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Project to serve rising number of business tourists, especially for conferences

Dubai: Twin towers currently under construction are set to break the record as the world’s tallest hotel, currently held by the Rose Reyhaan Rotana on Shaikh Zayed Road.

The 355-metre JW Marriott Marquis Dubai — located near Safa Park and a few blocks from the Burj Khalifa — which will open its doors to guests in the fourth quarter of this year, will surpass the 72-storey Rose Reyhaan Rotana, which has held the record as the world’s tallest hotel since January 6, 2010.

"At a height of 355 metres, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is just 26 metres shorter than the Empire State Building in New York," the company said in a statement.

Owned and developed by the Emirates Group, the hotel will rise to 82 floors, 69 of which will be rooms and suites.

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Each tower will feature an executive lounge spread across a full floor.

The hotel project was launched by Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and CEO of Emirates airline and Group, at a press conference at the Arabian Travel Market in 2005, when its announced construction cost was Dh800 million.

Arch Group, a Dubai-based design and construction consulting company, designed the project.

The twin towers will have 1,608 guest rooms — 804 in each — and around 25 per cent will be suites. The towers will have combined car parking facilities for 1,000 vehicles and 28 lifts.

Rupprecht Queitsch, general manager of the hotel, told Gulf News that the second tower will be opened a year after the first one. "Each floor will have only 14 keys and with each standard room spread across 55 square metres, we have a wonderful proposition to our guests," he said during a briefing yesterday.

‘Synergy’

The hotel is hiring 1,200 employees for the first phase to manage the property. "As we open the second tower, we will add more employees," he said. Currently 3,500 people are working on the site.

Emirates, the biggest supplier of tourists to Dubai’s hotels, is a major contributor to the emirate’s tourism industry. Queitsch added that leveraging the relationship would help to fill the hotel rooms.

"With Emirates’ strong network of destinations from where it carries passengers, I’m sure there will be some synergy with us," he said.

Due to its close proximity to the downtown, central business district, the hotel is set to serve a growing number of business visitors, especially in the meetings, incentives, conference and exhibition (MICE) segment, Queitsch added.

"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," he said. "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," he said.

The hotel will have more than 5,000 square metres of event space, nine restaurants and five lounges, along with a spa, health club and two ballrooms.

The new JW Marriott in Dubai will be the first JW branded property outside North America.

Services: what it will offer
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Opening Date: October 2012

1,608 rooms and suites:
882 King Size Rooms
486 Double / Double Rooms
236 Club Suites
Four Royal Two-Level Suites
Eight Retail shops
Health and leisure club
 Saray spa
Outdoor pool
Selection of the finest restaurant and bars
Total event space area of over 5,100 sqm
Two ballrooms with high ceilings: Dubai and Emirates comprising 1400sqm and 1200sqm respectively