Jumeirah guesthouse forced to close

A guest house located close to the Burj Al Arab has closed due to the “Dubai Municipality refusing to authorise the renewal of running a guest house in the residential area of Jumeriah”.

In a statement sent to HotelierMiddleEast.com, PR representatives of La Maison d’hôte said that the hotel had closed its doors as of January 11.

However, when Hotelier contacted the PR company, we were told the owners — Julie Renaudie and Claude Berquier — were not able to comment any further.

A spokesperson from the DTCM, although stating he couldn't comment on individual cases, said the decision to give licenses was based on regulations set by the Dubai Municipality.

He explained: “We give licences and classification based on planning of the area, so based on the municipality plans.

“We co-ordinate with the municipality who provide us with building usage. Some of them are working without a legal licence and when we discover this we will stop them.

“If a hotel or guesthouse is operating in a residential area we can’t give approval. They [the municipality] will say this area is residential, this area is commercial and this area is for hotels all based on zoning and planning,” he continued.

“They [the owner of the property] have to provide the DTCM with a certificate from the municipality showing they have permission and plus they have to fulfill the DTCM’s criteria. The requirements for the DTCM are laid out in the classification manual that can be found on the DTCM’s website.”