Grand Corniche Hotel Abu Dhabi
Plans for the latest luxury hotel in the Middle East are unveiled in
Jan 16, 2007
The 35 storey Grand Corniche Hotel in Abu Dhabi will have 349 bedrooms, 90 suites and 144 serviced apartments and will cost and estimated US$ 300 million to construct.
The iconic design by Singapore’s Surbana Consultant Pte Ltd reflects Abu Dhabi’s maritime heritage. The tower of the all glass building will look like a traditional Arab sailing dhow.
The Grand Corniche Hotel will be built by Abu Dhabi based Bin Salem Group on land leased from Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Company in the Khalidiya area of the city. Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, said that the Grand Corniche Hotel “will be a significant addition to Abu Dhabi’s hospitality stock and an aesthetic asset for the capital’s skyline,” According to Ahmed Mohamed Al Dhaheri, Bin Salem Group’s CEO, “The intricate details of the sail will be clearly visible in daylight. When night falls, the sail will seemingly fade into the darkness but when illuminated from within, the tower will glow like an encased pearl.”
Hotel facilities will include four restaurants, a café, two pool bars, a lobby bar and the usual swimming pools, spa, gymnasium, meeting and banqueting facilities. The Grand Corniche will also have a shopping arcade and a basement car park. The hotel is to be managed by one of the large international hotel operators but none has yet been appointed.
Tourism is expanding rapidly and the Tourism Development and Investment Company aim to build Abu Dhabi into a major business and leisure destination. The construction of the Grand Corniche Hotel is aimed at meeting the needs of the increasing number of visitors as well as providing the cutting edge modern facilities required by the growing number of business travelers to the Gulf region.
