UAE: Rixos Premium Dubai Is Now Open To The Public

The Rixos Premium Dubai, the third property by Rixos Hotels in the UAE, opened its doors to guests on June 24, 2017.

After initially confirming a May opening, the property opened in time for the Eid Al-Fitr holidays.

The 35-storey property offers 414 rooms and suites, along with a private beach, and nine restaurants and bars. Out of these, three venues are already opening: Turkish concept Turquoise; Crystal Lounge; and Azure Beach which offers a pool, beach and outdoor lounge facilities. Other dining venues are due to open soon.

It also hosts 10 meeting venues with a seating capacity of 12-150 guests and a Diamond Ballroom which can cater for up to 700 guests.

The hotel includes a fitness centre, RixGym, with floor-to-ceiling views of the Arabian Gulf, as well as Natureland spa known for its signature Turkish Hammam.

"This is an excellent time to expand Rixos Hotels portfolio in Dubai as the market continues to experience radical growth while establishing itself further as one of the world’s premier leisure and business destinations," said Rixos Hotels chairman and founder Fettah Tamince.

Rixos Hotels will add another two properties to its portfolio by 2018: Abu Dhabi and the Maldives.

Rixos Premium Dubai is situated at the heart of Dubai’s popular urban destination, Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR).

The 35-storey beach hotel overlooks the world’s largest Ferris Wheel, The Dubai Eye, and is within close proximity to popular shopping and nightlife destinations such as The Walk, Dubai Marina Mall, Mall of the Emirates and the city’s buzzing highway, Sheikh Zayed Road.

The impeccable crystal design of the tower is an architectural landmark transforming the cityscape of JBR.

Set out closest to the shoreline, Rixos Premium Dubai features a private beach as well as a variety of trendy dining choices and state of the art conference and banquet venues.

What’s more, they offer guests the pleasure of luxury shopping at concept retail stores such as Rodeo Drive, Via Rodeo and Ocean Drive.

Accomodation

With its 414 spacious rooms and suites, Rixos Premium Dubai is the city's premier urban lifestyle resort o­ffering tech-savvy facilities with a fusion of contemporary design features for the modern traveller looking for the luxuries of upscale living.

Enjoy mesmerizing floor-to-ceiling views of the picturesque horizon over the Arabian Gulf or the glittering skyline of Dubai’s skyscrapers while staying with us.

Dining

They have hand-picked a selection of innovative and gastronomic food & beverage concepts designed to create unrivaled experiences and unforgettable moments.

The hotel features 8 trendy restaurants and bars to choose from with gastronomic influences from around the globe.

Meetings

Rixos Premium Dubai opens up new doors of sophisticated banquets and events offering a choice of 10 spacious conference and banquet venues with a seating capacity of 10 – 150 guests and an additional ballroom which can comfortably cater to a large-scale event of up to 700 guests.

All these venues have been carefully designed with the fast-paced business entrepreneurs in mind and are fitted with ultra-modern, tech-savvy audio-visual equipment.

Spa & Wellness

A wellness program can never be complete without a spa retreat and the signature Ottoman hammam at Natureland Spa is set to revitalize guests through authentic Turkish rituals.

Travel through a journey of deep cleansing, rigorous exfoliation, detoxification and purification leaving your body with increased circulation, a healthier immune system, completely relaxed and nourished beautiful skin.

Using acupressure massage, our therapists are trained in a technique built upon the therapeutic usage of applying pressure to acupuncture meridian points.

By clearing blockages in these meridians, we can improve blood circulation, promote healing, and increase metabolism to remove toxins in our body.

Personal fitness is equally a part of the urban lifestyle and our state-of-the-art fitness center by Technogym with floor-to-ceiling views of the azure Arabian Gulf is set to complement all your routine goals.

RIXGYM FITNESS CENTRE

Their fully equipped state of the art fitness centre offers weight machine, free weights, bicycles, treadmills and elliptical trainers with stunning unobstructed views of the Gulf.

Activities

Sky & Sea Adventures Dubai along with Reef Diving Centre have joined hands in bringing adrenaline-charged watersport and leisure activities for guests staying with us.

The range of activities offered are designed as much for adventure seekers as they are to family fun and those seeking exploration and discovery.

UAE:443 Room Rixos Premium Dubai Open, Located At Jumeirah Beach Residence

The Rixos Premium Dubai – Rixos’ second property in the city and third in the UAE – opened its doors on Jumeirah Beach Residence on May 15.

The 443-room resort features a Nature Land Spa and Turkish Hammam (male and female), adults/kids pool, private beach and concept retail stores (Rodeo Drive, Via Rodeo and Ocean Drive) but will also reach out to executives with its 10 meeting venues and a ballroom which can host up to 850 guests.

Rooms categories include deluxe and premium (32-48sqm), corner suite/premium corner suite (48-53sqm), one-bedroom deluxe suite (84-94sqm), two-bedroom deluxe/premium suite (122-150sqm) and two-bedroom crystal suite (150sqm). Rooms contain 48-inch LED TVs and high-speed wifi.

The starting opening rate is Dhs750 (inclusive of breakfast).

F&B venues comprise Black Tap Craft Burgers, Lock Stock & Barrel bar, STK Steakhouse, Azure Beach, Luigia Ristorante, Turquoise all-day dining restaurant, Riviera Beach Grill (mediterranean) and Crystal lobby lounge.

Sky & Sea Adventures Dubai has teamed up with Reef Diving Centre to provide guests with a wide range of “adrenaline-charged” watersport and leisure activities.

Erkan Yildirim, VP of Operations, said it is seeing “steadfast growth” from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar and will continue to push its ‘ultra-all-inclusive’ concept covering not only rooms, MICE and weddings but also F&B, shuttles, butler services and watersports.

A ramen restaurant and Japanese design store is opening in Dubai

Dubai’s food scene has almost everything. Want amazing cheap Iraqi-style fish? We’ve got it. Hankering for a Melbournian flat white? You can find those here. Fancy a five-star curry with Dubai Fountain views in an Armani-branded hotel? We’ve got you covered. Want to eat at one of Europe or LA’s trendiest restaurant brands? You can.

There’s one thing that’s been lacking, however, and that’s a shop dedicated to the art of the humble noodle’s most glorious soup dish: ramen.

Well, a new shop called Yui is opening in the next week or two in Dubai Design District (aka, the city’s new foodie hotspot – we’re calling it) that will be dedicated to healthy ramen noodles and onigiri (aka, rice balls – these make the perfect snacks).

When exactly the restaurant will open we’re not yet sure of – but we do know it will be in the next week or so, and we’ll definitely keep you updated.

The store will also sell detox juices, Japanese bakery goods and will serve speciality coffee. The coffee part of the store will be run by Fuglen, a famous Norwegian coffee and cocktail brand that’s also taken off in Tokyo.

Besides ramen and Norwegian coffee (a random combo, but we’ll take it) the new site in D3 will also be home to Frame and Dwell, design stores selling Japanese fashion, cool homewares and vintage records. Brands on offer include Medium (Japanese toys), Hasami Porcelain (from Japan), L:A Bruket beauty products from Sweden and heaps of Japanese clothing labels.

UAE: Rixos Announced Latest 443 Room Dubai Property To Open May 15 2017

Turkish hotel brand Rixos has announced its latest Dubai property will open on May 15.

Rixos Premium Dubai, located in Jumeirah Beach Residence, will feature 443 rooms and suites, a private beach, gym and spa with Turkish hammam and six food and beverage outlets.

Events space includes 10 meeting rooms and a ballroom able to cater for 1,000 guests.

“This is an excellent time to expand Rixos Hotels portfolio in Dubai as the market continues to experience radical growth while establishing itself further as one of the world’s premier leisure and business destinations,” said Erkan Yildirim, SVP of operations for Rixos Hotels.

Among the dining outlets will be all-day restaurant Turquoise, Italian fine-dining restaurant Luigia’s, music and sports bar Lock Stock & Barrel, American steakhouse STK and burger outlet Black Tap.

In addition the hotel will include retail stores Rodeo Drive, Via Rodeo and Ocean Drive.

Rixos has two further hotel openings planned in Abu Dhabi and the Maldives in 2018 and already operates an existing property on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah.

The Rixos Premium Dubai and the two 2018 properties will come under a luxury joint venture announced with France’s AccorHotels earlier this month.

UAE: Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Dubai

I remember going through GNTraveller for affordable hotels near the beachside JBR and finding Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Dubai. It had the best rate for an overnight stay to usher in the New Year with friends, but as I was about to make a reservation, my luck ran out. The last room just sold out.

This summer, I finally got the chance to check out the four-star hotel, which is the brand’s first property in the region. The property is right at the end of The Walk, and just a five-minute walk away from The Beach, the newest entertainment hub on Jumeirah Beach.

The hotel is part of the JBR complex, which means that the most convenient entrance is through the building’s parking area. I liked that bright coloured accents and furniture were used to somehow make this simple entrance more inviting. The reception and lobby had a very business centre feel to it. The reception was busy when my companion and I arrived. Two men in business suits were waiting to check in. There was a group of camera-toting tourists at a corner.

The room

My companion and I stayed at a deluxe suite, one of 188 rooms in the hotel. Ours had a living room with a basket of fruits and some dates when we arrived.

I grabbed a banana and looked out the window to a view of the beach from between the beachfront buildings. Looking down, I could see that a few hotel guests were already lounging by the hotel pool. In the nearby garden, a man was practicing yoga.

The hotel room has a very homey feel to it. A staff member later told me this was originally designed as a residential building before it was transformed into a hotel. This is why even their most basic hotel room is spacious. I could see why groups or families prefer to stay here. It’s unassuming but it does provide value for money.

I settled on the sofa and picked up the pocket-sized booklet of The Beach restaurant discount coupons. How very thoughtful of the staff to include this in the room. There was also free wifi so I fired up my laptop to catch up on some writing. My companion headed to the bathroom to freshen up before heading out of the room for a swim in the pool.

Where to eat

We spent a lot of time at Flavours, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The candy-coloured restaurant on level P gets very busy in the morning where there’s a fair variety of dishes on offer in the breakfast buffet. The crowd thins down during lunch or dinner, but this is probably because many of the guests prefer to be outdoors, where the sun and sand is. Part of the fun of staying at this hotel is its proximity to The Walk, The Beach and Jumeirah Beach, or the Dubai Marina, so you’re never really short of options when you’re in the mood to shop or explore the local scene, food trips included.

Not that you can’t have a great meal at the hotel. On level P, there’s also Pan Asia, which serves Chinese, Thai and Japanese food for dinner, and a café just before you head out to the JBR promenade. Pan Asia only recently opened, but I really liked the cozy vibe and personalised service here. The motif is a mix of new and modern Asia, dominated by black, grey and beige hues. Chinese wall dividers, red placemats and red lanterns add a touch of life.

The food is authentic and prices are modest. We were served a complimentary bowl of freshly fried prawn crackers that went well with the sweet and sour dip. We followed this with a delicious Tom Yum soup (Dh20), chicken pad thai (Dh40 and good for two people) and perfectly deep-fried battered prawns (Dh50, also enough for two but too good to share). Dinner solved.

What to do

The hotel has a salon, a well-equipped gym and a separate spa for men and women if you want to refresh your self or de-stress. We went for a 60-minute massage—one of the most relaxing treatments I’ve ever had. The Balinese therapist knew exactly which pressure points needed attention, concentrating on dispersing the stress from my shoulder area and back (the result of hours slouched in front of a computer). By the end of my treatment, I was so ready to go to bed.

My companion had other plans though and somehow managed to convince me to explore the club scene in the area. We took a five-minute walk to a very interesting resto-bar that had a room full of videogame machines that guests can use for free. I was tempted to try Street Fighter and relive my childhood when my sister and I used to ace this game. But I digress.

A few hours later we were back in the hotel. We shared the elevator with a happy looking young couple, their slippers caked with sand. “I really like the idea of staying where you could explore things on foot,” I told my companion. The couple smiled at us, probably sharing the same sentiment.

Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Dubai is located on The Walk, Jumeirah Beach Residence.