our belief in the long-term prospects of the country’s hospitality industry. Next year, we will be introducing a number of five-star properties to the market, including the all-new Saadiyat Rotana Resort and villas in Abu Dhabi, scheduled to open in Q4 2017. Ideal for both, business and leisure travellers, the resort will feature 354 upscale rooms and suites, 13 beach villas, a beach club and extensive conference facilities.”

“Rotana already has a significant presence in the capital, and strengthening our portfolio with an additional four properties will allow us to further contribute to and capitalize on Abu Dhabi’s expanding tourism and hospitality sector. While in Dubai, our seven upcoming properties will go a long way towards meeting the demand increase anticipated in the run-up to Expo 2020, and will help ramp up overall room capacity which is crucial to achieving the city’s ambitious tourism vision,” concluded Kaddouri.

Despite the challenging economic environment, the outlook for the hospitality sector in Dubai and Abu Dhabi remains positive. In previous UAE Real Estate 2016 mid-year market reviews, global consultancy firms listed the medium-to-long term outlook for the hospitality sector in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as positive, citing the opening of theme parks and new tourist attractions as the main factors driving demand.