The original Dubai Pearl development was going to include a new Mövenpick hotel by 2009. The five-star, 550-room hotel would have been located on the stem of the Palm Island development and would have connected the two main coastal roads that lead to the entrance of the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah.
In 2007, ownership changed hands, and the project was relaunched under Pearl Dubai FZ LLC with a new concept, design facilities, developer, and management.
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The Al Fahim Group took over the project in December 2007 and repositioned it under a new masterplan that enhanced energy efficiency and created the region’s first walkable city centre.
Originally, the Dubai Pearl Inc was to develop the 929,000m² Dubai Pearl complex. The complex was to be a mixed-use development containing residential, hotel, theatre, retail and office developments linked together and built on a circular 4-storey podium of approximately 500m diameter. The project was valued at US$1.3bn.
The Dubai Pearl development would have included three luxury hotels, with 1,500 rooms, hotel apartments and a comprehensive range of food and beverage outlets. The hotels, including the Mövenpick, would have been directly connected to the Dubai Pearl Malls, the Dubai Pearl Royal Hall, the Technospace display area and the 250m-long Art Galleria.
However, Mövenpick confirmed in May 2009 that its plans for the proposed hotel have been dropped and the hotel group is no longer associated with the Dubai Pearl’s hotel projects.
Finance
Dubai Pearl Inc signed an agreement with Kingdom Hotel Investment Group in 2005 to invest in the development of the new hotel. Dubai Pearl Inc also signed a master lease agreement with Dubai Technology, Electronic Commerce and Media Free Zone (TECOM) for the land to be used for the development including the hotel. In addition, a hotel operating agreement was signed with Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts in late 2005 to manage and operate the hotel.
Hotel
The hotel tower, in which Mövenpick planned to take up one hotel, was to be constructed as one of nine towers in the development. Construction began in late 2005 and was expected to be complete by 2008, with the hotel opening for 2009. The building would have had 60 floors and stood 287m high. One of the unique features of the planned hotel was its observation deck, which stood 230m above sea level, providing an overwhelming view of the Arabian Gulf, the Palm Jumeirah and surroundings.
The footprint of the hotel was designed to grant every guestroom a stunning water view. The hotel would have accommodated seven speciality restaurants including a roof top facility, a 1,600m² ballroom and business function facility, a 2,000m² business centre and a state of the art gymnasium, wellness spa and pool covering over 3,000m².
