SNEAK PEEK: Rotana's two Al Ghurair Dubai hotels

The opening of Al Ghurair Rayhaan by Rotana and Arjaan by Rotana complex, slated for December, will see the UAE-based group overtake Starwood as the operator with the most properties in Dubai. But it’s not just a numbers game for Rotana, as Hotelier discovers on a tour of its most splendid properties yet

In December, if all goes to plan, Rotana will open a two-hotel complex in the heart of Deira comprising Al Ghurair Rayhaan by Rotana Dubai and Al Ghurair Arjaan by Rotana Dubai. The openings will see Rotana overtake Starwood as the dominant hotel chain in Dubai with 15 operating properties.

It hasn’t been an easy race to win. The two properties form part of a 12,540m² extension of Al Ghurair City — one of the Middle East’s oldest shopping centres — the completion of which has been pushed back several times and is now slated for the first quarter of 2013.

Problems with contractors led to a five-month standstill of the construction and fit out of the property smack bang in the middle of the preopening, which meant the executive team had to, in effect, go through the recruitment process twice.

“It was going along very steadily then we demobilised for about five months because they went through a construction stoppage and change of contractor — so we’ve been remobilised since May or June this year,” explains GM Mark McCarthy, who came onboard for the preopening last March.

“Our issue was we hired everyone last year then it stopped, but we were fortunate as everyone we had sent an offer to we offered alternative positions in other Rotanas, so a lot of people took them and then we started again this year,” says McCarthy, who himself went to manage The Cove Rotana Resort in Ras Al Khaimah during the five-month delay.

“We went our separate ways, director of spa Afrah Hamdy went to Iraq and opened a spa in Erbil,” he adds.

“It was a very exciting experience, and quick — three months went like three weeks,” says Hamdy on her Iraq experience.

Armin Weller, director of F&B adds: “For me and chef we only mobilised in June, but our
predecessors went to different [Rotana] properties and did not come back”.

But the wait has been worth it for those who came back to the two properties — Rotana’s most impressive yet in terms of scale and style.

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First impressions
“It’s amazing when our corporate people come in they go ‘wow’,” says McCarthy. Both properties are linked to the mall, with the lobby on the third floor.

The five-star Al Ghurair Rayhaan by Rotana Dubai will feature 428 rooms and suites while Al Ghurair Arjaan by Rotana Dubai comprises 192 hotel apartments.

The hotel and hotel apartment complex, which will not serve alcohol, will feature four food and beverage venues including Liwan, an all-day dining restaurant; signature Persian restaurant Shayan; Buzz Deli Café on the mall level, and Yasmine Lounge in the lobby.

“One thing you’ll have noticed is the hotel is extremely modern and contemporary. One of the things we have here is a fantastic all-day dining which is full of live action stations, it’s going to be more than 200 seats, plus a very big lounge and shisha terrace so that’s the main dining outlet,” says director of F&B Weller.

“We have our signature Persian restaurant but it’s not an old-fashioned Persian outlet people are used to in Dubai. It’s got a contemporary design, very modern and minimalistic, it’s beautiful.” Executive chef Joachim Textor adds that Iranian employees have been recruited for the authentic restaurant.

“And we have Buzz, a daily café where we can offer sandwiches and sophisticated small meals in the daytime.

Because we’re a non-alcohol property we put an emphasis on our non-alcoholic beverages so we have very modern creations on the juices side, plus health and wellness teas and fruit smoothies, blending spices and herbs. We want to stand out from the typical restaurants offered in the mall,” continues Weller.

“Then of course we have the poolside bars, room service, the meeting rooms. The entire lobby lounge is surrounded by a copper infinity pool — not the typical couple of upholsteries — it’s more of an oasis. There’s going to be a big difference as you walk from the mall into the tasteful lobby lounge,” continues Weller.

The four main outlets will be shared between Rayhaan and Arjaan and McCarthy estimates revenue from F&B to make up around a quarter of the hotel’s total revenue.
“We’re 620 rooms so that will be the great majority. There’s spa in there too which adds 3-4% of the revenue,” explains McCarthy.

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Unwind
The complex’s spa will be Rotana’s first Zen Spa in Dubai, with Zen Spas already operating in Fujairah and Abu Dhabi.

“Our signature is going to be a wellness programme. We will tackle whatever the guest needs; if they want to stop smoking, lose weight, de-stress, we’ll set a programme and advise the frequency of treatments needed. This will mainly be for our outside guests of course, but we’ll follow a holistic approach with every guest,” says director of spa Hamdy.

“Our spa is a big facility; we have eight treatment rooms, two relaxing areas separate for ladies and gents, wet and cold facilities. And we have Aromatherapy Associates products famous for delivering specific results by using essential oils and you can really feel a difference so it’s going to be a good selling point for us,” she continues.

“There’s nothing similar around here, if we had to compare it would only be with Park Hyatt Dubai, but our service will be quite unique and new because we will provide very personalised customer care. It’s not about pampering, indulging, it’s about really improving the lifestyle of people,” adds Hamdy.

Guests will also be able to benefit from Rotana’s Bodylines fitness centre.

With healthy juices and light bites in Buzz Deli Café, significant spa and fitness facilities, and not forgetting the dry nature of the hotels — or “healthy environment” as dubbed by director of marketing and communications Carine Harb — Hotelier asks whether Rotana’s going down the popular wellness, lifestyle route with its latest venture.

While GM McCarthy says health and fitness is “definitely” a key focus, he’s quick to add: “Though I wouldn’t say they’re going to be health restaurants.

“We want people to get fat and then we’ll send them to the spa to get slim,” he jokes.
McCarthy addresses the dry aspect of the properties: “We’ve had a few experiences with Rayhaan and the dry doesn’t seem to matter quite as much anymore — there are going to be some groups that won’t come but the reaction seems to be very good and it doesn’t seem to be a question that’s asked.

People realise Rayhaans are very modern, good hotels with good facilities and family orientated”. He expects the properties will be popular among the local markets.

“From the sales side, because of our size Rotana’s taken care that we’ve got a larger sales team. We have an area sales office that covers about 40 people then typically our properties may have two people in sales, we have about seven — they’re covering the market. We have people in Saudi Arabia, working out of the GCC,” says McCarthy.

“The GCC is a big guest market, it could be bigger but this hotel will be a big attraction for GCC clients — they love the Deira location,” he adds.

Marketing and communications director Harb says the size of rooms, shopping and dry elements of the properties will also be big attractions for GCC leisure travellers.

“We will have a big marketing and advertising campaign once we open in December and we’ve started some teasing campaigns, we’re there online on Facebook, Twitter and we’re already building the Al Ghurair parts of the [Rotana] website.”

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Competition
Asked which hotels the Rotana properties will be competing with, McCarthy says: “We’ve targeted our main competitors —Hyatt, Marriott, Taj, Sheraton, Radisson, even Mövenpick and the recently refurbished Crowne Plaza.

“Initially in the first year bringing leisure in is the easiest thing to do. But still we’re centrally located here, we’ve got a new business tower here, we’ve got businesses around us and plus we’re looking to take some business from everyone else around here.

If I was to give percentages I’d say business is probably going to be 30-40% and 50-60% leisure. We’ll probably in the end go more towards a 50:50 situation,” he explains.

Furthermore, a stable income will be generated from the Arjaan hotel apartments, which have a separate entrance and comprise one-, two- and three-bedroom units. McCarthy expects a “good chunk” of guests will stay “well over a year”, with others ranging from two- to three months.

But with a number of new properties due to launch nearby on Sheikh Zayed Road this year, including the first phase of JW Marriott Marquis Dubai’s 1608-key, two-tower complex, McCarthy believes business could be a little tight going into the New Year.

“We’ll get affected somewhat by some of the hotels opening. At the moment when Sheikh Zayed Road fills up the spillover comes down here, so that won’t happen as much but I expect the number of events will grow and it will keep pace.

This is a fantastic area for tourists, the metro’s right around the corner. There’s a kind of resurgence in this area. Deira is the real heart of Dubai.”

Going into 2013, chef Textor believes the hotel will also be able to diversify revenue from F&B through outside caterings, meetings and events. And McCarthy hopes to see a positive impact on business from the completion of the Al Ghurair City shopping centre slated for March, adding around 150 stores to its existing 200.

Chef Textor adds that the cruise terminal close by will generate business too.

“The Creek side was kind of lagging behind, everybody was looking at Sheikh Zayed Road and further out, but you can see now firms coming here. We’re unique though because our style is very sophisticated, much more modern and on par with designs you’ll see in JBR [Jumeirah Beach Residence] in Dubai Marina,” adds Weller.

The area also has something else in common with Dubai’s JBR area — the heavy traffic: “Speaking bluntly a lot of people are put off coming to this side of the creek because of traffic jams”, says Weller.

However, one advantage of launching later than planned is that the traffic situation has started to improve slightly, according to McCarthy.

“Traffic’s eased up now as they’ve finished the metro construction. It was different when I was here last year, I was saying ‘ooh traffic is a bit of a problem’ but the construction has cleared up, barricades have been taken down and this year seems much easier.”

Fortunately, Rotana guests will also have access to a dedicated, air-conditioned parking area in the mall’s basement parking.

“And we have valet so ladies can come for a spa treatment, pull up here and head to the spa ,” adds McCarthy.

Finishing touches
With the hotel interiors evidently nearing completion, the final task is to bring the brigade in and train them up.

“In the end we’ll have around 470 team members. We have about 70-80 people here, but we’ve hired already 370-380,” McCarthy.

Then for the real test: “We’ll invite all the other general managers from the hotels to come and stay,” he adds.

Hopefully they’ll be as impressed with the service as Hotelier Middle East was with the look of the properties, setting the bar even higher for Rotana’s 43 properties in the Middle East pipeline.

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Meet the team

Mark McCarthy, General manager
Mark McCarthy has taken the reins as general manager for the two pre-opening properties.
An American national, McCarthy came to the UAE to join Rotana in 2007 as the general manager for Towers Rotana Dubai, having previously held senior positions in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Zambia and Bahrain.

Diana Sutari, Director of HR
Sutari brings more than 13 years of experience working within the UAE hospitality industry, an impressive 12 years of which have been spent with Rotana.
Her career began as finance secretary in 1999 before moving into the HR segment as HR coordinator, onto HR officer and later she was promoted to assistant director of human resources.

Carine Harb, Director of marketing and communications
Promoted from assistant director of marketing and communications at Park Rotana Abu Dhabi where she had worked for more than two years, Carine Harb moved to Dubai for her current role. A Lebanese national, Harb brings more than 13 years’ of hospitality experience to the new hotel complex.

Osama A. Semaan, Director of front office
A Rotana veteran, Osama A. Semaan has been with the group for 15 years working in various hotels throughout the UAE and further afield. He was part of the pre-opening team for Dubai’s Al Bustan Rotana in 1997, and more recently contributed to the opening of the emirate’s Rose Rayhaan. Other properties under his belt include The Cove Rotana Resort.

Afrah Hamdy, Director of spa
An Egyptian national, Afrah Hamdy is responsible for the launch of Zen The Spa.
She joined Rotana to take up her current role in June 2011 from Grand Millennium Dubai. Other spa-related posts in the UAE include as part of the pre-opening team for Al Ain VCLL centre, and later the management of VLCC’s Mirdif Centre in Dubai.

Ute Knott, Director of housekeeping
Ute Knott took up her current role as director of housekeeping for the Al Ghurair complex in May. Having begun her career as an apprentice in a hotel in Germany 1988, Knott worked her way up to assistant housekeeper, to executive housekeeper and eventually director.

Nader Batniji, Executive assistant manager in charge of business development
With more than 18 years’ experience in hotels, Nader Batniji starter his career with IHG in Amman, Jordan. He has gained a variety of experience mostly in the finance and sales departments and has worked around the Middle East, including in the emirates and Jordan.

Joachim Textor, Executive chef
Joachim Textor has travelled the world bringing a wealth of culinary experience from across the globe. The UAE is Textor’s 11th country to work in having first moved to Dubai in 2007 to take up the role of executive chef at Al Murooj Rotana Hotel & Suites. Three years on he moved to Dubai’s Media Rotana Hotel and Apartments, establishing six outlets.

Armin Weller, Director of food and beverage
Armin Weller has racked up a quarter of a century in the hospitality industry.
He started out as a pastry chef before moving into hotel management. His career took him across America, the Caribbean and the Far East before he moved to the Middle East. He has operated hotels in Cuba, Cancun and elsewhere.

Maric Van Duijvenbode, Executive assistant manager
Having joined Rotana as executive assistant manager earlier this year, Maric Van Duijvenbode is overseeing the day-to-day operations for the two Al Ghurair hotels. He brings more than 20 years of hospitality industry experience to the role, having previously working with renowned global operators.

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F&B at a glance

Liwan
The hotel’s impressive all-day-dining restaurant offers international buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with an à la carte menu selection. A variety of cooking stations are featured throughout the outlet, including its very own bakery station.

Shayan
The properties’ signature outlet is an authentic but modern Persian restaurant serving traditional and modern Persian cuisine created by talented Iranian chefs.

Buzz Deli Café
Guests can grab a quick bite from the café offering delicious snacks throughout the day. Easily accessible for mall visitors as well as hotel guests, the venue will also offer a unique range of juices.

Yasmine Lounge
The lobby lounge features a grand design and is expected to be a hive of activity as guests pass by while others relax over a cup of tea or coffee, or a light snack.

In-room dining
Guests can also enjoy meals in the comfort of their rooms with 24-hour in-room dining.