There were so many new hotel openings last month, we suspect those that didn’t make their targeted launch thought they might just get away with it and go unnoticed amid the F1 madness in Abu Dhabi (which we watched from The Yas Viceroy Hotel by the way, thanks to regional president Anton Bawab and his team).
But we’re afraid that’s not the case and one hotel we’ve got our eye on in particular is the St. Regis on Saadiyat Island. Back in May, we were told the hotel would be opening by November 5 to meet a group booking, but this didn’t happen. At the time of going to press, the hotel still hadn’t opened — or had it? In one of the most confusing PR statements to date, we were told: “The hotel at the moment is in soft opening phase, and is not open to the public”.
Otherwise known as closed, surely? We were then assured it would “definitely” be open before the end of the year, but that it “should” open in December. Try making sense of that one! We wouldn’t be so bothered if it didn’t sound like such an amazing property!
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What then of the top 10 hotels Hotelier said would be opening in 2011? We were rather embarrassed to realise our forecast this time last year wouldn’t have won us any prizes. Only four of our top 10 hotels are now open. Oops.
So congratulations to Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, Hotel Missoni Kuwait, Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa and Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Saadiyat Island.
As for Royal Amwaj, Palazzo Versace, St. Regis Doha, Conrad Dubai, and The Palace Ras Al Khaimah — which we now know will be operated by Hilton Worldwide’s Waldorf Astoria brand — these are all meant to open in 2012, while InterContinental Fujairah Resort has now been pushed to Q1 2013.
Keep your eyes out for January’s issue and if your hotel makes our list of top hotels to open in 2012, have a heart and open as planned for us please!
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