Byblos set to open budget Palm Jumeirah hotel

Palm Jumeirah, the Nakheel development in Dubai which has until now largely been associated with five-star luxury, is set to get its first budget hotel next year.

Dubai-based Byblos Hospitality is to build a new 144-room low cost hotel on the man-made islands, in a project worth less than $50m, The National reports.

“The Palm Jumeirah property will cater to tourists mainly but also to meetings and events [sector],” Jean Samman, the chairman of Byblos Hospitality, told the paper.

“Most of the beach hotels are five-star properties but with the new destinations that [Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing] and Emirates Airlines have opened up for Dubai, the tourist volumes have increased and budget accommodations are needed now; moreover, four-star hotels do not need huge investments.”

The Palm Jumeirah is more famous for its range of five start hotels including The Atlantis, The Fairmont Palm and Rixos – with a new US $1.7 billion Palm Viceroy Hotel currently under construction.

According to the paper, the new budget hotel will be built on the trunk of the island opposite the One and One Royal Mirage.