Hilton Worldwide is to take over the management of the former Rocco Forte Hotel in the capital.
The luxury European operator Rocco Forte exited the Abu Dhabi hotel earlier this year because the location was not right for the brand, a senior executive with the company told The Nationalthis month.
The distinctive wavy, green glass building on Airport Road has been known as the Abu Dhabi Al Maqta hotel since, but will reopen as Hilton Abu Dhabi Capital Grand this summer.
The news will come as a surprise to some as Starwood Hotels and Resorts had been rumoured to take over the property and run it under the Sheraton brand.
"We are delighted to have signed such a prestigious deal for this unique, quality hotel in Abu Dhabi and in an emerging business community," said Rudi Jagersbacher, the president of Hilton Worldwide Middle East and Africa.
The hotel will undergo a series of brand changes before joining the Hilton portfolio, the company said.
Sheikh Hamed bin Ahmed, the group managing director of owner Al Farida Investment Company, said the company was "delighted to bring the enviable reputation and quality service standards enjoyed by Hilton Worldwide to this outstanding hotel".
The 281-room hotel was originally scheduled to be up and running in 2009, but it did not open its doors until 2011.
It was expected to have a 10,000 square metre shopping area featuring retail brands, restaurants and entertainment venues.
Rocco Forte understood that it would also be located in an area zoned for banks and embassies, according to the brand managing director Richard Power.
"It looked, from all we were seeing at the time, and to others too, that it was a good location," Mr Power said.
"The reality was that none of those developments have materialised and none of them can be seen on the horizon. So those areas which are very much seen as our core markets for our high-end luxury travellers just didn't exist in enough volume."
The property was Rocco Forte's first foray into the Middle East but it is currently building a hotel in Jeddah, which is due to open in a year's time.
gduncan@thenational.ae
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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