Developers of Saadiyat Island, the signature residential and tourism destination taking shape just 500 m offshore the UAE's capital city – has announced the launch of a luxury Rotana Resort.
The five-star resort, which will be designed with a distinctly themed atmosphere, will be built on the secluded Saadiyat Beach – one of six districts of the island.
An agreement for the sale of 809,000 sq ft of beachfront was signed between Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and its asset-management arm Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) and Nasser Al Nowais, chairman of Rotana Hotels.
The luxury Rotana Resort Saadiyat Beach will have a 400 to 450-room upscale hotel, a private stretch of beach, a variety of food and beverage outlets with meeting and conference facilities in addition to a spa and a fully-equipped health and fitness club.
Saadiyat Beach, which lies to the north west of Saadiyat Island, is masterplanned to produce a range of five-star resorts flanking 9 km of pristine beach, a championship golf course with freehold villas, dedicated sailing club and private beach clubs, all creating a celebrity see-and-be-seen atmosphere.
Three other major resort development plots in the district have already been sold to Abu Dhabi National Hotels, the UAE's National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels (NCTH) and the UAE capital's prestigious Al Jaber Group.
Saadiyat Island, which will also be home to the Middle East's first Guggenheim contemporary art museum, is being developed in three phases.
Enabling works to clear the ground for infrastructure development on Saadiyat – the Middle East’s largest single natural island development, are already under way.
TDIC has awarded the Dh815 million ($222 million) bulk earth-filling contract for the Saadiyat Island project to Belgium's Jan De Nul.
Work, slated to begin last month, will involve the filling of some 35 million cu m of earth which will be used to provide sculpted landform, enhancing vistas for Saadiyat Island's marina and cultural districts – two of six distinct districts in the planned international residential and tourism destination.
The work is expected to be completed in December 2008.