Marriott is set to open the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world in the fourth quarter of 2012 when construction is completed on the first phase of the 1,608-room JW Marriott Marquis Dubai.
A stunning addition to Marriott International’s JW Marriott world-class luxury hotel brand, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai will open in two phases, with the first section featuring 807 rooms and numerous restaurants and lounges.
At a height of 355 meters (1,164 feet), the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world and is just 26 meters (85 feet) shorter than the Empire State Building in New York.
In addition to serving the luxury business traveller, the hotel is targeting the lucrative and increasingly important MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) market, which currently does not have a hotel of sufficient scale to host such large groups.
In addition to all the dining and entertainment options, the hotel will have two ballrooms, 24 meeting rooms and a total of 5,100 square meters (54,895 square feet) of event space.
“The potential to cater for the growing needs of the global business community is huge and we believe the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is uniquely placed in that regard,” said JW Marriott Marquis Dubai’s General Manager, Rupprecht Queitsch. “The hotel will fill a long identified gap in the market where groups, meetings and conventions of up to 1,000 people can meet, sleep and dine under one roof, in one location.
“There are businesses of this size choosing various cities around the world in which to meet, but until now, Dubai has not had a single location of this size to accommodate this type of group. In simple terms, we will establish Dubai on the global conference market landscape.”
The JW Marriott Marquis Dubai will offer an array of nine restaurants and five lounges and entertainment venues. The Vault lounge will sit on the 71st and 72nd floors with panoramic views of the city; a yet-to-be named late-night music venue will offer live music daily. Restaurants will range from Prime 68, a boutique steakhouse, to Atul Kochhar’s Rang Mahal Indian restaurant, Positano for Italian coastal cuisine, an Arabic restaurant and La Farine, an attractive boulangerie.
The 1,500 square-meter (16,000 square-foot) Saray Spa draws inspiration from the caravanserai silk route across Arabia, with treatments designed to ensure mind and body renewal. Treatments include the signature milk and honey treatment, an Arabic coffee awakener, a lemon and mint body polish and pomegranate renewal treatment. For sun worshippers, an enormous pool deck covers the seventh floor of the hotel with a 32 meter swimming pool and deck with elegant cabanas, lounges and umbrellas.
The Marquis endorsement is reserved for iconic properties in the Marriott International portfolio, defined by their scale, grandeur and location. The new JW Marriott in Dubai will be the first JW branded property outside of North America (after the JW Marriott Marquis Miami) and according to Marriott, it “sends a strong signal about how Marriott International views Dubai’s growing importance and global influence”.