Considering the number of projects in Dubai that have been put on hold, cancelled, or conveniently forgotten, you would be forgiven for wondering whether the 20 million ft² Dubai Pearl superstructure had gone by the wayside.
Aside from a few stylish billboards lining Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai Pearl has kept fairly quiet about the development in recent months, but the silence belies both continual planning and ongoing construction.
During a visit to the Dubai Pearl office yesterday, it became clear that the team was working around the clock to deliver this 24-hour city within a city, which the developer’s president and CEO Santhosh Joseph promises will be an “epicentre of entertainment”.
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There is a lot, however, that is still at the planning stage, with RMAL Hospitality CEO Anthony Liddiard — responsible for all the hospitality elements of Dubai Pearl — explaining that “everything was being researched to the max”.
Seven hotels, which will comprise 19% of the total area of Dubai Pearl, are underway, but only four have been announced — Baccarat, Bellagio, MGM Grand and Skylofts.
Three more are described on the collateral at the Dubai Pearl office as a “speed hotel”, “fashion hotel” and “wellness hotel”, but I was disappointed to find out that these were merely code names — we will have to wait until the end of next year to find out who the operators are.
So how will the team top the four brands already signed up? Even to the biggest sceptic, these high end US imports are pretty major news for Dubai’s hotel industry. That the further three brands will be of the utmost luxury is without a doubt, but what other names does Dubai need? Surely, somewhere in the mix there also has to be a “world-first” or a brand exclusive to Dubai Pearl? I liked the idea of the "speed" hotel, and with Dubai Pearl reported to be in talks with Formula One team McLaren to brand a hotel and residences at the end of the last year, maybe these code names are more like clues.
And as for whether Dubai needs more luxury properties, by the time the hotels start to open in 2014, I suspect it probably will. Let’s face it, when people get used to having the best, they also tend to get bored rather quickly. And the hotels will not be monsters the size of their US sisters. In total there will be 1500 rooms across the seven properties, located right in the middle of ‘new Dubai’.
Joseph and Liddiard, who reveal “complete faith in Dubai”, even go as far to say that the emirate could handle these additional brands now. What do you think?
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