A trio of hotels for Starwood in Dubai
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STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has signed an agreement with UAE-based conglomerate Al Habtoor Group to open three hotels in Dubai. Located on a one million sq-ft property on Sheikh Zayed Road, the development will include the first St Regis Dubai, a W Hotel and a new Westin, adding 1,675 rooms to the city when they open in 2017.
Overlooking the Burj Khalifa, each hotel will feature a distinct food and beverage component, signature spas and offer spectacular views of the city’s vibrant skyline.
The development will also feature a one-of-a-kind destination entertainment theatre surrounded by exquisite landscaped gardens on over 500,000 sq ft of land.
Accor Middle East eyes record expansion
ACCOR Middle East announced record expansion plans at this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM). The French hospitality group is all set to open 22 new hotels representing 5,598 rooms, in key destinations such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Egypt within the next three years.
Accor recently rebranded its loyalty programme, formerly known as A Club, to Le Club Accorhotels. It has renewed the loyalty programme as Accor’s way of rewarding guests’ loyalty. Hotel guests earn points each time they stay in any of the 2,500 participating hotels and enjoy a whole host of benefits.
Time for an upgrade in Luxor
TIME Hotels Management (Time), the new UAE-based hotel group, announced at Arabian Travel Market that they have signed a contract with Edris Group – a major Egyptian-based travel and tourism company – for the management of the Tuthotel property in Luxor, Egypt.
The boutique establishment has 79-rooms, and Time will oversee a complete refurbishment of Tuthotel’s infrastructure, adding 82-rooms – to take its total inventory to 161-rooms – to upgrade it to deluxe four-star status in line with international standards.
The former Edris-managed hotel will forthwith trade under the name Time Tuthotel and is expected to be fully operational by the end of this year.
Holidaysarabia wraps up successful ATM
Holidaysarabia, the UAE’s first complete online B2C travel portal, wrapped up a successful participation at Arabian Travel Market (ATM), ahead of its launch on June 15.
A dedicated online travel portal, Holidaysarabia help travellers search, plan and book a personalised travel of hotel stays, holidays, car rentals, transfers, adventure tours and in-destination activities and attractions, all with the help of the latest technology. The company aims to be the most comprehensive supplier of travel destinations by offering more choices to customers through a wide range of products.
New attractions at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi
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THE world’s first Ferrari-inspired theme park, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, announced exciting new plans for the year ahead at ATM 2012.
Viaggio in Italia – Flying over Italy, the latest attraction that will lift guests into a giant inverted dome and takes them on a virtual flying journey over Italy, is already in a soft opening phase.
Once aboard the ride, guests experience a multi-sensory aerial adventure through Italy’s breath-taking countryside and cityscapes. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi will also debut a stunning new entertainment. The show will replace La Gara and in the true spirit of Ferrari and Italy, it is set to be a lively and spectacular production.