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Hotel News
$20 Million Party Gets the Atlantis Dubai More Bad Press
November 21, 2008 at 9:10 AM | 2 Comments
As you know, last night was the $20-million grand opening gala at the Atlantis Dubai on Palm Jumeirah. While the resort has been open for a while now (and has not been getting such lovely press due to allegedly craptastic service and some structural disasters), last night's celeb-studded grand opening gala was supposed to turn heads and generate a lil' bit of good publicity for the $1.5-billion resort.
But instead, based on the event's coverage we've seen so far today, everyone just seems to be asking how the property can justify such an over-the-top display of wealth and extravagance in the midst of a global economic crisis.
But! Nevermind that. It seems that the Atlantis spent most of that 20-mil on fireworks and on jetting celebs to the party. The guest list ran the gamut from the megastars to the obscure: Michael Jordan, Lindsay Lohan, Wesley Snipes, Mary Kate Olsen, Shirley Bassey, and Mischa Barton were among the famous faces in the audience for Kylie Minogue's huge(ly expensive) performance.
Dubai Hotels
Atlantis Dubai Parties With $20 Million Dollars and Lindsay Lohan
November 20, 2008 at 12:40 PM | 2 Comments
Spotted amongst other depressing business news at The Wall Street Journal online: More than a month after opening their doors on the Palm Jumeirah, the Atlantis Dubai will be toasting their hotel tonight with a massive $20 million dollar shindig. The recession be damned, the Atlantis is going to party like its 1999 with Kylie Minogue performing and Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra serving as "Goddess of Atlantis."
Dubai Hotels
"The World" of Dubai to Get a 700-Suite Hotel
November 14, 2008 at 1:32 PM | 2 Comments
Finally completed earlier this year, Dubai's fantastical island development "The World" has been selling like hotcakes despite multi-million dollar pricetags and sheer remoteness. Currently the three hundred islands of the man-made archipelago are little better than sand bars, save for this baby, the first completed residence island.
Joining similar houses of the uber-rich and ultra-private will be several hotels and resorts, including a newly-announced gigantic hospitality venture on island D43. As one of the last remaining islands for sale, D43 is in figurative China, cuddling up next to the Shanghai island. Although the entire island is only eight hectares large (that's like a thirtieth of a square mile), Oasis Group plans to plop a "boutique hotel" of over 700 suites as well as restaurants, retail and "cultural centres of learning."
We suppose this is good news for us proles who can't afford to buy a mini country right now; it's nice to know that The World will not be completely inaccessible to the public so long as you have a large vacation budget. Since this resort dream still has years of construction before we can swim alongside Shanghai Island, we'll just hang out with this guy until then.
Related Stories:
· Rajasthan-Inspired Hotel In Dubai Sounds A Bit Scary [HotelChatter]
· Dubai Spaceship Hotel Will Give You the Heebie Jeebies [HotelChatter]
[Image via Eikongraphia]
Dubai Hotels
Dubai Hotel Issues Etiquette Guide About Where Not To Have Sex
November 11, 2008 at 5:36 PM | 3 Comments
Can't have sex here.
If you ever visit Dubai, you must do two things. One, invite us along and two, refrain from any sort of sexual activity or expression outside the comfort of your hotel room. The Madinat Jumeirah Hotel, located next to the Burj Al-Arab, has issued etiquette guides to hotel guests urging them to hold back their sexual urges while in public.
The etiquette guides, which suggest the hotel’s guests could be arrested for inappropriate public displays, are left on tables during the weekly brunch event at the Madinat Jumeirah hotel.
The guests should "employ discretion" in expressing affection publicly, says the hotel, with "anything more than a peck on the cheek" likely to result in police involvement.
The guides were issued after two Brits were arrested for having sex on the beach near the hotel after one of the hotel's long boozy brunches. The frisky duo received three month jail sentences (what??!!), were fined £200 for drunkenness and deported from Dubai after their release.
Don't worry. If you bring us, we promise to behave...at least outside of our room.
[Photo: Shaolo/Paolo]
Related Stories
· Dubai hotel issues etiquette guide after sex on the beach scandal [Times UK]
· The HotelChatter Guide to Great Hotel Sex [HotelChatter]
Dubai Hotels
Rajasthan-Inspired Hotel In Dubai Sounds A Bit Scary
November 3, 2008 at 5:00 PM | 0 Comments
If we were going to randomly pick a hotel by name alone then something called the Grand Fort Dubai might do more to scare us off than persuade us to stay there. Due to open in Dubai (which is surely almost saturated with hotels?) in 2010, the five-star Grand Fort Dubai sounds like its appearance might be a bit scary too.
The design of this 293-room hotel has been inspired by the Forts of Rajasthan, and that means it’ll look like this:
The development will be surrounded by a fort wall and will be adorned with terraces, embattlements, domes, balconies and carved archways.
Which will all be very handy if a war breaks out while we’re staying there.
[Photo of the real Forts of Rajasthan: brokenbells]
Hotel Animals
Rejoice! Sammy the Shark No Longer a Prisoner of Atlantis Dubai
October 27, 2008 at 11:55 AM | 2 Comments
Sweet freedom for Sammy! The 13-foot whale shark controversially captured by Atlantis Dubai (the hotel originally tried to spin it as a "rescue" for the "distressed" whale shark) will be freed after the Atlantis received surprise government orders to liberate her from the huge lobby tank on the Palm Jumeirah property last week.
Environmentalists and activists were pissed that the whale shark -- a juvenile and a protected species -- was being kept in a cramped tank as a ploy to attract tourists to the hotel. The story grabbed headlines around the world; children walked around with "Free Sammy" buttons and the "Free Sammy The Whale Shark" Facebook group climbed to 11,500 members (versus a group called "Lets Eat Sammy the Whale Shark," which suggested people should take some time to "decide whether Sammy prefers to swim free or become a main course in a Ramsay or Jamie Oliver restaurant," and only had five members last time we checked).
Hotel News
Hey, Atlantis Dubai: Free Sammy!
October 20, 2008 at 2:15 PM | 1 Comment
Sammy the Whale Shark, surrounded by its entourage
Add another one to the growing problems of Dubai's' Atlantis, the Palm, this one involving a whale shark. Don't worry, it didn't eat anyone--yet.
The Atlantis which opened just last month had claimed it "rescued" the "distressed" whale shark, which is an endangered species, off the coast of Dubai, but according to some former staffers capturing a whale shark was always the plan. Um. Former staffers? This place has only been open a month!
Dubai Hotels
A Sneak Peek at Dubai's Next Hotel
October 17, 2008 at 9:20 AM | 0 Comments
Ok we know what you might be thinking. Did we mistakenly put in the wrong picture or something here? And the answer is no, we did not.
Yes, you are really looking at the Queen Elizabeth 2 which has spent 40 years crisscrossing the Atlantic Ocean. The venerable cruise ship, however, made one last visit to New York's harbour yesterday.
After this trip back to England, the hotel will be sent on down to Dubai, where it will remain intact as a luxury floating hotel opening sometime next year. According to Luxist:
The company plans to recreate the original decor and fittings of the ship that she had when she was launched in 1967.
Only in Dubai, kids. Only in Dubai.
[Photo: Chang Lee/NY Times]
Dubai Hotels
Shocker :: Dubai Actually Has Small Boutique Hotels
October 15, 2008 at 5:11 PM | 0 Comments
Wanna go to Dubai? Don't want to stay in a 200-story tower? It seems impossible what with grand hotels like the Burj Al Arab and the Trump Dubai grabbing the world's attention left and right with their over the top luxury (and height). But there is an alternative. A boutique hotel...with only 20 rooms.
La Maison d'Hôtes, as you can probably guess by the name, is run by some French people--two French women. One of these ladies is experienced with guest houses and the other is an interior designer, which surely makes a good combination for a boutique hotel.
Hotel News Briefs
Hotel News Briefs :: What, Like You've Never Seen a $500K Hotel Bill Before?
October 8, 2008 at 5:31 PM | 0 Comments
There's tons of hotel news flying around this week and we don't have time to give each and every story the love and attention it may deserve, so you will have to settle for some news briefs.
· AIG's $500K St. Regis Bill: Ever wonder what a $500,000 hotel bill looks like? What, you've never seen one? The Smoking Gun has AIG's folio from their sweet little "corporate retreat." [Smoking Gun]
· World's Tallest Building Will Have a Hotel: The tallest building in the world -- currently being constructed in Dubai, of course -- will stand more than a kilometer high and will have about 250,000 square meters of hotel space. [HNN]
· The Chicago Ritz Hearts American Girl: A Chicago Sun-Times walked into the insane world of American Girl -- as seen through the eyes of a Ritz-Carlton guest. Mini-cookies and extra chairs for the dolls are involved. Beware. [Chicago Sun-Times]
· MGM Grand Text Message Offers: The MGM Grand Twitter is telling us that texting MGMOFFERS to 646629 is gonna score us some deals on our cellies. [Twitter]
· Pics of the Hilton Garden Inn Tribeca: NewYorkology posted some awesome pics of the interior of the Hilton Garden Inn Tribeca, set to open later this month. [NYology]
Hotel News
Atlantis Dubai Opens with Craptastic Service, Water Outages
October 6, 2008 at 11:44 AM | 0 Comments
We get it. Dubai's Atlantis on Palm Jumeirah is nothing if not a symbol of big blowout excess. A price tag of $1.5 billion. Built on a man-made, palm tree-shaped island. A suite that costs $25,000 a night. More than two dozen dolphins flown in on a 30-hour plane ride from the Solomon Islands (protesting environmentalists be damned).
And now, the Palm has taken its over-the-top formula one step further, with an epic first-week FAIL. We already knew about last month's unfortunate fire at the hotel, which ravaged $34.8 million worth of damages. But frankly, that barely holds a candle to the first smoking dispatches streaming from Dubai.
Swamped by visitors since opening Sept. 24, The National reports insanely long check-in waits and would-be diners turned away from overflowing restaurants. Guestroom water taps ran dry. Much of the hotel was water-less for more than seven hours, due to a rupture in the resort's main water intake valve. Guests revolted, refusing to check out until they were able to shower, which made the lobby's check-in queues all the longer.
Dubai Hotels
Tamani Hotel Marina Knows Women Want Soft Blankets
October 3, 2008 at 9:44 AM | 2 Comments
Setting aside women only floors is definitely a current trend in hotels across the world. We're wondering why men aren't agitating for some men-only floors, although we hate to think what they'd do there. In any case, the latest bandwagon joiner is the Tamani Hotel Marina in Dubai which has made its 29th floor available for women only:
The idea of having a Ladies Only floor is to ensure that our female guests feel as relaxed and secure as they would in their own home - with the added attraction of first-class service with an authentic Arabian flavour.
