At least 5 hotels on the Palm Jumeirah are set to open by 2011. Globally, many major hotel chains have suffered a delay in their projects, but none of the 30 hotels due to open on Palm Jumeirah have been cancelled.
Palm Jumeirah is set to become one of the world’s premier resorts, offering more than 30 beachfront hotels, located on the island’s trunk and crescent.
A number of hotels on Palm Jumeirah’s crescent and trunk are currently under construction, including Fairmont Hotel & Residences, Royal Amwaj and Oceana’s Movenpick Hotel. Ottoman Place on the crescent, is due to open in the coming months with a number of hotels expected to open throughout the course of 2010.
So far, Palm Jumeirah has seen the opening of just one hotel, Atlantis The Palm, in September last year.
The 3 Palms from the Nakheel stable, Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira were originally intended to house 210 hotels with Palm Jumeirah comprising 30 hotels, and Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira another 180 hotels.
Some of the hotels, including Jumeirah, Trump International, Fairmont, IFA Hotels & Resorts, Moevenpick, Kempinski and ETA Star, have altered their timelines for Palm Jumeirah.
Trump International Hotel
Trump International was the first company to announce a delay on its project Trump International Hotel and Tower, saying the project is “on hold”. Donald Trump Jr, Vice-President of Trump Organisation, said recently the construction on Trump tower could restart in “2 to 3 years” when the real estate market in Dubai stabilises. The Palm Trump International Hotel and Tower, a joint venture between Trump Organisation and Nakheel, was originally scheduled to open in 2009, after the project was launched in 2005.
In December 2008, the company announced an indefinite delay of the project. The original proposal of the project was for a 62-storey, stainless steel and glass Tower with 300 rooms at an estimated cost of $600 million (Dh2.2 billion).
IFA Hotels & Resorts
IFA Hotels & Resorts’ 2 projects on Palm Jumeirah – Kingdom of Sheba and the Fairmont Palm Jumeirah – are now scheduled for a 2011 opening. While the first phase of Kingdom of Sheba was originally scheduled to open for business in 2010, and Fairmont was to open in 2009/2010, the former would now open sometime in 2011 and the latter in the first quarter of 2011.
Kingdom of Sheba
The Kingdom of Sheba consists of 2 phases. The first phase comprises the Balqis Residence which will be the freehold residential part of the resort and Fairmont Heritage Place. The second phase is the hotel and vacation club, which is currently undergoing design improvements.
Kempinski
Kempinski Hotel Emerald Palace’s opening is now scheduled for 2010. The Kempinski Hotel Emerald Palace Residences will open in March 2010 and the hotel will open in the fourth quarter of 2010. While the residences were supposed to open earlier in 2009, the hotel is scheduled for opening in 2010. Both projects have been delayed due to the downturn.
The residences and villas are in the final development stages while the hotel is still under construction.
Moevenpick
Moevenpick’s Oceana Hotel and Spa has also been delayed from its original opening in 2009, with the hotel now targeting to open in the second quarter of 2010.
The project building is moving on well and Moevenpick expects to open West 14th, the speciality steak house, before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the 5-star Asian themed Royal Amwaj Resort & Spa, the second Moevenpick property which is a 239 room resort situated on the crescent of Palm Jumeirah is set to open in 2010. The project was originally scheduled for completion by the end of the first quarter of 2009 but was delayed due to design changes.
Grandeur Residences
ETA Star Properties’ Grandeur Residences, originally estimated to be complete sometime between late 2008 and early 2009, will now be ready to open during the first half of 2010.
Jumeirah
The Jumeirah Al Fattan project is due to open towards the end of 2010 or early 2011, according to the company spokesperson.