InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and UAE conglomerate Al-Futtaim have announced the opening of the largest Holiday Inn in the UAE at Dubai Festival City.

The opening ceremony was held in the presence of IHG’s global leadership team including Global CEO, Keith Barr and CEO EMEAA, Kenneth Macpherson, along with Helal Saeed Almarri, director- general, Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce; Omar Al Futtaim, vice chairman, Al-Futtaim; Abdallah Hageali, group director, Mixed Use Real Estate and Hospitality, Al-Futtaim and Moutaz Duwaji, director of Hospitality, Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate, Al-Futtaim.

On this occasion, the partners also announced the signing of a management agreement for Staybridge Suites Dubai Festival City, which will debut the brand in Dubai.
 
The new 508-room Holiday Inn Dubai Festival City features three food and beverage outlets, a rooftop bar (soon to be open), a pool and fitness centre, four meeting rooms and a conference centre with a capacity to seat 200 people. Situated 10 minutes away from the Dubai International Airport and in close proximity to business districts and tourist landmarks in the city, the hotel provides the perfect location for both business and leisure travellers.

A city within a city, Dubai Festival City is a fully integrated mega project and a must-see destination which combines world-class shopping, hotels, entertainment and lifestyle, situated in one of Dubai’s most famous waterfronts. The ‘family friendly’ hotel is perfect for those travelling with children, offering direct access to Dubai Festival City’s retail and leisure facilities such as Toys “R” Us, Fabyland, a “futuristic” family entertainment destination for children of all ages and Imagine – a water, light and fire show at the Festival Bay at the Dubai Festival City Mall.
 
The newly signed 160-rooms Staybridge Suites hotel adds a new brand to IHG and Al-Futtaim’s joint hotel portfolio in Dubai Festival City. Designed for extended-stay business and leisure travellers, Staybridge Suites provides guests with a home away from home. The hotel’s location provides business travellers with easy access to the airport, business districts in Dubai as well as convenient access to the entire Dubai Festival City community, including over a 100 food and beverage options, and retail and entertainment facilities such as hypermarkets, movie theatres and leisure shopping.
 
Staybridge Suites marks the fifth IHG hotel in the Dubai Festival City cluster and joins the InterContinental Dubai Festival City, InterContinental Residences, Crowne Plaza Dubai Festival City and the newly opened Holiday Inn Dubai Festival City, catering to a host of varied guests’ stay occasions and preferences.
 
Pascal Gauvin, managing director, India, Middle East and Africa, IHG said: “Today is a milestone occasion for us as we strengthened our alliance with IHG’s valued partner, Al-Futtaim with the opening of the brand defining Holiday Inn Dubai Festival City, and signing our fifth hotel in the Festival City cluster, Staybridge Suites Dubai Festival City. This move is pivotal to IHG’s growth plans in the region as both hotels will be the best in class products and further drive demand for the brands in the Middle East.
 
He added: Dubai Festival City has solidified its position as an entertainment and business destination for travellers and residents alike, and with four operating hotels in the cluster and one in the pipeline, across our brand family, we are well positioned to cater to varied guests’ profiles with wide-ranging requirements.”
 
Hageali commented: “We are very pleased to be extending our relationship with our long-term partner, IHG with the opening of the highly anticipated Holiday Inn Dubai Festival City and bringing another world-class brand, Staybridge Suites to our robust portfolio of hotels with them. These recent developments complement our offerings in Dubai Festival City and further strengthens the cluster as an attractive lifestyle destination with outstanding facilities that comprise of retail, leisure and entertainment propositions, along with residential, hotels, commercial spaces and educational institutes. Al-Futtaim is committed to creating mixed-use communities and flagship lifestyle destinations that redefine the living experience of Dubai’s evolving real estate and offer an unparalleled living experience to both residents and visitors.” - TradeArabia News Service