Bob Kharazmi on Bulgari Dubai

During Arabian Travel Market, Ritz Carlton global officer for worldwide operations Bob Kharazmi revealed details of the group’s latest UAE hotel project, Bulgari Dubai.

This year, Ritz Carlton has opened new properties in Cairo, Budapest and two hotels in Bali. The group currently has 30 hotels under construction worldwide, scheduled for opening within the next two to three years, Kharazmi told Hotelier Middle East during ATM.

In the MENA region, Morocco is a key area of growth for the Ritz Carlton brand, with three Ritz Carlton properties expected to open by 2017, one each in the areas of Marrakesh, Rabat, and Tamouda Bay.

Within the UAE, Ritz Carlton expects to open the new Bulgari Dubai hotel in Q1 2017. The new project, Kharazmi said, is currently under construction, and will offer approximately 100 hotel rooms, plus the same number of branded residences.

Bulgari Dubai will be located within the Jumeirah area, on the new purpose built island, Jumeirah Bay.

The Ritz Carlton global officer for worldwide operations told Hotelier Middle East: “It’s an island by itself. There will be a bridge that will connect you to the island, and on the island there will be a marina with independent restaurants, plus the Bulgari hotel and residences.

“Being Bulgari, definitely we will have an Italian restaurant, but we are working on the concepts. The whole idea is to make sure it is casual, elegant, and attracts the local community.”

Hotel F&B, Kharazmi said, ought to be 80% designed with the local community in mind: “Generally the local community do not stay within the hotel, and our connection to the local community in Dubai, will be through our food and beverage.”

At this stage, Kharazmi was unable to confirm whether Bulgari Dubai will focus on creating its own restaurant concepts, or bring in big name chefs to head up F&B brands.

However, offering his opinion on the merits of both, Kharami concluded: “It depends on the market. If you want to have a named chef, it is good, and it becomes an anchor. It brings people, because sometimes people are driven to a certain chef’s food. On the other hand, if your own concept is designed in a way that there it has power and energy, people do come.”