Haute hospitality: Dubai's designer hotels

With Dubai being home to some of the most extravagant hotels in the world, here's a look at what it takes to be a "designer" hotel.

Well, the summer holidays may be over - but that is no reason not to start planning another "escape". With the Eid holidays just a week or so away, this could be the right time to plan a "staycation" - and Dubai really is a city made for holidays.
With revenues from the hotel industry expected to touch US$11 billion by 2019, Dubai is the Middle East's home of luxury hospitality. Ever since the Burj Al Arab opened in 1999, Dubai has become known for extravagant hotels: be it the Four Seasons Resort, the newly-opened Palazzo Versace or the One & Only Royal Mirage at The Palm.
A hotel is meant to be a "home away home", but it also needs to be an escape from your everyday life into a world of complete luxury. This makes design paramount to hotels.
Interspace Dubai is a company which, over the years, has specialised in hotel design and while their projects may be more in the four-star category, in this and neighbouring markets (such as the DoubleTree by Hilton at RAK), their four-star hotels are on par with five-star hotels in most other important cities in the world. Says Interspace co-founder Melani Sabhaney, "Design-wise, I most definitely think Dubai is on par with the rest of the world. While we are still new at the boutique hotel concept that one finds scattered all across Europe, when it comes to luxury, lavish, and good standard hotels, Dubai caters to a far larger market and betters the oth-er half of the world.

Dubai's Designer Hotels Melani Sabhaney, co-founder of Interspace, a design company known for its work in the hospitality space, selects her best designed hotels in the city: 1. The One & Only at The Palm for offering one of the most private and relaxing ambiences around town 2. Vida Downtown Dubai  for its fresh and simple concept 3. Four Seasons Resort Dubai for its F&B outlets and novel dining experience 4. Al Qasr, which beautifully incorporates local culture into design

"Designing a hotel, even if it's an international brand, has more and more become about bringing local culture into a space - which is why local art and design now play such an important role in a hotel's public spaces. Then, there is a push towards being eco-friendly and you also need to be tech-savvy. A hotel usually needs an upgrade every eight years, so a designer needs to be ahead of the trend curve - which is why hotel interiors are benchmarks for the entire de-sign industry.
Says Sabhaney, "The biggest brands want designers at different properties to experiment and create freely - they have realised it really adds to the brand value when each property looks ever so slightly different."
Of course, the look of a hotel needs to work not only for a brand but also for the visitors - which means a hotel's look needs to have a truly global feel.
"When designing a hotel, you're required to accommodate people from diverse backgrounds, cultures and experiences. To cater to such a varied profile, a hotel is required to exude a more collectively appeasing style," says the architect and design consultant. Which is probably why hotels from around the world feel that this cosmopolitan city makes for a good home, be it Thailand's Anantara, India's Oberoi Group and Italy's Armani Hotel.
You can really be in Dubai and get a flavour of many countries, thanks to the range of hotels in the city. Dubai, perhaps, only lacks a boutique design hotel. With everything being done on such grand scales, this genre has perhaps been over-looked, with Dubai's Vida Downtown Dubai probably being the city's only real boutique property that can call itself a true "design hotel".
And this is the space that Sabhaney's Interspace would also like to explore.
"A dream project for me would be a boutique hotel with just 30 rooms, interesting food and beverage (F&B) outlets and a spa."
And though the rooms are the heart of any hotel, more and more, it is the public spaces that become a hotel's calling card. Lobbies, restaurants and spas are what hotels become known for.
"The hotel lobby is where the story begins. Every experience is a narration that starts at the lobby and ends at the room. It is imperative that the first impression relays the experience you want to give the guest and we work to ensure that the lobby interiors portray that. Space availability is another key factor that plays a vital role on the impact the lobby makes on the guest."
The recently-opened Dubai InterContinental Marina has been receiving accolades for its lobby thanks to its collection of contemporary design objet d'arts displayed in its large reception area. This museum-style lobby gives it a very modern look that immediately tells us that this is a hotel that is about the finer things in life.
Many hotels are now working with partners for hotels and spas, to ensure they truly offer the best. The success of Four Seasons Resort is largely credited to its separate restaurant area, where you find New York's Jean-Georges, London's Coya and Turkey's Nusr-Et.
Says Sabhaney, "Good F&B offerings done right get people to visit the hotel even if they aren't guests - which is a great strat-egy and brings in good revenues for the hotel."
And with Dubai's hotels boasting some of the best gastronomic experiences you can find in this region - be it in terms of design, food and service - just escaping for a meal to one of these eateries can be the quickest getaway you can indulge in.
sujata@khaleejtimes.com1243

2 - Vida

3 - Four Seasons Resort Dubai

4 - Al Qasr

• Dubai