Dubai’s debut Four Seasons resort will open in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the operator’s president of EMEA.
Christopher Norton said at a press event in Dubai on Wednesday that the US hotelier expected to capitalise on the emirate’s tourism boom.
“If you look at occupancies today in town, this part of the world is becoming a hub and there’s plenty of space for more rooms,” he said.
Norton dismissed suggestions that Four Seasons was late to the UAE market, saying that the hotel would purely target resort tourism and not seek to compete in the business travel segment.
“Dubai has been such a popular destination, so it’s been very difficult to find prime real estate, so we’d rather wait until we find the right location, rather than just building anywhere in the city. That’s why Dubai took so long,” Norton added. “We’ve got one of the last great pieces of beachfront property in Dubai, and it gives us the opportunity to do a resort hotel, rather than a city/business hotel.”
The Four Seasons Jumeirah Beach Resort is located on the city’s Jumeirah Beach Road.
The property will be situated on an 11 acre natural waterfront site along the Gulf. It has been designed by architect WATG, with interior design by San Fransisco-based BAMO.
The property features 49 suites, three restaurants, function spaces with beachfront access, and a 600 sq m ballroom and five meeting rooms. The hotel will also include a spa, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts and a private beach club.
Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach will be the Toronto-based company’s latest addition to its development pipeline in the GCC, which includes the Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi Sowwah, Four Seasons Resort Oman, Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, Four Seasons Hotel Doha at The Pearl and Four Seasons Hotel Jeddah.
Norton said that Four Seasons would open another 200-room hotel in Saudi Arabia “in three or four years”, although its next property would be in Bahrain.
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