Anantara Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa GM Jean-Francois Laurent reveals how the hotel is making a difference on Palm Jumeirah, in particular when it comes to the luxury resort’s conservation efforts
Following in the successful footsteps of three Abu Dhabi properties — Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara, Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara, and Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa by Anantara — the Thai brand officially made its Dubai debut on Palm Jumeirah in September last year.
The property itself, however, was ready long before Anantara came into the picture. The heavily delayed hotel, owned by Seven Tides, was originally meant to be operated by Mövenpick under the Royal Amwaj brand.
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But with the contract being terminated in October 2012, the unused building was sitting on the Palm Jumeirah crescent without a hotel company to manage it until Anantara signed as the operator in 2013.
“The resort was originally due to open under a four-star hospitality brand, however, as the progress of the Palm was developing mostly with high-end hotels, it made sense for the developers to work alongside a five-star hotel brand and continue with this trend.
“The Thai-inspired architecture of the resort was a major draw for the Anantara brand and after improvements were made to the interior appointing and exterior landscaping to bring it up to the standard, we opened the resort in September 2013,” explains general manager Jean-Francois Laurent.
Since opening in September, the 293-key Anantara Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa has steadily grown its presence, and at the six-month mark, occupancy stands at 90%.
“We opened and deliberately controlled our occupancy to ensure our team got used to the property and delivered the best service possible. It took us about a month to put the team together in alignment with the Anantara culture,” he explains.
The brand name also helped promote the resort, says Laurent, with Anantara being a popular choice for tourists from Asia in particular.
“Anantara is a brand that is not very well known in the Middle East, but it’s a brand that is very well known by tour operators and guests alike in Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Maldives. So when the property came on the market, it was not difficult for tour operators to propose it to their guests. So that kind of made our lives easy,” Laurent admits.
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