Dubai

Dubai and Abu Dhabi Battle for Polo Championship

The Dubai Falcons and Abu Dhabi Polo will battle it out in the final of the Threadneedle Polo Gold Cup to be played at the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club today. The UAE's moneyed elite are divided in their support for the two area teams, both strong contenders for the championship with four wins each going into the contest. "We are up against a very strong team in the final and we just hope to continue with our winning streak in this tournament," Dubai Falcons' star player Tommy Iriarte tells the Gulf News. "We have managed to keep a clean slate in this tournament so far," notes undefeated Abu Dhabi Polo captain Fares Al Yabhouni, "so there is nothing like going for an all-out victory and making this a terrific debut participation for us." The Threadneedle Polo Gold Cup is the latest in a series of high-profile equestrian events taking place in Dubai this season.

Gallery: Polo in Dubai

Tags: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Equestrian, horses, polo, sports, UAE, wealth

Home Team Wins Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events, Sports, Wealth

Home Team Wins Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge

The home team emerged victorious for the second year running at the Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge on Friday. Four pro-am polo teams competed in the prestigious event at the Desert Palm Polo Club under the patronage of Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, wife of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The Desert Palm team edged out Cartier's own team to capture the top prize. The other two teams were fielded by Swiss bank (and Wikileaks target) Julius Baer and the UK's Guards Polo Club. Desert Palm patrons Clive Reid and Tariq Albwardy received the impressive trophy from Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the son of Dubai's ruler. Cartier suffered a setback early in the final when their best player, Salvador Ulloa, was injured though another Cartier team member, Nico Petracchi, was named Most Valuable Player.

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Tags: Cartier, cartier+international+dubai+polo+challenge, cartier+international+dubai+polo+challenge+2011, cartier+polo+dubai, cartierinternationaldubaipolochallenge, cartierinternationaldubaipolochallenge2011, cartierpolodubai, Dubai, equestrian, horses, Julius Baer, polo, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE, wealth

James Bond's New Bentley

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Books

It may be a while before everyone's favorite spy is back on the silver screen, but fortunately for Bond fans, there's a new series of books to keep our interests piqued. But while 007 drives an Aston Martin in the latest movies, in the books (old and new) Bentley is his ride of choice.

The latest book Carte Blanche is set to launch in the UK on May 26, but its author Jeffery Deaver recently stopped by its setting in Dubai to check out the new Bentley Continental GT in white over red which Bond drives in the book. Not a subtle choice, to be sure, but neither is Dubai. See for yourself in the image gallery below.

Gallery: Jeffrery Deaver & the Bentley Continental GT

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Tags: 007, bentley, bentley continental gt, bond, carte blanche, dubai, emirates, james bond, jeffery deaver, uae

Tiger Woods Dubai Golf Resort Put On Hold

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports, Real Estate Developments

We've been talking about the Tiger Woods golf resort project in Dubai since 2006. Back then Tiger's company, Tiger Woods Design, partnered with Tatweer, a member of Dubai Holding, to create an exclusive golf community that was to include Al Ruwaya, a Tiger Woods-designed Golf Course, golf academy; a 60,000-square-foot clubhouse; an 80-suite boutique hotel for VIP guests; 300 luxury villas; 20 mansions and a community retail area. The first completion date for the project was 2009. Then in late 2009, amid the wake of the Woods mistress scandal, the Dubai backers of the project said they were continuing as planned to complete the course, clubhouse, hotel and more. Now Bloomberg reports that the project has been halted. The decision was a result of the current issues facing luxury real estate in Dubai. Dubai Holding did not give any estimate of a time at which the project will be restarted.

The picture above shows the entrance to the Tiger Woods Dubai course. Construction had been started several years ago and six holes were constructed and kept alive on minimum water, populated not with golfers but with grazing camels.Mmeanwhile Woods is set to visit Dubai in February for the Dubai Desert Classic.

There has been a lot of mixed information coming out of Dubai recently. On the one hand we've seen hotels like the new Ritz-Carlton open and the launch of the new world's tallest restaurant atop the Burj Khalifa. On the other hand, real estate projects like Dubai's ambitious World islands real estate development have been put in stasis. At present it looks like tourism is beginning to rise again in the area, perhaps real estate will follow eventually.

Tags: dubai, dubai holding, tiger woods, tiger woods dubai

World's Highest Restaurant Opens In Dubai

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

The world of sky-high restaurants just got a new summit. At.mosphere, is a restaurant 1,350 feet in the sky, on the 122nd floor of the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The new restaurant unseats the revolving 360 Restaurant in Toronto's CN Tower which previously had the honor.

The new restaurant has two separate areas, lounge and grill. The restaurant can host over 210 guests total. It has a large arrival lobby, main dining floor, private dining rooms and display cooking stations.

Diners enter through Burj Khalifa's Corporate Suites lobby and exit via the express elevator on Level 123 to face a two-story glass atrium. A flight of cantilevered staircases lead them to the arrival lobby where they can enjoy panoramic views of the city. The restaurant features mahogany walls and ceilings, Adam Tihany furnishings, and floors of cafe au lait limestone and hand-tufted carpet.

Arabian Business reports that diners will be charged a minimum of AED450 ($122) a head. Those booking the private dining area will pay at least AED650 ($176.90) per guest. Afternoon tea costs nearly $100 (AED350) and for drinks and snacks in the lounge area guests are required to spend AED200 ($54.45) per head. The restaurant was booked solid for the first couple days.

Tags: burj khalifa, dubai, worlds highest restaurant

Is It The End Of The World In Dubai?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

In 2009, I wrote that The World project in Dubai might be in trouble due to the economic downturn. The ambitious development in the Gulf may have another problem on its plate. Reports came out yesterday stating that the islands shaped like countries are sinking back down into the water.

The project has been in trouble for years due to the debt-ridden state of Dubai as well as the logistics of building hundreds of islands in the middle of the water. The picture above shows the project back in 2006 but more recent reports tell of a more misshapen development plagued by erosion. At a property hearing, Richard Wilmot-Smith QC, a British lawyer for a company that ferries people to the islands, told the tribunal that the land is gradually falling back into the sea. Penguin Marine sought to get out of its contract with the developer Nakheel, saying that fewer people are going to the islands is and that the project is essentially falling apart.

Work on the islands has reportedly been stopped for over a year. The project is becoming an ocean wasteland, a half-finished project of rocks and sand surrounded by breakwaters. Work has stopped inside the manmade lagoon and instead of neatly defined islands in the shape of recognizable countries and continents, ragged sandy blobs pushed barely above the water remain.

Tags: dubai, dubai world, nahkeel, the world

Continue reading “Is It The End Of The World In Dubai?”

New Ritz-Carlton Hotel Opens In Dubai

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The year has only just begun but we are already seeing a second new hotel open in Dubai. The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) officially opens its doors this week. The 341-room hotel includes 124 executive residences. It is the second Ritz-Carlton in Dubai and the sixth property in the region for the luxury hotel company.

This hotel is directly linked to the complex of buildings in Dubai International Financial Centre and No. 5, the hotel bar is located in the prime welcoming position at the end of this pathway. A 100-foot wine wall that is home to 3000 bottles of the finest varietals in the world is a focal point for gourmands and wine connoisseurs. Other dining selections include Blue Rain, the signature Thai fine-dining restaurant; Can Can, a French brasserie and the Center Cut steakhouse. There is also a lobby cafe, health club and a spa with 13 treatment rooms.

The hotel has a 10-story waterfall cascading down the front of the building into the courtyard facing the lobby. There are eight water features situated throughout the hotel, which are meant to be not just appealing to the senses but also lend themselves to the feng shui belief that the constant flow of water signifies wealth and prosperity. Opening rates start at 950 AED (around $258).

Tags: dubai, hotel opening, ritz-carlton dubai

New Luxury Hotel Opens In Dubai

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

Zabeel Properties recently opened the new Jumeirah Zabeel Saray hotel in Dubai. The hotel is managed by Dubai-based luxury hospitality company Jumeirah Group and sits on the west crescent of Dubai's Palm Jumeirah, the palm-shaped manmade structure off the coast of Dubai.

The five-star property has hand-painted frescoes, Turkish artworks and lavish murals meant to conjure up the magnificence of the Ottoman Empire. The centerpiece of the hotel is the Talise Ottoman Spa, a large spa with 42 individual spa rooms and suites, an indoor swimming pool and three authentic Turkish Hammams. The hotel's Mehteran Theatre & Event Centre will play host to live shows and events. There will also be 38 villas on the beach around a lagoon pool. The property has ten restaurants, bars, a night club, boutiques, tennis courts and a fitness center. This is the first hotel developed by Zabeel Properties to open its doors in Dubai.

The global economic crisis has resulted in a tourism drop in Dubai but the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing is hoping that 2011 will be a better year. A recent report said that hotel guests in Dubai in the first nine months of last year reached 5,991,660 guests, up six percent from the same period in 2009.

[Breaking Travel News]

Tags: dubai, jumeirah, jumeirah zabeel saray, palm jumeirah

Glenfiddich Crystal Stag part of Million-Pound Marketing Campaign

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

One of the top selling single malts in the world, Glenfiddich is in the midst of a million-pound re-branding campaign that centers around the crystal stag sculpture you see here.

Crafted by Chris Blade and Katya Filmus at the National Glass Centre at the University of Sunderland in England, each sculpture is made by the cire perdue method from 50 kilograms of 24% lead crystal glass that replicates the deer's head which forms the Glenfiddich emblem. It sits atop a gondola display with the distillery's core range of single malt expressions arranged in a spiral point-of-sale.

Following similar displays erected at London Heathrow and Frankfurt airports, the third in the series was recently unveiled in Dubai, with a total of 21 examples set for proliferation at travel retail locations around the world. Follow the link to view the sculpture in the making.

Tags: crystal, dubai, duty free, glenfiddich, national glass centre, stag, sunderland, travel retail, university of sunderland, whiskey, whisky

Christie's Sells Record-Breaking $91 Million Worth of Watches in 2010

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Auctions

With its final auction of the fall season on December 14 in New York, including the stunning collection of rare Rolexes we wrote about the other day, Christie's International wrapped up a record-breaking year for fine and rare watches that realized an astonishing $91.2 million in total sales – the highest annual total ever achieved for watches at the global auction house. During what has emerged as a remarkable year for investment in fine timepieces, every watch sale hosted at Christie's salerooms in Dubai, Hong Kong, Geneva, and New York achieved sell-through rates above 90% by value. The top watch of the year was a unique Patek Philippe gold chronograph Reference 1527 (above) manufactured in 1943 that sold for a record-breaking $5.7 million at Christie's Geneva in May. The top 8 prices of the year were all attributable to Pateks, and no other auction house in the world achieved as many record prices for important timepieces during 2010.

Tags: auctions, Christies, Dubai, Geneva, Hong Kong, New York, Patek Philippe, Rolex, watches, world record

Dubai Considers Selling Share in Emirates Air

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

As Dubai's debts continue to mount, the emirate is considering selling a piece of one of its prized assets. The emirate could put a share of Emirates Airlines up for sale. Dubai and its state-controlled companies are approximately $110 billion in debt even after a helping hand from Abu Dhabi last year. Much of the debt comes due over the next two years and so extreme capital-building measures may be necessary.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Emirates airlines said at a press conference that the emirate is "working on opening the capital of some of our leading companies to the public." The control of the airline would remain with Dubai.The airline has experienced rapid growth and recorded a profit nearly every year. The company had a record profit increase of 248 percent in the last fiscal year and has said it could hit $1 billion in profits this year.

The luxury airline isn't the only state-owned property that could be opened to the public, DP World, which operates ports around the world, may also be part of this program.

Tags: dubai, Emirates Airlines, united arab emirates

Flavio Briatore to Open "Billionaire's Square" in Dubai

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Real Estate Developments, Wealth

Italian playboy Flavio Briatore, (above, with his much younger lingerie model wife Elisabetta), has signed a deal to open a new Billionaire's Square complex in Dubai catering to those with unapologetically extravagant tastes. Building on the success of Briatore's Billionaire club for the super-rich on Sardinia's swank Costa Smeralda, the $150 million Billionaire's Square development will be constructed on the site of Dubai Media City's Palladium entertainment venue. The complex will include a boutique luxury hotel, a Billionaire Bar and Grill along with several other restaurants and bars, a VIP fitness club and a boutique selling items from Briatore's ostentatious Billionaire Couture line, maker of items like a $50,000 crocodile skin umbrella. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2011. As my colleague Deirdre Woollard reported last year, Briatore's colorful career as a Formula 1 impresario linked to supermodels like Heidi Klum and Naomi Campbell came to an end in the wake of a race fixing scandal.

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Tags: billionaire, Dubai, Flavio Briatore, Formula 1, luxury hotels, playboy, Sardinia, UAE, wealth

Tom Cruise Dangles From World's Tallest Building In Movie Stunt

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Tom Cruise is in Dubai filming for Mission Impossible 4 and it looks like the movie will feature one of Cruise's most daring stunts. Cruise was spotted dangling from the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which stands 2,717 feet tall. The scene was filmed at the Observation Deck level which is 124 floors high, about two thirds of the way up the skyscraper. A helicopter was aside the building filming the daring feat.

Cruise was also joined by co-stars Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton at the newly opened Armani hotel for a press conference for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Over the weekend he was spotted hitting the slopes at Ski Dubai, the world's largest indoor ski area. Rumors about where else Cruise will land continue to swirl. Other potential spots could include the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab and the new Meydan racetrack complex.

Filming for the movie has taken Cruise and crew around the world. Scenes were previously shot in Prague and after Dubai production will move to Vancouver for three months.

Tags: burj al arab, dubai, tom cruise

Gordon Ramsay Heads To Dubai To Debut Chef's Table Concept

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Gordon Ramsay may have had to sell off a couple restaurants in the past few years but that hasn't stopped him from continue to expand and modify his existing holdings. Ramsay will be in Dubai later this month to check on his restaurant, Verre by Gordon Ramsay at the Hilton Dubai Creek in Dubai. Arabian Business reports that the newly refurbished black and white restaurant is debuting a new concept, a chef's table with a kitchen view. The table will be served by executive chef, Scott Price. Price says the menu is a surprise and created specifically for each group. Part of the redesign of the restaurant includes a clear glass kitchen wall that allows guests to watch the chefs in action.Those who want to see Chef Ramsay himself can make a reservation for October 23rd. In addition to the chef's table, the full three-course a la carte menu will be available at AED395 per person. The chef's table is designed for groups of four or more, is priced at AED695 (around $190) per person.

Another English chef Jamie Oliver is set to open a restaurant in Dubai in late November. Jamie's Italian, a 290-seater restaurant with a past a bar, will open in Dubai Festival Centre in late November. The restaurant will be located at Festival Centre's Marina Pavilion with waterfront views.

Tags: celebrity chefs, dubai, gordon ramsay, jamie oliver

Luxist Visits Ski Dubai, The World's Largest Indoor Ski Area

by Zack O'Malley Greenburg (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Sports, Architecture & Design

Luxist visits Ski Dubai, the largest indoor ski facility in the world.

Sipping a cup of hot chocolate beneath a heat lamp on the deck of the cozy mountainside Avalanche Café, it's easy to forget that you're in the middle of the desert in Dubai. That is, until you see a pack of bearded men gleefully whizzing down the slope, white tunics billowing like sails behind them.

Any excursion to Ski Dubai, which purports to be the world's largest indoor ski area, is filled with this sort of incongruity. Though the air outside routinely tops 110 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, the temperature inside the 22,500 square meter facility remains just below freezing all year round. The structure that encloses the ski slope is as tall as a 25-story building; its flagship trail, the first indoor black diamond ever built, is longer than three football fields. There are four other runs of varying difficulty, as well as a chairlift, a freestyle snowboarding zone, and of course, the aforementioned café.

Gallery: Ski Dubai