Dubai’s Emaar plans 35 new hotels, residences
Fire-hit Address Downtown hotel won’t reopen this year, says exec
The Dubai-listed Emaar plans to open 35 additional hotels and serviced residences as part of a global expansion drive, the developer’s hospitality subsidiary said.
Emaar Hospitality Group will open or take management agreements for the properties under its three flagship brands, The Address Hotels and Resorts, Vida Hotels and Resorts and Rove Hotels.
Chris Newman, the group’s Corporate Director of Operations, said the expansion includes properties in Dubai, as well as new management contracts to operate hotels and serviced residences in Fujairah in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Emaar has also signed management contracts for upcoming hotels and serviced residences projects in Bahrain, Turkey and Egypt.
“In just eight years since our inception, we have developed three compelling hotel brands with distinctive niches. Today, we are taking our home-grown expertise to international markets and newer geographies,” added Newman.
The new openings will take the total number of new hotel rooms being added by Emaar Hospitality Group in the UAE to 3,835 and the number of new serviced residences to 4,249, according to a company statement. Internationally, Emaar will add to its portfolio 707 hotel rooms and 833 serviced residences.
The expansion includes the roll-out of the midscale Rove Hotels brand, under a joint venture with Meraas. Rove Downtown Dubai, the first hotel under the brand, is set to open its doors in May, with other properties set to include the Rove Satwa hotel, with 480 rooms and Rove Home Satwa, with 157 serviced residences open for sale to investors.
Emaar also plans the Rove Port Saeed (270 rooms), Rove Oud Metha (286 rooms), Rove Dubai Marina (384 rooms), Rove Al Jafiliya (270 rooms), Rove At The Park (458 rooms), and three more Rove properties to be announced soon.
The Address Downtown Dubai hotel, which was damaged by a massive fire on New Year’s Eve, is still being redeveloped, Emaar said. It will not reopen this year, Newman was reported as saying by Reuters.
