Accor to introduce Adagio premium brand in Dubai

Accor Middle East has signed a management contract with API Hotels and Resorts for the first Adagio Aparthotel Premium brand in Dubai.

Located in Dubai’s Al Barsha area, the Adagio Aparthotel Premium Dubai Al Barsha will comprise 201 upscale serviced apartments when it opens in Q1 of 2014. This will be the third property for API Hotels & Resorts in Al Barsha, where it already owns Novotel Al Barsha and Ibis Al Barsha.

The Adagio Aparthotel Premium Dubai Al Barsha will be part of a large mixed-use complex including the Novotel Al Barsha and an office tower. The 201 serviced apartments will come in one-bedroom to four-bedroom configurations and Adagio guests will have access to the various meeting facilities, F&B outlets, gymnasium, swimming-pool and spa of the adjacent Novotel Al Barsha.

Adagio Aparthotel chief executive officer Martine Balouka-Vallette said: “Designed to be a new network of urban residences, the Adagio range offers midscale to upscale apartments with a la carte services for “just like at home” in major destinations. The aparthotel’s main customers are individual corporate clients seeking extended stays. However, Adagio are also very popular among families and leisure travellers too, due to the facilities they offer in prime city centre locations with a close proximity to shops and malls, restaurants and transportation infrastructures.”

The Adagio Aparthotel Premium Dubai Al Barsha brings the total number of Adagio properties under development in the region to four. A further two Adagio properties are set to open in the UAE in 2014, with the 279-key Adagio Abu Dhabi Al Bustan set to open in Q1 2014, followed by the 72-key Adagio Fujairah Town Centre in Q2 of 2014. The Adagio Jeddah Malik Road in Saudi Arabia is scheduled to open in2016.

Accor Middle East managing director Christophe Landais commented: “The Adagio Aparthotel brand is already well-known among Middle Eastern travellers, particularly from the GCC region, who visit Paris and other cities across Europe. The Middle East is therefore an important strategic location for the growth of the Adagio Aparthotel brand. Accor is enthusiastic to make headway in important cities and business hubs across the region. ”

Accor’s Middle East portfolio currently includes 61 hotels, with another 20 hotels scheduled to open in five countries by 2016.