The company is also refurbishing Dar Al Masyaf, 50% of which has been completed. And having seen half of Mina A’Salam renovated last year, the remainder of the rooms were finished in September, and all 290 are back online.
“It’s not easy refurbishing while you operate. We didn’t make major structural changes to the rooms but we upgraded all the technology and we decided we needed a lighter, brighter colour palate. It was in line with Mina A’Salam celebrating its 10th anniversary last year. I’m really delighted with the outcome, we’ve had a lot of great positive feedback.”
Thanking all of the partners, guests and stakeholders that have contributed to the success of the resort has been central to the team’s 10-year anniversary celebrations, which began in May at Arabian Travel Market, Dubai with the launch of the resort’s new logo.
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Each month since then, the team has focused on celebrating relationships, and during Ramandan in July, organised weekly iftars inviting groups from the community including the police, co-workers and various stakeholders.
“I think, why not celebrate? It’s had a great legacy of success,” enthuses Paul.
“We really wanted to talk about the future, so what better way to do that than with our new room products, our new restaurants, and our new hotel? So I would say it’s a combination of all of these things. Let’s celebrate, let’s give thanks, and let’s acknowledge and talk about where we’re going.”
And as she speaks it becomes apparent that Madinat Jumeirah’s 10-year birthday is not just a milestone for the Jumeirah Group and for the emirate, but it marks a special moment in 51-year old Paul’s life, whose own journey has been something of a Cinderella story.
Hailing from a modest town in the west of Scotland, Paul began her hospitality career as a room attendant during a university summer in the small village of Hofgeismar, Germany at Hotel Dornröschenschloss Sababurg or ‘The Castle of the Sleeping Beauty’, which supposedly was the inspiration for the Grimm brothers’ fairy tale.
The job, according to Paul, involved a number of unglamourous tasks like “sweeping terraces, making up rooms and serving coffee – it was a bit of a ‘do anything you’re told to’ job”.
After graduating from a Master of Arts degree in political science and German, Paul pursued her dream of joining the United Nations as a civil servant.
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