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

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

The developer will also build 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 hotel at Ibn Battuta 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-storey car-park.  

Ibn Battuta’s 4.7 million-sq-ft expansion features a one-million-sq-ft mall, a new cinema complex and a multi-storey car-park (see also Contractors).