Dubai’s newest five-star hotel named after the 14th century Arabian explorer, Ibn Battuta, will open for business on October 1, said a senior official.

The 396-room Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel has been developed by UAE-based real estate group Seven Tides in partnership with Swiss hotelier Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. It aims to cater to business travellers, holidaymakers and inquisitive tourists.

The duo also plans to open more than 1,000 rooms over the four properties in Dubai.

Within the pack of four, the first to open is the Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel located in the ‘New Dubai’area, adjacent to the Ibn Battuta Mall and the iconic Ibn Battuta Gate, which at 60 metres high is said to be larger than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, said Jan Kaiser, the general manager of Ibn Battuta Gate.
 
He said the property will actually start hosting guests from mid September, including Tim Mackintosh-Smith, the author of a three-book series depicting the travels of the namesake (14th century Arabian explorer, Ibn Battuta).

“The hotel is cleverly inspired by the journeys of Ibn Battuta and Tim’s visit to Dubai could not have been better timed. Indeed, it is perfect that Tim will be one of our first guests. It is almost like having Ibn Battuta himself pay us a visit!,” remarked Kaiser.

Tim will be in Dubai to support next year’s Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and to launch Landfalls, the third book on the travel log of the explorer.

There is a scheduled storytelling and book signing (on September 28) at Magrudy’s bookshop in Ibn Battuta Mall, next to the hotel, he added.

'There is quite an interesting design journey going on in the hotel, from the tastefully themed Battuta Suites to our mammoth lobby which spans 90x30 metres in length and height, respectively,' Kaiser explained.

“We have named the hotel lobby Al Bahou, or Grand Hall. It is huge yet inviting and has numerous signature photo opportunities for visitors, including 88 huge eastern-style lanterns dangling elegantly into the wonderful lobby space that is best described as ‘the hub on the house’.”

Al Bahou, Kaiser said, is also the gateway to the hotel’s equally iconic restaurants and bars. “Like the 29 Battuta Suites, the interiors and menus of our six signature outlets elegantly reflect Ibn Battuta’s trial,” he added.

The Ibn Battuta Gate launch will be followed by the opening of  216-room Movenpick Hotel Deira which will target visiting business executives, shoppers, small meeting groups and diners in traditional locale of Deira on north-side of Dubai Creek from November.

At the end of the fourth quarter, the Asian-inspired Royal Amwaj Resort & Spa on Palm Jumeirah will be ready to open.
 
Next year will see the pack complete with the opening of the contemporary 324-room Oceana Hotel & Spa, the Seven Tides’ second property on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah.-TradeArabia News Service