SInce the Armani Hotel in the 800 meter-high Burj Khalifa tower opened four years ago, Dubai has turned into a new mecca for fashion hotels.
This summer, after a delay, the new fashion resort Palazzo Versace Dubai (214 rooms and 169 luxury apartments) will be inaugurated. It is the second property of this brand (the other is in Queensland, Australia). It is designed in a Greco-Roman style with graceful pillars, a water feature including a lagoon, a yacht harbour and pools.
Another lifestyle hotel by a luxury brand is a Bulgari Hotel that will open in Dubai in 2018. It will be the fifth luxury hotel for Bulgari after Milano, Bali, London and Shanghai. The high end resort arises at the Jumeirah Bay Island and will offer 100 rooms and suites as well as 20 beach villas. The project developer is Meeras Holding. The Italian architect’s office of Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Partners is in charge of the design. The fashion resort will be a huge boost for the Dubai hotel market and it will be one of the highlights at the world exhibition Expo 2020.
But not every fashion and lifestyle brand has a successful hotel concept. The European hotel chain Carlson Rezidor has unsuccessfully tried two times with an exclusive fashion brand. About ten years ago its cooperation with Cerrutti was announced, but just a short time later the project was sidelined. After this they opened two hotels with Missoni in Edinburgh and Kuwait City. But these projects also failed: the contract with the fashion brand was dissolved last year, the hotels were renamed and the five planned projects were cancelled.
