Top 10 new hotels
Exciting openings abound in the UAE, but there are hidden treasures preparing to launch across the Middle East and North Africa. Hotelier Middle East presents 10 of the hottest properties due to open this year
1 HOTEL MISSONI KUWAIT
Operator: The Rezidor Hotel Group.
Opening date: Q2 2010.
Location: Symphony Centre, Arabian Gulf Street, Kuwait City.
USP: Designer hotel.
Rooms: 169 rooms and suites.
This is the first lifestyle boutique hotel in Kuwait with interiors designed by Rosita Missoni — a palette of gold, turquoise and beige adorns the rooms with linens chosen from the Missoni home range. The 63 suites include the 312m² Presidential Suite with a 90m² outside terrace.
Missoni Kuwait will offer an all-inclusive pricing concept including à la carte breakfast, room service, mini bar, newspaper, laundry, limousine airport pick up and drop off.
F&B concepts including Italian family-style Cucina, are overseen by celebrity chef Giorgio Locatelli, and the spa is operated by Bangkok-based Six Senses.
2 THE ROYAL AMWAJ RESORT & SPA
Operator: Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts.
Opening date: H2, 2010.
Location: The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai.
USP: Over-water villas.
Accommodation: 293 rooms and villas,
This property is one of four new Mövenpick properties opening in Dubai this year, two of which will be on The Palm Jumeirah (the other being Oceana). The resort will be the first hotel in Dubai to boast over-water villas — there will be 18 in total. There are also 15 beach pool villas.
The Royal Amwaj will be located on the crescent on The Palm and feature 2km of temperature-controlled natural swimming lagoons. Additional assets include a spa with 25 treatment rooms and six F&B outlets including Phed, serving cuisine from Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and Vietnam.
3 ARMANI HOTEL DUBAI
Operator: Emaar Hotels & Resorts.
Opening date: H1 2010.
Location: The Burj Khalifa.
USP: Located in the world’s tallest building.
Accommodation: 160 Armani-designed guest rooms.
Occupying the concourse level to level eight and levels 38 and 39 of the iconic Burj Khalifa — opening on January 4 — the Armani Hotel Dubai will have a dedicated entrance. The property will bring many firsts to the Middle East including the region’s first Armani/Privé — a hip and upmarket night club and the world’s first in-hotel Armani/Spa. The hotel will also be home to the Armani/Dolci chocolates and sweets store, an Armani/Fiori (floral shop) and an Armani/Galleria. The hotel’s food and beverage offering will span Japanese, Indian, Mediterranean and of course, Italian cuisine.
4 ROCCO FORTE ABU DHABI
Operated by: The Rocco Forte Collection
Opening date: Mid-2010
Location: The hotel is located in the “new commercial centre of Abu Dhabi”.
USP: First Rocco Forte Collection hotel for the region.
Accommodation: 281 rooms and suites.
The Rocco Forte Luxury Collection Hotel in Abu Dhabi will be housed in a 12-floor curved structure with design highlights including a Sky Bar, suspended on the fifth floor of a 10-storey atrium.
Forte has partnered with renowned British chef Mark Hix, of The Ivy and Le Caprice fame, who will consult on the all-day dining restaurant, while Italian Michelin-starred chef Fulvio Pierangelini will advise on an à la carte Italian restaurant. Additional facilities include a 2000m² spa, 25-metre outdoor pool, a dedicated meetings entrance, seven meeting rooms and a 500-person capacity ballroom.
5 THE MAKKAH CLOCK ROYAL TOWER
Operated by: Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.
Opening date: 2010.
Location: Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
USP: Located in one of the world’s tallest towers (76 stories and 577 metres high) boasting a 40-metre clock that is five times larger than London’s iconic Big Ben and is visible from 17kms away.
Accommodation: 858 guestrooms and suites.
This new Fairmont hotel is the focal point of the iconic Abraj Al Bait Complex, which is part of the King Abdul Aziz Endowment Project whose mandate is to upgrade the precincts of the Two Holy Mosques.
The complex includes seven towers with a total floor space equal to 15.6 million square feet — including a Lunar Observation Centre and an Islamic Museum — and is adjacent to the Masjid al Haram, the holiest site in Islam. The above-mentioned Makkah Clock — the focal point of the hotel — will announce daily prayers to the Muslim world, while the hotel’s 76 glass elevators will conveniently transfer passengers to the holy sites.
6 BANYAN TREE AL WADI
Operated by: Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts.
Opening date: Q1 2010.
Location: Wadi Khadeja, Ras Al Khaimah.
USP: First luxury desert resort with an all-pool villa concept to be located in RAK.
Accommodation: 70 Pool Villas and 31 Tented Pool Villas.
Banyan Tree Al Wadi is the group’s second resort in the Middle East, following Banyan Tree Al Areen in Bahrain. It’s the first luxury desert resort in RAK to offer an all-pool villa concept, complete with Asian-inspired hydrotherapy spa facilities, a private beach club, as well as a dedicated nature reserve within the resort grounds.
7 RAFFLES MAKKAH PALACE
Operated by: Raffles Hotels and Resorts.
Opening date: April 2010.
Location: Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
USP: A top-end hotel within three minutes’ walk from the Al Masjid Al Haram, offering residents convenient access to the Grand Mosque.
Accommodation: 211 suites.
Raffles Makkah Palace will have an average of three staff for every suite, complemented with round-the-clock butler service. F&B options include the Tea Lounge in the lobby with a tea and coffee sommelier; the Raffles Creamery serving ice-cream prepared on a cold ‘teppanyaki’ stone; and a Levantine Restaurant serving Eastern Mediterranean fare.
Additional facilities include separate male and female fitness centres, a beauty parlour and grooming salons and the Raffles Amrita Spa.
8 ROYAL MANSOUR
Opening date: Early 2010.
Location: Marrakech, Morocco.
USP: The hotel’s operating company once told Hotelier this property would be fit for a king and would be the most expensive property in the Middle East in terms of room rates.
Accommodation: 53 riads linked by a series of underground tunnels.
Located in 3.5 hectares of gardens, Royal Mansour is designed in the style of a traditional medina, with each riad ranging in size from one to four bedrooms. Each boasts a private courtyard with fountains and plunge pools and the larger ones have galleries and dining rooms with bars. In addition, all riads have a roof terrace offering breathtaking views of the city or the Atlas Mountains. F&B wise, three-star Michelin chef Yannick Alleno will oversee the two main restaurants offering traditional Moroccan and gourmet cuisine.
9 SOFITEL BAHRAIN ZALLAQ BEACH
Operated by: Accor Hospitality.
Opening date: June 2010.
Location: Zallaq, Bahrain.
USP: Thalassa Spa.
Accommodation: 262 rooms.
The Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq will boast the “first fully-fledged Thalassa Spa” in the GCC, according to Accor Hospitality Middle East managing director Christophe Landais. The 262-room property is due to open in June 2010 and the spa will span more then 2000m² with 14 treatment rooms.
10 THE PALAZZO VERSACE RESORT
Developed by: Sunland Group and Gianni Versace SpA.
Opening date: Late 2010.
Location: Dubai Creek, Dubai.
USP: Versace-designed hotel.
Accommodation: 217 rooms and 169 private residences.
This 130,000m² designer hotel will be situated by Dubai Creek and will boast 217 rooms and suites, 169 luxury private residences, restaurants, a spa, meeting rooms, a Versace boutique, indoor swimming pool, and scuba lagoon all designed by Versace.