Popular for its opulent exterior with Beaux Arts-inspired architecture throughout all the guest rooms and public spaces, Habtoor Palace — formerly known as The St Regis Dubai — is part of Al Habtoor City complex, the upscale hospitality, residential and leisure complex with three five-star hotels on Sheikh Zayed Road located just steps away from the Dubai Water Canal. At the helm of the luxurious property, which features 234 suites, is Wael Maatouk.

Maatouk was brought on as general manager of the property in August 2018, after the Al Habtoor Group ended its partnership with Marriott International and signed a franchise agreement with Hilton Worldwide for the operations of the three properties on the complex on July 9, 2018, which went into effect on August 1, 2018.

At a joint Habtoor Hospitality and Hilton press conference, the US hotel chain revealed that Habtoor Palace would be operated by LXR Hotels & Resorts, a regional first for the luxury brand, which was debuted in 2005 by Blackstone.

W Dubai Habtoor City was reflagged to V Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton with 356 rooms and the Westin Dubai Al Habtoor City was transitioned to Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City with 1,004 rooms on offer. As part of the franchise agreement, Maatouk confirmed to Hotelier Middle East that the LXR brand will be providing global marketing, branding and other services for the hotel.

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“LXR will be the newest version of luxury brands under Hilton Worldwide. LXR will be taking care of individual luxury hotels, while the property can retain its identity, branding and can still be under the umbrella of LXR hotels & Resorts,” he says.

It’s been a couple of months since the handover and Maatouk says the team has been heavily focusing on creating awareness about the new brand in the complex, as well as investing time and effort in positioning Habtoor Palace as one of the “go-to luxury destinations” in Dubai.

“What we are now working on is the branding of Habtoor Palace. The luxury and appearance of the hotel will, of course, brings big value to the hotel. LXR on the other hand, will bring the luxury network to the Palace. It’s already well known in the market as a beautifully designed property and its architecture on the interior and exterior is well recognised. Now, we are working on creating an overall experience of luxury for the guests,” Maatouk explains.