DUBAI-The 42-suite Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa, located here in a 140-square-mile conservation park, will now be managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. as part of its Luxury Collection portfolio. Locally-based Emirates Airline, will retain ownership of the property and all current staff will remain.
The resort is a unique brand that focuses on the experience of the desert. The property was designed to recreate a Bedouin encampment spread across vast dunes, featuring suites with tented roofs, floor-to-ceiling windows, marbled bathrooms, a private deck and a pool. Guests can enjoy sunset camel rides, desert safaris, wildlife drives, horse riding and more. The hotel also has a grand collection of thousands of Arab antiques, artifacts and artworks.
Roeland Vos, president of Starwood’s local division, said in a statement that his company plans to grow its portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts in the Middle East. The Al Maha is the company’s second Luxury Collection hotel in the UAE, and the third in the Middle East. Starwood plans to open hotels from this brand in Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Jordan and Bahrain.
Emirates also reportedly turned over its Harbour Hotel in Dubai Marina to Marriott in 2009. On the Emirates Group Web site, the company claims to opening the Cap Ternay Resort and Spa in the Seychelles in 2011, but the firm’s hotel site now only advertises its Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa in New South Wales, Australia.
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