UAE: Nakheel To Kick Off $160 Million Resort Project On Deira Islands

Nakheel is bringing in a hotel operator from Austria for its latest project on Deira Islands.

The project is a $160 million (Dh587.2 million), 600-room beachfront resort.

For Vienna House, the largest independent hotel chain in Austria, this is its first exposure in the Middle East markets.

Our ongoing strategy is to bring new, highly reputable hospitality brands and concepts to Dubai as part of our commitment to supporting the government in realising its tourism vision, said Ali Rashid Lootah, Nakheel’s Chairman.

Vienna House at Deira Islands will be a shining example of how this strategy is coming to fruition.

This follows a letter of intent signing in Bangkok, which is where the Vienna House’s parent company, U City, is based.

The planned Vienna House partnership is Nakheel’s third hospitality joint venture at Deira Islands.

The developer already has 1,400 rooms under way through JVs with Spain’s RIU Hotels and Resorts and Thailand’s Centara Hotels and Resorts.

In total, Nakheel has more than 3,600 keys at Deira Islands through existing or upcoming joint ventures or hotel management agreements.

The brand Vienna House is about the joy of travelling, adventure and discovery, said Rupert Simoner, CEO of Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG.

Vienna House Deira Beach will offer quality leisure experiences that are designed to offer guests authentic moments and memories.

There is nothing comparable in Dubai at present.

Vienna House currently has more than 30 hotels across nine countries.


Tourism Observer

UAE: Nakheel Awards USD 408 Million Contract For Construction Of Palm Gateway

Dubai master developer Nakheel signed a construction contract worth nearly USD 408 million for The Palm Gateway, a new, three-tower residential, retail and beach club complex at the foot of the world-famous Palm Jumeirah.

Nakheel has appointed Shapoorji Pallonji Mideast LLC to carry out the work, which will begin in Q2 2017 and take two and a half years to complete.

Shapoorji Pallonji Mideast LLC, part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, has been active in the region for the over 45 years, delivering a range of projects.

The Palm Gateway includes 1,265 luxury apartments across three high-rise buildings, the tallest topping 285 meters, to be constructed on top of the existing Palm Monorail terminal, which includes 14 levels of parking spaces.

The waterfront living and leisure complex, will also retail, dining, health and fitness facilities, including parks, pools, and sports courts.

The Palm Gateway is one of three high rise developments by Nakheel on Palm Jumeirah. The Palm Tower, a 52-storey luxury hotel and residential complex at the center of the island is under construction, while PALM 360, a 220 meter twin-tower penthouse, apartment and hotel complex, is currently being designed.

Meanwhile, Sixteen good practices in Gastronomy Tourism from different countries were showcased in the second UNWTO Report on Gastronomy Tourism, touching on issues such as seasonality, training and innovation, ICT-related initiatives and wine-related itineraries.

The publication stresses that in terms of tourist motivations, experiencing gastronomy is now at a similar level to visiting a museum, enjoying music and admiring the architecture of a destination.

In this sense, gastronomy tourism has strong potential to improve destination management, promote cultures and contribute to other sectors such as agriculture and food manufacturing.

The commitment of gastronomy tourism towards the principles of sustainability has been one of the conclusions of the UNWTO Forum held in San Sebastian.

This includes areas such as poverty reduction, efficient use of resources, environmental protection and climate change, and the protection of cultural values, heritage and diversity.

The engagement of the traveler in these principles through his/her gastronomic experience was also underlined throughout the Forum.

The need to develop appropriate policy measures and a strong governance framework was highlighted as a major conclusion. This would facilitate not only the commitment of relevant actors, but also the interaction among them, as well as the development of private-public partnerships.

The union between gastronomy and tourism provides therefore a platform to revitalize cultures, to preserve tangible and intangible heritage, to empower communities and to enhance intercultural understanding.

These aspects were particularly tackled during the practical experiences included in the Forum, such as a cooking class and farm-to-table dining experiences

UAE: Dubai Set To Get Two New Hotels

Dubai-based master developer Nakheel has released construction tenders for new hotels at Dragon City and Ibn Battuta Mall, adding another 670 rooms to its rapidly-growing hospitality portfolio.

Nakheel will build a 295-room hotel at Dragon City, home of the world-famous Dragon Mart retail and trading hub, featuring the one-million-sq-ft Dragon Mart 2 shopping, dining and entertainment complex, which opened in February.

The developer will also create a 15-storey, 375-room hotel at Ibn Battuta Mall, where a 300,000-sq-ft extension opened in May.

The three-star hotels – due for completion in 2017 – complement existing hotels at the two retail hubs, where further major expansions continue. Nakheel opened a 251-room Accor-operated ibis Styles hotel at Dragon Mart 2 in February, while its 372-room Premier Inn at Ibn Battuta will open in Q4 this year.

With a built-up area of over 180,000 sq ft, the new Dragon City hotel will feature a restaurant, coffee shop and gym, while the 280,000-sq-ft establishment at Ibn Battuta, located by the Metro entrance, will have an all-day restaurant, gym and pool deck.

The Dragon City expansion comprises a 2.2 million sq ft retail component, two residential towers containing 1,120 apartments and a multi-story car park with 6,200 spaces. Once complete, it will bring the size of Dragon City to more than 11 million sq ft.

Ibn Battuta’s 4.7 million sq ft expansion features a one million sq ft mall with glass-covered courtyard, a new cinema complex and a 7,000-space multi-storey car park.

Nakheel also has hotels under development at Palm Jumeirah and Deira Islands, with more in the pipeline.

Nakheel’s master developments include Palm Jumeirah, The World, Deira Islands, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Heights, The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Al Furjan, Warsan Village, Dragon City, International City, Jebel Ali Gardens and Nad Al Sheba Community.

Together, these span more than 15,000 hectares and currently provide homes for over 270,000 people. Nakheel has nearly 21,000 residential units under construction or in the pipeline.

Nakheel’s current and future retail project portfolio covers more than 15 million sq ft of leasable space. Retail destination developments include Ibn Battuta Mall, Dragon Mart 1 and 2, Nakheel Mall, The Pointe, The Golden Mile, Deira Mall, Deira Islands Night Souk, Warsan Souk, Al Khail Avenue, The Circle Mall and major extensions to Dragon Mart (renamed Dragon City) and Ibn Battuta Mall. Nakheel also has several neighbourhood community centres in operation or under development