The Armani Hotel Burj is part of the Burj Khalifa development, the tallest commercial and residential building in the world. Previously known as Burj Dubai, it was renamed Burj Khalifa during its inauguration on 4 January 2010.
The Arabic meaning for the word Burj is ‘tower’, which is why the Burj Khalifa is also known as the ‘Tower of Dubai’. The Burj Khalifa was built at an estimated cost of $1.5bn.
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The building and the surrounding 160ha development is being developed by EMAAR Properties with an investment of over $20bn. Over $1bn is earmarked for the development of seven luxury hotels and three resorts over the next ten years.
The project will also include office spaces, commercial areas, residential buildings and retail malls. The hotel part of the business is administered by EMAAR Hotels & Resorts LLC, a subsidiary of EMAAR Properties. The Burj Khalifa development adds over 2,000 rooms to Dubai’s hotel trade.
Giorgio Armani hotel
In a deal forged in 2004, Giorgio Armani SpA and EMAAR Hotels & Resorts LLC agreed to develop a unique series of international Armani Hotels and Resorts.
Giorgio Armani SpA awarded a long-term licence to EMAAR Hotel & Resorts LLC for the operation of the hotels and resorts, with EMAAR fully responsible for the project’s real estate, construction, management and operations.
Giorgio Armani oversaw all aspects of content, design and style, including interiors and amenities, incorporating Armani fashion, furnishings and beauty collections.
Giorgio Armani SpA established an Armani Hotels & Resorts division at its headquarters in Milan, Italy, which has been developing the design concepts under the close supervision of Giorgio Armani. Armani’s signature style will define the look and feel of the hotels and resorts.
Armani at the Burj
The first Armani brand hotel opened on 27 April 2010 as part of the Burj Khalifa, and includes 160 guestrooms and suites, eight restaurants, retail outlets and a spa, covering more than 40,000m².
Alongside the hotel, the Burj Khalifa also offers 144 luxury residential apartments located on floors 9 to 16. All residences were designed by Giorgio Armani and are fully furnished with a specially designed line of products from the Armani Casa home furnishings collection.
Armani Hotels & Resorts occupy all levels up to the 8th floor and levels 38 and 39 of Burj Khalifa, which provide spectacular views of the city. They also feature conference and banqueting amenities in a 30,000ft² area.
Armani Hotel Dubai also features an Armani / Lounge, the Armani / Privé nightclub, an in-hotel 12,000ft² Armani / Spa, the Armani / Dolci store selling sweets and chocolates, an Armani/Fiori florist and an Armani / Galleria.
“This marks the beginning of a new chapter in the Armani story,” said Giorgio Armani. “In this our 13th anniversary year, I cannot think of a more energising prospect than bringing my philosophy of style and design to a collection of hotels and resorts.
“Today, more than ever before, fashion has expanded to encompass our way of life, not just how we dress, but also where we live, which restaurants we eat at, which car we drive, where we go on holiday and which hotels we stay in.
“I strongly believe that for those people who enjoy the Armani fashion and home furnishings collections there will be a real enthusiasm for the possibility to now stay at an Armani hotel or resort. This continues our ongoing strategy of building the Armani universe into a comprehensive lifestyle brand.”
Burj Khalifa development complex
The Burj Khalifa development includes The Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping and entertainment complex; The Residences, an exclusive upscale series of high-rise apartment towers; an Office Park; the Burj Dubai Lake Hotel; Burj Views; The Old Town, a low-rise traditional residences community inspired by the stylist antiquity of Arabian architecture; and The Burj Dubai Boulevard, a 3.5km stretch that binds the entire district and gives it an international ambience, in addition to man-made lakes and landscaped parks.
The Dubai Mall is located in Dubai’s downtown major retail outlet and is also the world’s largest shopping mall, covering a total area of 12 million square feet and consisting of the largest number of retailers. Burj Dubai Mall has areas for leisure pursuits, including a world-class aquarium, a fashion show arena, a gold souk and an ice rink.
The Burj Khalifa was designed to be the centre of a $20bn Downtown Dubai project, a large-scale, mixed-use development that will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels, six acres of parkland, 19 residential towers, and the 12ha Burj Dubai Lake. The tower development, which was inaugurated in Jaunuary 2010, covers a total area of two million square metres.
Burj Khalifa construction
The Burj Khalifa is 828m (2,717ft) tall. There are 162 floors above ground and two below ground. Its total height is 630m.
The building’s groundbreaking took place in September 2004 and the official opening was in January 2010. The gross floor area of the building is 464,511m².
At 828m, the tower has more storeys than any other building in the world. More than 45,000m³ of concrete and 39,000t of steel rebar were used in its construction. Work on the exterior glass cladding, which started in May 2007, was completed in September 2009.
