The devil is in the detail

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Neos, which is busy seven days a week and has now dropped its cover charge.

Talking points

WA International design director Claire Craig says that as part of the brief, they had to make each of the public restrooms unique. Suppliers included Kohler and Bandini.

Designing the logo

Emaar Hospitality Group LLC corporate director of sales and marketing Amit Arora explains the design of The Address Hotels + Resorts logo: "The ‘' is surrounded by a perfect platinum box. The square represents a home, a sense of place.

"The colour of the logo is platinum, a cool precious metal with a great shine associated with exclusivity and wealth. Platinum is an extremely resistant metal which melts at above 1773ºC, truly complimenting the black background of the brand mark exemplifying the cool meets warmth positioning of the brand philosophy," he says.

"Platinum is considered the highest possible, ranking above gold, silver and bronze, differentiating The Address from the norm," adds Arora.

Purchasing manager's perspective

The Address Hotels + Resorts area purchasing manager Marian Loan Chiriches joined the team in September 2007 and worked closely with Cairncross Martin, the company appointed for pre-opening OSE procurement.

"Its extensive experience opening five-star luxury hotels was definitely a key advantage," says Chiriches.

He says the procurement process was not too challenging, "because of the variety of products that we have access to [in Dubai] and the wonderful geographical location of the UAE".

Chiriches says: "The products were not difficult to be procured; however, when you establish a new brand in the market you have to make sure that the products selected for the property are the best quality and also unique in order to differentiate in the market".

For example, sourcing the in-room bath amenities was quite challenging, reveals Chiriches.

"I would say that the selection of standard guest amenities took a little time until we found the right product which could represent us.

"We selected the Italian Angelo Caroli bath amenities. The luxury brand provides their bath amenities exclusively for The Address Hotels + Resorts."

Chiriches says that approximately 85% of the property's suppliers are companies with offices in the UAE: "At The Address we are trying to source and use local suppliers as much as possible.

"In general, the suppliers are flexible as the competition is quite high and they know that there are alternative options in the market. In these times, the suppliers are trying to keep their existing business," says Chiriches.

"The supplier has to be trustworthy, flexible and ready to assist you with any request. At the same time, from our side, we have to respect the supplier and see him as a business partner.

"Only by mutual respect can you develop a healthy business relationship," comments Chiriches.

Back of house

In addition to the sparkling facilities front of house, EHG CEO Marc Dardenne says The Address offers excellent back of house services for its employees.

"While the design of the hotel is a great help to ease the operations, for us it is the commitment and enthusiasm of our associates which really assists in the smooth operations of the hotel," says Dardenne.

"The back of house facilities include our own state-of-the-art offices from where we can conduct business, as well as a top-class and well-equipped dining room for all our associates, which includes a lounge area and TV where they can relax and take breaks. We are proud to share that our back of the house areas are spacious, custom-made and look as immaculate as the front of the house," adds Dardenne.

Another highlight is the laundry, pictured, which is a really good example for the industry, according to director of public relations Laura Perez.

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