middle east

Ferrari Theme Park to Unseat Disney World as The Happiest Place On Earth!

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Luxury Cars & Autos

Ferrari is developing what may be the new "end all, be all" of automotive adventure -- the Ferrari Theme Park, scheduled to open in 2009 on Yas Island, just a 30-minute drive from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The $40 million project promises to offer up everything from roller coasters to a pit-lane team experience, go-karts, virtual reality racing simulators, a racing school, and a g-force simulator that helps laypeople experience the forces felt by race car drivers. An interactive museum will also be at hand, particularly useful for cooling off and waiting for your raging endorphins to ebb.

In addition to the park being a sweet tourist destination for gearheads, the economic benefit will be a great perk for Abu Dhabi, which is currently trying to lessen its economic dependence upon the oil business.

[Source: The New York Times via Newsvine]

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Tags: abu dhabi, AbuDhabi, disney, ferrari, ferrari theme park, FerrariThemePark, lamborghini, middle east, MiddleEast, persian gulf, PersianGulf, theme park, ThemePark

Mina Al Fajer Resort

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Mina Al Fajer Resort will be a new mixed use mountain-sea front community in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah, one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arah Emirates and the only one that is mainly mountainous.The $163 million project will have a 200 room five-star hotel managed by the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. The property is located on the ocean and will feature a marina, 48 mountain villas, 13 solarium villas, and 80 marina apartments, The resort is the first in a planned portfolio of projects planned for the Middle East , Europe and India. Building will start in June 2007 and is expected to finish before the end of 2009.

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Tags: development, fairmont, fujerah, middle east, mina al fajer, MinaAlFajer

Bahrain Plans A Big High Rise

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

There haven't been a lot of huge towers in Bahrain the way there have been in Dubai yet but that's about to change with Bahrain's Infinity Tower, a 50-story high-end residential complex that is being built. The $150 million project will have around 350 apartments, including penthouses with skygardens and infinity-edge pools. The development has sea views and is located on an "island" plot created from reclaimed land. The tower will also be home retail space, restaurants, an outdoor swimming pool and fitness areas. Prices for the residences haven't been released yet. The project is expected to be completed in mid 2008.

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Tags: bahrain, infinity tower, luxury development, middle east

Tiger Plans His First Golf Course in Dubai

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Celebrity Shopping

Tiger Woods is clearly ready to move on to the second part of his golf career, the mogul part. Fast on the heels of the announcement of his new partnership with Ernie Els in the Bahamas, Tiger has announced that the first-ever Tiger-designed course will be the "Tiger Woods-Dubai." Tiger's company, Tiger Woods Design, is joining up with Tatweer, a member of Dubai Holding, to create an exclusive golf community that will 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 course itself will be a par 72 designed to challenge all levels of golfers. In the press release Tiger is quoted as saying that he is "excited about the challenge of transforming a desert terrain into a world-class golf course." The community should be completed in 2009 and will be located in the massive Dubailand project.

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Tags: dubai, golf, golf course, middle east, tiger woods, TigerWoods

Kingdom of Sheba Planned For Dubai

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The latest mega project to hit the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai has a historical name. The Kingdom of Sheba will be one of the largest projects on the already overloaded Palm Jumeirah's Crescent. The Kingdom of Sheba will be managed by Fairmont Hotels and will include residences, a hotel, a private residence club, vacation club and a retail plaza.

The resort will take its influences from historic Arab architecture and the residences will cost in the $1 million to $7 million range for villas and penthouses which will all have sea views. The five-star hotel will include a spa and a private beach and pool complex, the fractional ownership residence club will have 50 apartments, some with terrace pools and the vacation club will offer 100 units. The whole shebang will be a billion dollar project and should be completed in 2010.

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Tags: development, dubai, hotels, kingdom of sheba, KingdomOfSheba, middle east

Karim Rashid Tells Dubai Hotels To Ditch The Glitz

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Is the over-the-top approach of Dubai luxury hotels the wrong way to go? At The Hotel Show in Dubai, Karim Rashid, a designer second only to Philippe Starck in his ubiquity in the hotel and home goods arenas, told developers that they must change their approach to lure global tourists. Rashid says that just using luxury materials like gilding and marble aren't going to cut it. According to AME Info, Rashid said that the "new luxury" involves things like customized services, more technology and a greater focus on making the hotels ecological and self-sustaining (that last part would be particularly hard for the Dubai hotels). Rashid's view is consumers are interested in the consumable luxuries, such as food, beverages, spa treatments and experiences. He also urged hotel developers toward new and innovative designs calling out the current Dubai obsession with steel and glass towers. Now if only we could get this guy to talk to Donald Trump.

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Tags: dubai, hotel show, hotels, karim rashid, KarimRashid, middle east

Lusail, Qatar's Largest Real Estate Project

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

The biggest domestic real estate development in the country of Qatar is the Lusail project. They have recently launched the second phase of the massive project which is essentially a new watefront city. Qatar is the the richest Arab nation and the new development is expected to compete on a global scale. The development will combine commercial, residential and civic facilities with palm-lined pedestrian areas and piazzas. There will be four-to-seven story building with office space and schools, playgrounds, shops, cafes, bike tracks, health services, libraries, fire and police stations and mosques. The development will also feature a blue water lagoon with two marinas,two golf courses, an entertainment district and beautiful beaches, mosques, schools, shopping malls and medical centers.

[via Strategiy]

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Tags: development, lusail, middle east, qatar, real estate

Big Trouble At The Burj Dubai

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Trouble at the Burj Dubai, the building set to be the world's tallest skyscraper. According to an AP article, Asian workers angered by low salaries and mistreatment went on a rampage and smashed cars and offices on Wednesday. The 2,500 workers did around $1 million worth of damage. Worker discontent has been a growing problem in Dubai for a while. The massive development boom in the Gulf countries has led to a need for foreign labor. In the Emirates, more than three-quarters of the population may be foreigners. This isn't the first demonstration, last year, workers held strikes over unpaid salaries. A spokesman for the labor company has said that the issues have been resolved and the employees will be returning to work.

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Tags: burj dubai, BurjDubai, dubai, emirates, foreign labor, middle east, uae, workers

Jumeirah Festival of Taste

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wine, Events

Food and wine festivals are always happily decadent events but when an event is hosted by the Jumeirah hotel group, luxury takes on a whole new level. Th first annual Jumeirah Festival of Taste takes place May 21-26, 2006 in Dubai and features perhaps the most over-the-top dining event I have ever heard of. It is called the Ultimate Dinner Party and will take four people on an unparalleled dining experience. It starts with a cocktail reception at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers where they can mingle with the celebrity chefs participating in A Festival of Taste, then they are taken by helicopter to the Burj Al Arab for a first and second course. A luxury car then takes them to the Villa Beach Restaurant at Jumeirah Beach Hotel for a hot entrée. Then a limo takes them to the Pisces in Souk Madinat Jumeirah for the main course, followed by a short walk to Napa for dessert, coffee, cigars and digestifs. The evening ends with an overnight stay in a suite at Burj Al Arab and a morning breakfast as well as a receive a gift from Jumeirah to commemorate the night. The party costs AED 100,000 for four (around $27,230). Other more traditional events that are part of the festival include cooking demonstrations, wine tastings and book signings. The festival kicks off with the ‘1001 Nights Meet the Stars Opening Event’ which includes a champagne reception,wine tasting, live cooking stations featuring renowned chefs and live entertainment.

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Tags: burj al arab, BurjAlArab, dubai, events, festival, food and drink, jumeirah, luxury, middle east, tastings, wine

Four Seasons Opens Damascus Hotel

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Four Seasons has opened a new hotel in Damascus, Syria. The 297-room hotel will also be home to the city's first full service spa which will opne later this year. The interior was designed by Pierre Yves Rochon and combines both classic elegance and Ottoman, Persian and Syrian influences. There are 66 suites including 12 long-term-stay apartments. There are several restaurants including an Italian restaurant, Il Circo as well as bars and lounges and meeting space. The new hotel is the first five-star hotel to be launched in the Syrian capital in almost a quarter of a century.

[via AME Info]

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Tags: damascus, four seasons, FourSeasons, middle east, syria

Ferrari Lessons Head To The Middle East

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

We've known for a while that many luxury sports cars were making their way to the Middle East and now the lucky owners are getting special driving lessons. An article in the Gulf Times covered the first "Pilota Ferrari" held in Qatar. The program, which is usually held in Italy, included Italian Ferrari instructors who showed Ferrari owners how to improve their skills. The event was held at the Losail International Circuit and 35 Ferrari owners brought their own cars. The program was composed of a theory lesson in the classroom and then three driving sessions. The third session involved a bit of a race. It seems likely that the private racetrack and car clubs will also be on the rise in that region as the interest in high performance cars continues to rise.

Tags: ferrari, luxury cars, middle east, race car training

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