Emirates first city-based hotel to open in Dubai

1st November sees the opening of Emirates Hotels and Resorts' first city-based hotel, the 59-storey luxury Emirates Marina Hotel & Residence, marking a milestone in the history of Dubai-based carrier, Emirates. Offering 261 suites in a range of single, double and three-roomed configurations, the hotel is a fitting addition to Dubai’s skyline, being one of Dubai’s top-ten highest buildings at 256 metres.

At the gateway entrance to the Dubai Marina, the hotel is set within Dubai’s most sought-after lifestyle and fashionable districts - a stone’s throw away from Dubai Media and Internet Cities and other business, leisure and beach facilities. The Dubai Marina, and its esplanades, is dotted with cafes and restaurants, has numerous entertainment areas, as well as being a favourite shopping attraction – all a short walk away. Guests have easy and regular transfers to nearby malls, as well as access to the popular Jumeirah Beach.

The hotel’s noticeably large suites offer luxury fittings, separate lounge/dining room areas, and in-room dining facilities from dedicated kitchens. Guests are also assured staggering views of the Gulf, the Palm Islands or the Dubai Marina from their suites.

The hotel offers new and fresh approaches in its Restaurant concepts, from its street-level ‘deli-style’ Counter Culture restaurant, to the Mediterranean-style restaurant – Azur, focusing on organic, farm-to-fork menus, and the international, slightly avant garde restaurant on the penthouse floor - The Observatory.

Emirates’ Timeless Spa, first initiated in the flagship Al Maha Desert Resort, is an addition appreciated by both leisure and corporate travellers. The Spa offers several unique treatments and products developed by specialists for Al Maha, and now for the Dubai Marina and Residence, with additional products and treatments from Sodashi and Babor. These professional-level ranges, regarded as leaders in the spa industry, are not available at retail outlets.

Tony Williams, Vice President, Emirates Hotels & Resort stressed the significance of the new property as another contribution by Emirates towards realising the Dubai Government’s vision of transforming the city into one of the world's top business and tourist centres. “The Emirates Marina Hotel & Residence fulfils our customer promise of always providing the best possible location, with innovative, guest-focussed services. Currently in its final detail fitting-out phase, and with an enthusiastic, young staff having completed their training, we now look forward to the 1st November opening.”

“The Emirates Marina property is innovative, and caters to increasing guest demands of providing not just rooms, but a home environment where space and comfort is paramount. Many visitors to Dubai, in particular regular visitors, travel with colleagues, friends and families, and look for flexibility and cost-effective options, while still wanting 5-star hotel services. We know the Emirates Marina Hotel & Residence will prove irresistible to corporate and leisure travellers – and the demand we are experiencing across short and extended-stay bookings seems to show this.”

The hotel is the second in a series of new projects owned and managed by Emirates’ Hotels & Resorts, the premier hospitality division of Emirates Airline. Emirates Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa is recognised internationally for its leadership and contributions to conservation in the region, and is among the Condé Nast Traveller’s Top 20-Hotel List, and the only Dubai hotel recognized in this category.

The success of Al Maha is being used as the basis for designs and operations in subsequent conservation-focussed properties - the Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa in Australia’s Blue Mountains, and at the heart of a World Heritage area. Emirates Cap Ternay Resort & Spa in the Seychelles is currently in its design and planning phase, and promising to shape up as one of the Indian Oceans’ best resorts.

The expanding portfolio of Emirates Hotels & Resorts includes its next major opening – the Emirates Green Lakes Serviced Apartments due to open in early 2008. This property will provide luxury, serviced-apartment accommodation on both short- and long-term residential basis.