Under Strategic Agreement with Emirates Group, Award-Winning Resort
Becomes Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov , 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa in Dubai will join Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) as the latest addition to its Luxury
Collection portfolio, effective today. The resort will be renamed ‘Al
Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa, Dubai’, with Emirates
retaining ownership of the resort and Starwood Hotels & Resorts
overseeing the management of the property.
Designed and built following the principles of environmentally
sustainable development, Al Maha has been at the forefront of
conservation-based hospitality in the Middle East, for over 10 years.
The resort was designed to recreate a Bedouin encampment spread across
the vast dunes, featuring 42 secluded suites with tented roofs,
floor-to-ceiling windows, marbled bathrooms, private deck and pool.
“A pioneer in the area of luxury conservation-based hospitality in the
Middle East, Al Maha will be a valuable addition to The Luxury
Collection,” said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum,
Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group. “As a leading
hotel management group, Starwood’s Luxury Collection brand represents
some of the finest properties across the world, and with their extensive
network, global infrastructure and history of successful brand
management, we are confident that they will take Al Maha to even greater
heights.”
“We are delighted to take over the management of the Al Maha Resort,
extending our long-standing relationship with the Emirates Group and
adding a spectacular hotel to the Luxury Collection portfolio in Dubai,”
stated Roeland Vos, President of Starwood, Europe, Africa & Middle East.
“The addition of the Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa is symbolic of our
continued focus to grow our portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts in
the Middle East.”
Al Maha rests within the 225-square kilometre Dubai Desert Conservation
Reserve (DDCR) one of the largest formally protected conservation
reserves in the Gulf and is internationally recognised. The DDCR will
continue to be sponsored and managed by Emirates. Al Maha was lauded for
its efforts by the World Travel & Tourism Council earlier this year and
was identified as the region’s leading sustainable eco-tourism
development by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Surrounded by some of the region’s most spectacular landscape, rich with
protected wildlife and filled with experiences of traditional Bedouin
pastimes, Al Maha offers a sophisticated, yet simple and serene
experience to its guests. Sunset camel rides, desert safaris, wildlife
drives, horse-riding and falconry are all part of the unique indigenous
experience at the resort as well as soothing massage treatments at its
spa with an infinity pool overlooking the sands, scrub and mountains.
A discrete suite of meeting rooms is available for small boardroom and
executive conferences and the resort has been acclaimed as the ultimate
incentive destination.
In addition, the Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa has taken on the mantle of
a cultural treasure trove. Its initial collection of Arab antiques,
artefacts and artworks acquired to fuel the Arabic experience in suites
and public areas now expanded to more than 2,000 pieces covering
carpets, tents, jewellery, brass coffee pots, camel bags and saddles as
well as specially commissioned wildlife paintings.
The Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa is Starwood’s second Luxury Collection
hotel in the UAE, joining the iconic Grosvenor House Dubai, and third in
the Middle East. Starwood Hotels & Resorts currently operates more than
50 hotels in the Middle East under eight of the company’s nine brands
including: The Luxury Collection, St. Regis, Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels,
Le Méridien, Four Points by Sheraton and Aloft. The company has plans to
open additional luxury hotels under its Luxury Collection and St. Regis
brands in the following destinations: Doha (Qatar), Abu Dhabi, Ajman,
and Dubai (UAE), Aqaba (Jordan) and Manama (Bahrain).
