The newly-opened Sofitel The Palm Resort and Spa has a Polynesian twist, bringing island charm to Dubai’s shores
What strikes me first as I enter the lobby of Sofitel Dubai The Palm Resort and Spa are the vast open spaces, the discrete Tahitian-inspired carvings on the walls and the soothing sound of water from the eight water features in the lobby.
The 100,000m2 Polynesian-themed resort, which opened in July, seems unusually busy for a new launch in the summer months — on Hotelier’s visit, I spotted families checking in, guests milling around the concierge area and the coffee shop, and a packed poolside.
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At the helm of the resort is general manager Christophe Schnyder, who has headed several pre-opening teams before joining Sofitel The Palm. The Polynesian theme, however, was quite new to the Swiss national, but he soon acquainted himself with the concept and worked with designers to create a resort that reflects a Polynesian theme without resorting to the typical island resort stereotype.
“I asked lots of questions about how far we can go in integrating the Polynesian culture into the hotel. Do we want to go all the way by having the traditional costumes or not? And we decided to leave it to the architecture and not go too much into the traditional dances and songs and music because it’s a little stereotypical, it’s out of its original site — we cannot recreate Polynesia here but we can give it the theme,” he says.
“So that’s why when you go around the hotel you see that uniforms are resort themed, with some small touches of the design etc., but we don’t have the full dance when people arrive and the garland around the neck. We didn’t want to be kitsch,” he states matter-of-factly.
The Polynesian theme is carried throughout the resort, with Tahitian motifs on walls with explanations of the various patterns, in the elevators, and the names of a handful of F&B outlets at the resort.
Sofitel the Palm includes a private beach and jetty, a kids club with its own restaurant, a 2500m2 So Spa, and rooms fitted out with the latest in room technology as well as Sofitel’s signature MyBed concept.
The most striking feature of the resort, however, is the 800m2 of lush vertical gardens in the corridors. Designed by French botanist Patrick Blanc, the green walls include more than 100 species of plants and bring a refreshing twist to a hotel interior yet to be seen in the emirate.
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