ABU Dhabi’s largest hotel is set to open its doors this month, when Millennium Hotels and Resorts launches its second property and first Grand Millennium in Abu Dhabi.

The Grand Millennium Al Wahda will comprise 850 rooms, including 585 guestrooms and 265 residences, promising a first-class guest experience exuding elegance and luxury with a contemporary touch.

The property, centrally located adjacent to the Al Wahda Shopping Mall and Al Wahda Sports Club, is not only the largest hotel but also boasts the largest health club in the city with a 2,700 sq m spa, swimming pool and a supersized gym equipped with top-of-the-line Technogym aerobic and weight-training machines.

The hotel comprises a total built-up area of approximately 95,500 sq m as well as 13,500 sq m of built area for above-ground car parking. A total of 1,251 slots have been allocated for car parking.

The 30-storey building that houses the hotel was constructed using post-tensioned concrete slabs with cast in-situ concrete columns. It sits on a raft foundation, which is up to 2 m deep with a total of 26,000 cu m of concrete (or approximately 3,000 concrete trucks) used.

Multiple dining venues ... authentic international cuisine.

The project has been designed by Khatib & Alami and built by Civilco with Depa having been responsible for the interior fit-out. EC Harris Built Asset Consultancy (UK) was the project manager.

The hotel was initially designed to feature 243 guestrooms and 412 apartments which were later changed after construction had started to the current configuration, according to Michael Sorgenfrey, general manager of the hotel. Also previously, the guestrooms were planned to on both sides of the hotel, on the upper six floors and the rest of the hotel would be apartments. Now, apartments are spread out on one wing while the guestrooms are on the other, occupying levels six to 30 of the building.

Giving a breakdown of the rooms’ allocation, Sorgenfrey says the hotel features 585 guest rooms each measuring 36 sq m; 16 junior suites with a leasable area of 55 sq m each; and two royal suites with 246 sq m of lettable area per room. As for furnished apartments, they include 76 two-bedrooms and 180 one-bedroom apartments.

The hotel’s guest rooms are elegantly outfitted for exceptional comfort and high-tech connectivity, with features such as multi-line telephones with data ports, wireless internet connection, 37-inch LCD televisions, Bose sound systems, and heated towel racks,” says Sorgenfrey.

The hotel was built using post-tensioned concrete slabs with cast in-situ concrete columns.

Multiple dining venues at the new Grand Millennium include authentic and wide-ranging international cuisine from the Porterhouse Blues Bar and Grill and the Asian restaurant Toshi, the Portobello Italian eatery and the Al Wahda for all-day dining. Other facilities include Reflexions, which is destined to be one of the new chic city nightspots.

The banquet and catering element of the operation are located in the office towers across from the main entrance of the hotel and comprises exhibition space, seven meeting rooms and a banquet hall, which can accommodate up to 80 persons for a gala dinner.

Decorpoint (Dubai) was the interior designer, with CR2 Architects (Dublin) having been appointed to undertake the interior designs of the restaurants and bars.

“The opening of the Grand Millennium Al Wahda signals a new era in hotel accommodation here in Abu Dhabi and we expect to raise the bar in terms of the guest experience,” says Sorgenfrey.

“Quite apart from the sheer size of the hotel, we will stand out in terms of our employees’ contribution to the smooth running of the operation through their product knowledge and service standards, and look forward to welcoming guests from November onwards,” he adds.

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels is a dynamic, global hotel company, which owns, asset manages and/or operates over 120 hotels in 19 countries around the world. The group owns some of the most coveted addresses across the world including the Mayfair in London and the Millennium Broadway in New York. This international chain has properties in the US, Europe, Asia and New Zealand, besides significant presence in the Middle East and North Africa.