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Royal Drive Revs Up in the UAE
The megawealthy denizens of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are revving up for the Royal Drive, a three-day exotic auto orgy designed to showcase some of the insanely overleveraged attractions built in seemingly unending oil boom. 60 sickeningly rich folk will pilot their Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, Bentleys, Mercedes-McLaren SLRs, Gemballa Mirage GTs and all the rest, kicking off on March 18.
The event will begin at the 5-star Yas Hotel on Yas Island, home to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and upcoming Ferrari World theme park. From there the calvacade will continue to a circuit the Abu Dhabi Corniche beach boulevard (as featured on Top Gear) winding up at the 5-star Intercontinental Hotel at Dubai Creek. That night participants will enjoy VIP treatment at the Elements Music Concert in Dubai Festival City. Next day it’s back on the road to the Dubai Marina and a wrap party at the Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residences.
Jumeirah hotel group launches their new brand called VENU Hotels
At a time when the hotel industry is not in the pink of health, so to speak, Dubai hotel group Jumeirah is launching a new brand called VENU Hotels. This “contemporary lifestyle” brand will be launched later this year, the company announced on April 28. The hotel group is in negotiations with developers regarding properties in the Middle East, Northern Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia-Pacific.
The VENU Hotels will be five-star hotels designed “for those who seek a sophisticated immersion in the destination.” Jumeirah owns 11 top-end hotels including the seven star hotel, Burj Al Arab. The group seems to have had a profitable year with an occupancy rate of 92 percent on an average in its Dubai beachside properties during 2009, despite Dubai financial crisis.
The Latest Hotels, Croatia, the Caucasus & Koh Samui
Luxury hoteliers look to the east, for some of the most opulent new resort and business destinations. We present a round up of the latest lush properties
From up-and-coming resorts on the Adriatic to Miami’s infamous South Beach and the ubiquitous Gulf of Thailand, the latest round of hotel openings has been in some ways predictable, as illustrated by a slew of new entrants jostling for position with their competitors in tried and tested markets. But others are braver and bolder in hot-spots of a very different kind – like a seaside city in Georgia which is located less than 80 kilometres from the war-torn Abkhazia region and a Kempinski in the heart of Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, where the government recently stoked fires over its own breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Conrad, Koh Samui
Consisting solely of private villas, each featuring their own infinity pool, nestled within 25 acres of hillside, Hilton’s latest Conrad hotel in Thailand boasts unobstructed ocean views overlooking the Gulf of Thailand. Decorated in contemporary Thai style, each of the 80 villas include LCD flat-screen satellite television, CD/DVD players, IPod docking stations, as well as wired and wireless high speed Internet connection.
Jumeirah, Frankfurt
Located in the centre of Frankfurt at the Thurn-und-Taxis Square, the first European Jumeirah hotel is spread over 25 floors overlooking the city. The 218 rooms and suites have a minimum size of 35sqm, each featuring an original artwork by German contemporary artist Hartwig Ebersbach. Guests will also enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access, remote controlled lighting and curtains, and a 42″ LCD television, BOSE surround system and iPod docking station in each room.
Kempinski Hotel Badamar, Baku
The latest Kempinski Hotel is located in the heart of Badamdar district in Baku, Azerbaijan. The property features 283 rooms and suites alongside four restaurants, five bars, conference and banqueting facilities and a 3,500-sqm wellness centre. The hotel is located within a complex comprising private residences, offices and over 5000 sqm of entertainment and retail spaces. (more…)
Iconic Palm Jumeirah in Dubai sees property prices at four year low
Prices of property on the Palm Jumeirah development, one of Dubai’s most iconic landmarks, have fallen to a four year low, with apartments being offered for as little as $176 per square foot. Research by Arabian Business shows that a number of apartments on the Palm Shoreline have been put on sale in the past month with asking prices nearly 70% down from the height of the boom in 2008. The lowest listed price is a C type apartment, occupying 2,620 square feet, being offered for AED1.7 million ($463,215). The revelation comes less than a week after the United Arab Emirates government announced the extension of visa for real estate investors from six months to three years in a bid to attract more real estate investors from abroad.
Dubai property prices continue to fall and political instability in the Middle East failed to give the market an expected boost, Deutsche Bank said in its most recent report. Home values fell 1.2% in May compared with the previous month and rents fell by 1%, analysts Nabil Ahmed and Athmane Benzerroug wrote in a note to investors. Apartment prices slid 1.3% in May, while villas declined 1%. “Despite talks of renewed interest in real estate following regional unrest, there is no visible sign of an improvement. Even if we believe the worst of the downtrend is now behind, new supply, lack of homebuyers’ appetite and anemic transaction activity point to further weakness,’ the note said.
Dubai- Property prices record first annual rise
Average residential property prices in Dubai rose by 2% in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same period last year, according to the latest house price index to be published.
Prices have now risen 4% since the last quarter of 2009 creating confidence that the downturn which resulted in price falls of 50% in some locations is now at an end. It is also the first annual increases since the emirate’s property market collapsed towards the end of 2008. The average house price in the first quarter of the year was AED1,061 ($288.85) per square foot, compared to AED 1,022 ($278.23) in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the report from Colliers International. Apartment prices in the emirate rose 6% in the first quarter compared with the previous three months and villa prices increased 2% while townhouses were down 4%, the house price index showed.
Prices have now returned to 2007 levels, but the report warns that a large number of new units due for release could have a negative impact on the real estate market and even bring prices down again. The report estimates that 41,000 residential units will flood onto the market in 2010 mostly in the low to middle income segments and demand is not expected to match the growth in supply, creating downward pressure on property prices.
Clear Water Bay in Sanya
Another large project, Clear Water Bay’s coastline stretches 12 kilometres and encompasses three residential areas: Silver Sand, Cote d’Azur and Golfer’s Paradise. Each residential portion includes both villa and apartments, ranging from 77 to 330 sq m. Since it’s right on the beach, Silver Sand only has a few villas left.
Three 18-hole golf courses and luxury hotels will be located among the residential clusters, including Raffles, Jumeirah, JW Marriott, Hilton, Ho Shui House and the W Hotel.
House prices on Palm Jumeirah sink to three year low
Prices have fallen to their lowest level in over three years, with a three bedroom apartment on the prestigious Shoreline changing hands for just AED1.55million ($422,000). It is reported to be one of a number of distressed sales that have come onto the market in the last few weeks showing that even a prestigious address does not prevent real estate owners falling on hard times. Selling prices are now as low AED704 ($191) per square foot, a far cry from the more spectacular prices of over AED2300 ($626) in 2007.
That means that since the start of the property crash in late 2008, prices have now fallen by nearly 70% in some parts of the Palm.
In May this year the Arabian Business Think Tank forecast that prices on the Palm would fall another 20% in 12 months to May 2011. As if this wasn’t enough bad news, nearly all 10 planned hotel properties on the Palm archipelago have seen setbacks due to the global economic downturn.
Fairmount Hotels & Resorts, Rixos Hotels, Kempinski, Movenpick Hotels & Resorts and Sofitel have all pushed back their launch dates by an average of two years when compared to initial opening dates, according PricewaterhouseCoopers advisory partner Mohammad Dahmash. The hardest hit Palm Jumeirah project, however, is the equally iconic US$600 million Trump International Tower. Not only has the work stopped but the site has been levelled with no re-start date given.
Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Dubai
The QE2 was purchased last year by Nakheel, a subsidiary of Dubai World, and she will be a key attraction on a massive pier that will stretch 300 metres out from the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah development. More than 60 naval vessels and private boats, led by a mega-yacht owned by Dubai’s ruler, met the 70,000-tonne ship in the Persian Gulf.
Manfred Ursprunger, chief executive of Nakheel’s QE2 Enterprises, which will oversee the ship’s transformation, said the redesign and refit will take two to three years, resulting in a hotel with dozens of luxury rooms, several restaurants, a performance theatre and a spa.
The Palm Jumeirah Mega Yacht Marina
The Palm Jumeirah Mega Yacht Marina will become one of only a handful of such marinas in the world. The project has an estimated completion date of third quarter 2009. It will be located on the west side of Palm Jumeirah’s trunk, adjacent to the Trump International Hotel & Tower. With an estimated value of $116 million (AED 425 million), the marina will have 75 berths, 30 of which will be capable of accommodating yachts between 50 and 165 metres. The remaining 45 berths will accommodate yachts between 14 and 20 metres in length.
Even amid the current economic climate, demand remains extremely high for these sized yachts, and we are delighted to be able to deliver the magnificent Palm Jumeirah Mega Yacht Marina through our partnership with Nakheel,” said Michael Horrigan, CEO Middle East and Europe, IGY. The design allows for 75 berths to provide yachts such amenities as pontoons wide enough for two cars to park side by side. There will also be in-berth refueling, dockside storage, and shore-side crew facilities.
11-year-old spends $44 million in Dubai
In just two weeks early last year, an 11-year-old boy from Azerbaijan became the owner of nine waterfront mansions in Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah. The Washington Post newspaper reported that they were bought in a two-week shopping spree last year for about $44 million “” 10,000 times the average annual salary in Azerbaijan.
Two more Aliyevs “” with the same names as the president’s daughters “” also have popped up in more land deals. In all, Aliyev’s children, or at least some people with similar names, have amassed $75 million worth of real estate in Dubai.
The President’s official salary in Azerbaijan is about $228,000 a year, not enough to buy even the smallest property in the luxury zone of Dubai. Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic blessed with plentiful oil and gas reserves yet blighted by widespread poverty outside its glitzy capital, has long had a reputation for corruption.
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