Jumeirah’s Burj Al Arab is set to undergo renovation in the summer of 2019, according to company CEO Jose Silva.
“We will also renovate [Burj Al Arab], probably in summer 2019," he told Arabian Business.
The hotel, which opened in December 1999 in Dubai, will follow in the footsteps of nearby property Jumeirah Beach Hotel, which is currently being refurbished for a “significant makeover” and is expected to open in October.
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While Silva refrained from giving details on the Burj Al Arab renovation, the revamp could be in line with Dubai Holding’s massive $1.7 billion Marsa Al Arab project, which includes two new man-built islands on either side of the hotel.
Marsa Al Arab comprises hotels, theatres, retail space, a marina, a business district, residences and luxury villas, and is aimed at supporting Expo2020 and Dubai’s tourism sector. It is spread across four million square feet of land and is expected to be completed by late 2020.
Jumeirah, a home-grown hospitality giant, is also set to build ultra-luxury hotels similar to Burj Al Arab in their branding and service, Silva said.
The chief executive said the firm will launch one of a kind destinations, such as the Burj Al Arab, in gateway cities around the world, including one in Europe.
“We will soon announce a hotel as extraordinary as the Burj Al Arab in a main gateway city [in Europe],” he said.
“There are some things you want to do in life, and visiting the Burj Al Arab is one of them. Many people travel to go see the Burj Al Arab. It is one of the world’s most photographed – and instagrammed - hotels. It has become an icon of Dubai in itself. We want to expand that globally and share it with the world,” he added.
Jumeirah will unfold plans for the new, ultra-luxury brand in the fall of 2018. Silva confirmed the hotel will maintain the same cost level as Burj Al Arab, with prices of around $2,000 (AED9,000) per night for some room types.
The hotel group, which has a portfolio of over 20 hotels across 12 global destinations, plans to double in size over the next five to six years. It is set for expansion in Asia Pacific (including eight hotels in China), Middle East (including the now-completed Jumeirah Al Naseem at Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah) and Europe.