Mandarin Oriental challenges One&Only Royal Mirage

Mandarin Oriental is confident of differentiating its planned hotel on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi through superior design and attention to service, according to the company’s new regional chief.

Speaking on the sidelines of the company’s first press event in Dubai, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group director of operations Europe, Middle East & Africa, Christoph Mares, said he hoped to outdo the design of the One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai.

“I think where I see the most opportunity is to provide a hotel that is unique in terms of design and interior. For me the most important one in Dubai at the time was the One and Only Royal Mirage — quite an icon — if we can top that then we will have achieved something,” said Mares.

He said that the architectural designs, layout, space available and size of rooms, along with the food and beverage offer and technology available, would also ensure Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi stood out against the other luxury brands signed for Saadiyat Island.

“I think this will all differentiate ourselves from the Park Hyatt or any other brand for that matter, be it Jumeirah or Four Seasons is coming as well,” said Mares.

He said the location and ‘sense of place’ was a vital consideration for all Mandarin Oriental properties.

“We are very selective in the projects that we sign off on because we want to have a unique product, so the interior and architectural specifications has to be close to the environment you are operating in.

“Sense of location is paramount. We have turned down hundreds of projects where we have felt that neither the place location or interior was unique enough to support our brand,” said Mares.

“The vision of Saadiyat Island as a whole is unique in the world,” he continued. “It’s fantastic, the location so close to the Guggenheim and obviously not far from the Louvre was sensational and we wanted to be there. The proximity of the golf courses, especially the Gary Player golf course was very important to us.

“The possibility for us to choose our architect together with TDIC [developer of the hotel] meant we felt could add the most value and provide the understanding to transform the sense of place,” said Mares.

The architect for Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi “is about to be finalized and will be announced within the next few weeks”, added Mares.