The man from Atlantis

In the run-up to the opening of The Palm Jumeirah's iconic Kerzner property Atlantis, The Palm, senior vice president/general manager, hotel operations Amadeo Zarzosa speaks exclusively about the hotel's luxurious facilities, its celebrity chef partners and those rumours about poaching staff.

What attracted you to this project?

I worked for Kerzner for just over four years in the Bahamas in a very similar position. Then I took a bit of a 'sabbatical' that lasted for about four years while I was in South East Asia working for IHG as general manager at the InterContinental Resort in Bali, and regional general manager for the South East Asia region. It was a great few years to be there.

But I knew when I left Kerzner that they accepted it as a bit of a sabbatical, and I was honoured when I was approached and asked if I would be interested in becoming the general manager and senior vice president of operations here. I said of course' - it really is something that you get excited about, as a hotelier; working on this project is a real jewel in the crown.

Tell us about the range of accommodation at Atlantis.

Atlantis is an integrated resort - probably the first in the Middle East to have all this integrated entertainment to extend to our guests, some of which is pretty unique. Of course that's made up by many phases.

You've got 1539 rooms; it's split into two towers within the same building, which makes it very accessible to all the guests, and ensures the building has a good flow.

The East Tower and the West Tower are both unique. The West Tower is great for guests coming on a convention, because it connects right into the convention space. For guests who want to enjoy the spa it's right off the lobby, and you've got access to the activities pool.

So people will enjoy it because of the access to all these facilities. Of course the East Tower is that little bit more unique because of the view of the Ambassador Lagoon as you approach the elevators.

Then you've got the rooms. These are broken up into Kings and Double Queens, then moving up you've got our Terrace Suites which are about 98m² each with a wonderful oversize terrace, then you've got the Executive Suites, with a vestibule separating the bedroom from the living area.

Moving up you get to the Regal Suites, which measure about 165m² and are very nicely appointed. There are only 35 of them.

Then you move to the two Super Suites, Neptune and Poseidon, which are unique suites submerged inside the Ambassador Lagoon - which contains 11 million litres of water - so when you actually get into the bedroom you open your drapes and you're staring into the depths of the lagoon.

Then there are the two Presidential Suites, which are beautifully appointed, and the two Royal Suites with two bedrooms in each.

Finally there's the one and only Bridge Suite, so called because it's situated in the arch across the centre of the building, bridging both towers. There you've got three bedrooms, a media room, a dining room for 24 people, a grand salon, a private elevator to take you straight in.

And you've got the unique features as well: one terrace facing north, one facing south, so you can look over the whole of Palm Jumeirah and into Dubai Marina, or you can stare north into the Arabian Gulf and watch the sun set over the sea while the yachts sail by. It'll be hard for someone staying there to leave!

What other facilities does the property offer for guests?

We really think about our accommodation and put a lot of focus on what the guest is going to need inside their room. Having said that, we realise that people coming to stay at Atlantis - which is after all an integrated entertainment resort - are going to want to spend a lot of time in the public areas. So while we make the accommodation very comfortable and offer everything from great duvets to plasma-screen TVs, we put a lot more focus, a lot more of our vision, into the public areas.

The wonderful thing about Atlantis is that it's great for a conventioneer; it's great for a couple who just want to get away; it's great for newly-weds who want a special honeymoon experience; and it's great for families.

We offer 17 restaurants, a teenage club, and a wonderful kids club for kids from three to 12 years old.

We've also got our Imperial Club; that's a slightly higher-level service, for all those people who might appreciate the smaller, more intimate resort feel. It offers those guests their own check-in and check-out, they have their own butler service in the Super Suites, and they have extra touches inside their room. It's really like another small resort within the resort.

We hear you have several outlets with celebrity ties?

Yes, we have four celebrity chef partners: Michel Rostang has put together an authentic brasserie for us, Brasserie Rostang, which he designed in conjunction with Geoffrey Beers.

Then you've got Giorgio Locatelli, who used his passion for food to create a truly authentic, rustic Italian restaurant for us. He was so passionate about how he designed the central pizza oven, so everyone could sit around it, and got us an amazing Italian chef.

Nobu of course is a huge success story, and a chef I really admire: he's managed to develop his brand but also keep his integrity, and his precision is incredible.

And the fourth is in conjunction with three-star Michelin chef Santi Santamaria. This is for those who want to truly experience architectural food - it'll be a real journey. He wanted a seafood-based restaurant which he could bring Arabian spices into as well. It's a true experience.
 

So those are just four of the 17; others include a steak house, a Arabic restaurant with a belly dancer doing shows - each one has a different feel.

What amenities do you have to cater for the corporate market?

Regarding the meetings facilities, we have a 2600m² ballroom which breaks up into five sections. Incorporated within that room there's every technical element you could imagine. And it can cater for anything, from seating 1500 people for dinner to having 2000 for cocktails, exhibits, or events.

It's supported by 764m² of pre-function space and an additional 700m² of terrace space, so at the right time of year you have the option of being outside.

It's got its own private entrance, which makes it perfect for weddings - we already have weddings booked well into next year.

We also have two other ballrooms, Silk and Spice, which are approximately 560m² each.

Is there any property in Dubai you consider a competitor to Atlantis?

Everyone does a good job in Dubai, in my opinion. Our competitors, from five-star properties to those that call themselves seven-stars, all do a terrific job. But I have a very simple approach to the idea of competition: when Mr Kerzner and the partners spend US $1.5 billion on a project which is stunning and iconic, how can we then create a differentiator? The differentiator is going to have to be more than the building and the location - it's all about the passion of service and how we deliver our promise to the customer.

How to find and retain skilled staff is a hot topic in this region at the moment; have you found recruiting problematic? HME heard on the grapevine that Atlantis has sourced a number of staff from existing properties in Dubai...

The issue is that Dubai has been very fortunate for the past few years; there hasn't been anything really major that has opened. Which, in my personal opinion, makes people a bit complacent as far as competitors are concerned; they're not used to what happens in a lot of other cities in the world - London, New York, Hong Kong - where people do move around from property to property.

And it's going to happen to our [staff] in 18 months to two years time when the next major property opens. People are going to go from here to there, as much as I might want to hold them here.

But the way I look at it is that I progressed by moving around; I see it as healthy, especially for the younger ones who want to advance in their career. You've got to let people move on.

I think it's a little short-sighted of us as hoteliers if we hold people back who have given us two to three years of great service, when we realistically know we cannot do much more for them and they have the opportunity to go and work at what's going to be an iconic and different property. The reaction should be ‘wow, I'm glad I trained this person and that they can go there'. You've got to be open minded.

So the real issue when going head-to-head with these fantastic competitors is how we set ourselves apart. That means looking at how we deliver service from the heart; how we can make our employees happy at work so they in turn deliver fantastic service.

Let's face it, in a few years there's going to be another iconic building somewhere else, so you're competing every day on the architecture front; and while I think the architecture here is for everyone to enjoy, what's really going to make this hotel is the spirit inside the architecture, and that's what we've got to now focus on.

And it's not that we pulled 100 [staff] from here and 50 from here - you're talking about the maximum from any one major property being 20 or 30. And did we actually pull them? Absolutely not.

We go to people now and say they need to get themselves a letter of release, and then they can come back and see us. Originally we were actually helping them when they were first coming to us, but we were getting ourselves into a little bit of trouble. So now we're saying: you get a letter of release and we'll talk to you. That's just how it works here in Dubai.

But ultimately I think it's a bit short-sighted if you don't help people progress, because we owe it to the industry, to all hotels, if we want to make this a successful industry and a career-minded industry.

Does Kerzner have any more projects in the pipeline for the Middle East?

I think there will be great expansion opportunities, which we're looking at very seriously, and I'm sure more will be announced in the very near future. That's both in the region and extensions to our current hotel. There's no doubt that the demand is there and we're enjoying it, and we should continue to expand.

Ultimately, what is your ambition for this property?

When someone spends US $1.5 billion and gives you a position on the crescent of The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, my personal ambition is to really match that in service, with a service like no other.

We have to be passionate - we're here to deliver the promise. And to me service is all about that: delivering the expectations of the customer and more, so they just don't want to leave. And the way we make them feel like that is through excellent service.