DUBAI Travel Guide
Tags: Armani Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel Openings / Dubai Hotels / Fashion Hotels / → All Tags
World's First Armani Hotel in Dubai Opens Booking With $1,089 Rooms
This is the day that Giorgio Armani has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Or something like that, since bookings opened up last night for his first hotel property, the 160-room Armani Hotel within the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
If you want to spend just one night sleeping in Armani sheets in an Armani bed, it'll cost you at least 4,000 AED—that's $1,089 a night! And that's not even including an Armani breakfast, which costs an additional 132 AED ($36) per person.
And although the hotel is still holding true to the opening date of March 18, reservations for the public don't begin until a few days later, on Monday, March 22. We guess Giorgio wants to keep that first weekend private, for press and friends to party in his new pad.
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Fashion Hotels / Posh Spice / Karl Lagerfeld / Hotel Hype / → All Tags
Would You Stay in The Posh Spice Hotel?
Well, move over Marc Jacobs. It looks like dubious fashion designer, former Spice girl and ultimate WAG priestess Victoria Beckham might beat you in designing a fashion hotel first.
According to reports swirling about today, Posh Spice has been offered $40 million to design a fashion-themed hotel in Dubai on Isla Moda. Yes, $40 mill for Posh Spice-influenced design. Guess there's still money to be had in Dubai afterall.
However, Posh can't be trusted to design a hotel by herself otherwise we'd probably just end up with rooms inspired by platform Louboutins and Hermes bags. No, no, no. The word is that iconic Chanel designer, Karl Lagerfeld, will be brought on to help her out.
Despite how silly this idea is, we sorta hope this hotel happens but with more Uncle Karl involved than VB. The word is Victoria is still mulling the offer. She better act quick. Someone may offer Lindsay Lohan money to create a fashion-leggings hotel in Dubai instead.
[Photo: JustJared.com]
Tags: Hotel Openings / Armani Hotels / Fashion Hotels / Dubai Hotels / → All Tags
The Armani Hotel Has An Opening Date! Also, Bulgarian Staff?
There is a new, magical date on our calendar for 2010: March 18. We'll give you one guess at to what is scheduled to happen on that day: a legendary Italian fashion designer welcomes his first hotel into the world.
That's right! In a little more than two months, Giorgio Armani is supposed to open the Armani Hotel at the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai, the tallest building in the world which only opened itself a few days ago. By now, we expected the hype to be running thick and heavy, but finding out the actual date was a bit of a slog and we're finding that much information (and photos) of the hotel remain secret—or just poorly circulated.
Reservations for the 160-room hotel open later this month, or so we hear. But we wouldn't get all anxious quite yet, since the quiet coming out of Dubai makes us skeptical of the opening date; odds are that it'll be delayed further into spring. Apparently the only way to get into Armani's slice of the Middle East early is to buy one of the Armani Residences, which open to their owners later this month.
But we know who's running the show, after the jump!
Tags: One and Only Resorts / Dubai Hotels / Hotel Construction / So Kerzner / Hotel News / → All Tags
A Perfect 10? One & Only Will Open Their New Resort in Dubai on 10-10-10
Another week, another news of a grand new hotel to be built in Dubai. This time it's to be a luxe One & Only Resorts property situated on the man-made islands of The Palm. Interesting, seeing as how One & Only already has the One & Only Royal Mirage occupying prime massive oceanfront property right at the base of the Palm, on Al Sufouh Road.
Anyway, the One & Only isn't due to open until October 2010, and when it does it'll join a bevy of other properties springing up among The Palm fronds: Atlantis The Palm, Movenpick Resort Oceana Palm Jumeirah, Fairmont Palm Hotel, Movenpick Resort & Spa Palm Jumeirah, Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, Anantara Resort, Trump International Hotel, and properties from Radisson SAS, Hilton, Metropolitan, Shangri La, Starwood, Marriott, Oberoi, and Kempinski, according to The Emirates Network.
So how will this One & Only try to make it seem like it is the one and only luxury resort on The Palm?
Tags: Hotel Construction / Dubai Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Dubai Doubles Up On Ritz-Carltons In 2010
No surprise here: Dubai is getting yet another hotel, already under construction for a 2010 opening. However, this is no gimmicky property with the Middle East's biggest wave pool or a helicopter tennis court; it's actually a classy Ritz-Carlton, the second for Dubai.
Due to abut the Dubai International Financial Centre, the property will be a consummate luxury business traveler hotel, but thankfully with world-class restaurants and a spa to boot.
Tags: Hotel Breakfasts / Hotel Amenities / Westin Hotels / Dubai Hotels / Hotel Technology / → All Tags
Breakfast is Poppin' Up Wirelessly at The Westin Dubai
Imagine for a moment that you have just awakened to a bright Dubai morning, called up room service, and ordered a very leisurely breakfast to be served on your terrace. It arrives, and you follow the scent of pancakes and syrup onto the balcony where, unbelievable as it sounds, there is a toaster warming up some bagel halves and no power outlet in sight. Yes, you have just discovered one of the secret amenities of the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Resort.
The "Flexi-Toast," as the portable unit is affectionately dubbed, ensures hot and crisp toasted awesomeness no matter your location. However, we guess that maybe somebody overlooked adding outlets on the terraces and the Westin didn't want to lose the ability to offer breakfast with toast out there.
Tags: Hotel Spas / Dubai Hotels / Raffles Hotels / → All Tags
Raffles Dubai's Spa Will Fix Our Traveler's Palms
We would've gone just for the refrigerated pool pavement, but the Raffles Dubai has got a few more temptations up its sleeve: spa treatments that are going to make us so beautiful none of our friends will recognize us.
In conjunction with the launch of a Kerstin Florian line of products, the Dubai Raffles is promoting a few new spa treatments in their Amrita Spa. What grabs us, being frequent travelers, is the Traveler's Palm, which should refresh our skin and take away that over-traveled look; the Her Royal Highness facial also sounds like it'll take a few years off the ol' mug. The one we're not sure about is the Customized Corrective Skin Facial, mainly because the name is so not sexy. Yes, we're that superficial.
The Dubai Raffles has quite a big range of packages, but if the spa treatments call to you then the "Raffles Body & Soul" package is probably the one to pick; it's a two night deal with breakfast, a massage and spa access included.
Tags: Hotel Construction / Hotel Hype / Fashion Hotels / Versace Hotels / Hotel Websites / → All Tags
Versace Dubai Gets a Website, Will Have Simulated "Scuba Lagoon"
It's been a while since we've heard anything from the infamous Versace Hotel in Dubai, which, upon completion in April 2010, will pamper its literally well-heeled guests with a refrigerated sand beach. Now that they have only slightly more than a year to go, the Palazzo Versace Dubai has launched a website, hired interior decorators and saved us the trouble of tripping to Dubai by posting their own construction photos to the site.
Tags: Geek Hotels / Dubai Hotels / Hotel WiFi / Holiday Inn Express / → All Tags
Begin Your Download at Holiday Inn Express Internet City
When we discovered there was a Holiday Inn Express Dubai Internet City, we thought the hotel chain was just using a clever gimmick to draw in guests. But no, there actually is a real place called Dubai Internet City. According to its website:
Dubai Internet City is a strategic base for companies targeting emerging markets in a vast region extending from the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent, and Africa to the CIS countries, covering 2 billion people with GDP $ 6.7 trillion.
Ok, so that's a little too much business and geek-speak for us to understand but naturally all these companies heading to Dubai Internet City are going to need a place to stay. In comes the Holiday Inn Express.
Tags: Dubai Hotels / Hotel Reviews / LA Times / Atlantis Resorts / → All Tags
Perhaps Atlantis Dubai Isn't So Craptastic After All
It’s almost too easy talking trash about the Atlantis Dubai on Palm Jumeirah. You know the drill: man-made island, home to hostage Sammy the Shark, breeding ground for cash debauchery and craptastic service. The list goes on.
But! Either the Atlantis has hit its stride, or the hotel’s PR person is working overtime. Yes indeed, yesterday’s review in the LA Times is really quite flattering. Sure, the reviewer lands a few swipes at the “garish” nature and “eyesore” pink exterior. At one point, the writer likens the Atlantis theme to “stepping onto the set of a live version of ‘The Little Mermaid.’” (We suppose that’s a burn, but that actually makes the place more appealing in our book.)
Tags: Dubai Hotels / Jumeirah Hotels / Business Traveler Hotels / → All Tags
Jumeirah Emirates Tower :: A Good Spot to Meet a Sheik for a Drink
In Dubai money still seems to trump religion and culture. The teeny tiny sliver of a country is a mere desert road trip from Saudi Arabia and Oman, and just an abra jaunt from Iran and Iraq. But Dubai is more green zone than red zone. Dubai's like Macau without the gambling. Disneyworld and Kings Dominion by the Arabian Sea. And again, the Las Vegas of the Middle East. It's also a great place to find yourself slinging back shots with a Sheik -- indoors that is.
Tags: Hotel Sick / Hotel News / Dubai Hotels / Westin Hotels / → All Tags
Guests Fall Ill After Checking Out of Westin Dubai
You hear about it happening on cruise ships or at cheap hotels, but the most recent outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease may have come from a luxury hotel in Dubai. Last week, a British cricket broadcaster who had just returned from staying at the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort fell ill with this serious form of pneumonia and subsequently died. Two other guests are also currently battling it, although tests for the Legionella bacteria in the hotel have all so far been negative.
Bacteria don't care how much you spend on your hotel room, especially ones like Legionella, which is spread through infected water droplets in air conditioning or plumbing. This is not a warning for guests to wear masks over their nose and mouth constantly, but for hotels to be constantly vigilant when it comes to cleanliness; the Westin has only been open slightly more than six months. As it is, only 5-15% of Legionnaire's cases prove fatal. The hotel has contacted all other guests to inform them of the situation, but it hasn't yet been proven that the Westin is at fault.
[Room photo via the Westin Dubai; Legionella image via Lueven University]
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