Dubai-based TRI Hospitality Consulting outlines some of the new four and five-star hotel projects under construction or planned for Dubai over the next few years.

Dubai has experienced a tremendous growth in hotels and demand has kept up with the meteoric growth of supply and indeed was successfully led by it - which is an amazing achievement for the emirate. At least 12 future hotel developments in Dubai will add 4,500 rooms (rooms, suites and apartments) to the emirate's tally of around 19,000. These hotels are under construction or firmly committed.

Four-star hotels

Shaikh Zayed Road will gain its first branded four-star property when a new 200-room, 50-apartment Golden Tulip hotel opens in 2002. The hotel will be located close to the Defence Roundabout.

The Bur Dubai Holiday Inn Hotel, Dubai's second property of this brand is a 240-room property, located on a site near the American Hospital, which will open in 2001. The hotel will feature Chinese and seafood restaurants, in addition to a coffee shop, an English pub, a lounge and a nightclub. Also included will be a business centre, four meeting rooms, a 500 sq m ballroom and a fitness centre.

Five-star city hotels

The Dusit Dubai Hotel is expected to open by the end of this year. The 37-storey hotel, located on Shaikh Zayed Road next to the Defence Roundabout, will comprise 174 rooms and 147 serviced apartments. The design of the rooms and suites in the hotel will reflect the chain's Thai origins and all are planned to have oversized bathrooms. Food and beverage facilities will include a Far Eastern speciality restaurant and elaborate conference and banqueting facilities.

A Grand Hyatt hotel is under construction near the Wafi City Complex on Quteyat Highway in Bur Dubai and is scheduled for completion by 2001. The upscale convention property will offer 432 rooms and a further 186 furnished and serviced apartments. Its 1,800 sq m ballroom will have the capacity for 1,500 theatre-style, and there will be five restaurants. It is thought that the existing Hyatt Regency will target lower yield business once the Grand Hyatt is opened.

A new Hilton International business hotel owned by A A Al Moosa Enterprises is scheduled to open in Deira by 2001. The 156-room hotel will be located opposite the dhow wharves of Beniyas Road, near the Economic Department and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce. Facilities will include a rooftop swimming pool, a health club, a gymnasium, a massage room and three restaurants.

A new Juma Al Majid Hotel is under construction in Deira between Riqqa Road and Maktoum Street. The hotel will have 160 rooms and 91 furnished apartments, plus multiple food and beverage outlets. A swimming pool, health club and spa will be located on the top floor of the 11-storey building, which is due to be completed in April 2001. The Taj Group of Hotels is reported to have been awarded the management contract.

The Kempinski Pyramid Hotel, so-called because of its tapering tower design, is to be built on the corner of Al Diyafah Road and Shaikh Zayed Road, on the opposite side of the highway from the Trade Centre. Initial specifications comprise 440 rooms and suites, plus five food and beverage outlets including a 'sky restaurant' at the top. The project is expected to be completed by 2004.

The Oberoi Group of India is also opening a hotel between Maktoum Street and Beniyas Road in Deira, near the Deira City Centre mall. The 228-room five-star deluxe hotel is planned to cater to the corporate segment with top-class furnishings and amenities and the added attraction of butler service for each suite. It is expected to open in 2003.

The new Rotana Towers Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road has been positioned to attract demand mainly from the Trade Centre exhibition halls. The 370-unit hotel is expected to include 36 serviced apartments as well as five food and beverage outlets and meeting rooms. The hotel was expected to open late last month.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has signed a management agreement with the UAE-based Al Jaber Group to operate a new deluxe hotel opposite the Dusit Hotel, near the Defence Roundabout. The Shangri-La hotel will feature 300 guestrooms, suites and approximately 110 serviced apartments, within a twin-tower multi-purpose complex. Although construction has not started, it is scheduled to open by late 2001.

The Sheraton Plaza Hotel and Towers is expected to open in 2001 near the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The 510-unit tower will include 276 standard rooms, 100 furnished suites, nine presidential and royal suites and 115 two, three and four-bedroom unfurnished apartments. The complex will additionally offer a multi-cuisine restaurant, two business centres and 20,000 sq m of office space. The hotel will also feature a bridge across Shaikh Zayed Road to the Trade Centre.

Dubai's Waterfront Properties is a seeking management operator for a five-star city resort on the waterfront in the Al Jadaf area of Dubai Creek. Planned to open in 2002, the development will have a total of 250 standard rooms, including 65 superior executive rooms and 15 suites, which will be combined with 452 luxury residential apartments.

Five-star resorts

The new Hilton Hotel on the Jumeirah Beach which belongs to A A Al Moosa Enterprises, developer of the Arenco/Golden Sands apartments complex, opened its doors to the public last month (see pg 76).

The former Le Meridien Jumeirah Beach has just opened a new 150-room tower on the western side of the property, facing the Ritz-Carlton. The tower includes four new food and beverage outlets, plus a new spa. In the light of the high specifications of this tower, and to differentiate the property from the adjacent Le Meridien Mina Seyahi, the whole hotel will be refurbished over the next year to upper upscale standards, reflecting its re-branding to Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort and Spa.

The Dh16 billion ($ 4.4 billion) Dubai (formerly Westside) Marina development announced by Emaar Properties in 1998 was initially publicised as containing up to 20 hotels. Subsequent rumours have, however, suggested that the development centred on an artificial lagoon directly behind the main Jumeirah Beach hotels on Al Sufouh Street - may in fact be entirely residential. The major 100-hectare infrastructure project has been conceived as a complete suburb of Dubai near Jebel Ali. It is expected to support a resident population of 165,000 when it is fully developed after 14 years.