The world's fastest-growing luxury hotel brand, W Hotels Worldwide, is to operate a 350-room luxury hotel at Dubai Festival City, the 'city-within-a-city' being built on the banks of Dubai Creek. The W Dubai Festival City will be the brand's first Middle East property.
W Dubai Festival City, which is scheduled to open in 2008, will be at the heart of Dubai Festival City's 245,000 square metres 'Marsa al Khor' (Harbour of the Creek) development and will be the contemporary waterfront community's hospitality centrepiece.
The W brand, which is operated by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT), broke through the clutter of conformity in the upscale hotel arena in 1998, when it became the first hotel brand with the personality of an independent hotel and the first class service and unique amenities found in leading luxury hotels. There are now 20 W hotels in the most vibrant cities around the world, from Montreal, Canada to Seoul, Korea.
"The commitment of W Hotels is another major coup for us and again gives our Creekside development first-mover hospitality advantage," said Omar Al Futtaim, CEO, Dubai Festival City. "We are continually trying to raise expectations and this partnership is not only another first for the Middle East, but an indication of our dedication to this promise."
W Dubai Festival City will be designed by world renowned, award-winning French architect Jean Nouvel. It will be surrounded by a waterfront Quay, a Central Park, exclusive waterfront homes, state-of-the-art offices and an array of chic cafes, clubs, and restaurants.
"Dubai Festival City's hospitality community continues to evolve with the addition of the W hotel to our portfolio. The W nicely complements our other hotel offerings and will offer the visiting population a different and unique experience in Dubai," said Marwan Shehadeh, Managing Director of Al Futtaim Capital.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has entered into a management agreement for the W Dubai Festival City with the Al Futtaim Group, the project's developer and one of the Middle East's largest and most respected private sector conglomerates.
"W Hotels are in some of the most exhilarating International neighbourhoods - and the W Dubai Festival City is an ideal fit for this global strategy, which also includes Barcelona, Hong Kong and Shanghai," said Roeland Vos, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Europe, Middle East & Africa. "The W Dubai Festival City will offer custom-designed accommodation in the heart of the emirate's down-town and close to a major convention centre, fabulous shopping facilities, dining and nightlife."
The W Dubai Festival City's 350 rooms will include luxury loft suites, multiple signature restaurants and a Bliss spa. It will be linked to other Dubai Festival City elements, including the Festival Marina, a Mediterranean-style yacht hub with marine activities and a unique urban retail resort, Festival Centre, which seamlessly blends retail, entertainment and hospitality into one complete family experience.
The W Dubai Festival City will offer the brands renowned 'Living Room' experience which creates a place where guests and locals can socialize with outdoor dining and spectacular waterfront views of the quay and the creek. All 350 guest rooms will indulge guests with W's famous beds with feather-top mattress, 350 thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets and goose down comforters. Hotel guests will be treated to W's signature 'Whatever/Whenever' service, the hotel's 24-hour concierge that can provide whatever guests want (from a pair of running shoes to private jet service), whenever they want it.
"Dubai continues to emerge as a sophisticated commercial and tourist destination, with world-class shopping, dining, beaches and year-round sunny forecast - an ideal city for W," said Ross Klein, President of W Hotels. "Working with architect Jean Nouvel, we intend to enhance the style and design fabric of Dubai, and Dubai Festival City in particular, offering a product that is entirely different from anything else in the market."
W Hotels is the latest world renowned operator to sign up to manage a property at Dubai Festival City. The 'city-within-a-city' already boasts the Middle East's largest hospitality cluster under one project, one ownership and with the highest level of connectivity, comprising of more than 2,500 rooms spread throughout hotels, a convention centre and timeshare resorts with more facilities planned for the future.
Caption: Roeland Vos, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Europe, Middle East & Africa, with Omar Al Futtaim, CEO, Dubai Festival City, at the site of the new W Dubai Festival City.
-Ends-
About Dubai Festival City:
A 1,600 acre 'city-within-a-city', Dubai Festival City is an inspirational all-in-one destination taking shape on the sweeping curves of the historic Dubai Creek. As the Middle East's largest, privately-funded, mixed-use, real estate development, this all-in-one city offers infinite opportunities in retail, residential, leisure, hospitality and entertainment.
The project is skirted by a four kilometre long, privately-developed Creekside corniche. Set to become a downtown landmark, the Corniche fronts this all-encompassing city, which combines an unrivalled blend of modern office towers, superb waterfront villas, luxury and convention hotels, five-star resorts and time share villas, an 18 hole championship golf course, a unique waterfront retail destination, which boasts some of the world's leading brands, a 150 berth Mediterranean style marina, a state-of-the-art automotive retail park, a vibrant community centre, terraced hillside villas, golf course residential and Mediterranean-style apartments.
The development is reinvigorating Dubai's downtown district and will leverage its proximity to the award winning Dubai International Airport as well as its expansive waterfront to deliver a new vibrancy and sense of community to the suburban landscape.
About W Hotels
W Hotels is a global lifestyle brand with 20 properties in the most vibrant cities around the world. Inspiring and indulging its guests with thoughtful, refreshing and stylish experiences, signature restaurants, bars and destination spas, W has become the fastest growing luxury hotel brand in the world. Each hotel offers a unique mix of innovative design, comfort and cultural influences from fashion to music to art and everything in between. Recent openings include W's first property in Asia, W Seoul - Walkerhill and its first property in Canada, W Montreal. W Residences, offering the W lifestyle at home, have been announced for Las Vegas, Hollywood, Dallas, South Beach, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Hoboken. Internationally, W has announced plans for hotels in the Maldives, Barcelona, Hong Kong and Shanghai. For more information, visit www.whotels.com.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W, Le Mridien and the recently announced AloftSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
Jean Nouvel
Please check the following website: www.jeannouvel.fr
For further information, please contact:
Bassem Terkawi
Public Relations and Events Manager
Dubai Festival City
Tel: +9714 213 6187
Fax: +9714 2851185
Email: bassem.terkawi@dubaifestivalcity.com
For further information, please contact:
Maha Saad
Regional Director of Public Relations Africa & Middle East
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Tel: +202 7482301;
Fax: +202 7482292
Email: maha.saad@starwoodhotels.com
© Press Release 2006
