The man from Atlantis

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.

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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.