There's nothing more annoying than hanging around a hotel lobby to check in after a long flight. So it's a pleasant surprise at the St Regis Abu Dhabi Corniche to be greeted by three empty check-in tables, be offered a juice and still arrive to the room, luggage delivered, 10 minutes later.
The first St Regis hotel was built in New York by society man John Jacob Astor IV before he drowned on the Titanic. Fast-forward a century and St Regis is a chain sitting within the Starwood group.
The Corniche hotel, 36 kilometres from the airport and within a few kilometres of the banking district, opened two years ago and caters well to the business traveller – the gym, business centre and room service are all 24-hour.
Attached to the Nation Galleria mall, the hotel has a marbled corridor crossing beneath the busy Corniche road to its beach club. It has 283 rooms and a presidential suite, eight restaurants and bars, a spa, male and female salons and a helipad.
The room is thoughtfully laid out – there are three desk-height power points, as well as USB, audio and HDMI sockets, and even a power point built into the inside of the room safe door.
Transformers are available, Wi-Fi is automatically connected after first login for your entire stay – and for up to five devices – and there are two chairs for the desk so you can work with a colleague if necessary. A socket next to the bed, clearly labelled 230V, is ideal to charge your phone overnight.
One feature that sets St Regis apart is its butler service. Your butler arrives to your room shortly after you do, gives you their business card and shows you around. They are available “for any other request, however large, small or unusual”. A 20-page colour printing request was emailed in at 10pm and hand-delivered to the room 15 minutes later.
Luxury touches are everywhere, in the super-soft bedding, motorised drapes, chandeliers and in-mirror bathroom television (although that didn’t work properly, in five days). And the view – a stunning panorama of the sea, Marina Mall, nearby skyscrapers and Emirates Palace.
Prices per night start from Dh650 in low season and Dh900 in high season.
q&a looking after your needs
Suzanne Locke reveals more details about a business stay at the St Regis Abu Dhabi Corniche:
What about tea and coffee?
As well as the normal kettle and creamer in the room, you can call any time for free tea or coffee, delivered by the butler with fresh hot or cold milk on a beautiful silver tea set and with biscotti. There is also a generous amount of complimentary bottled water in the room – great when the tap water is desalinated. Just don’t touch the expensive minibar or room snacks – Dh50 for a very light tub of crisps and Dh18 to Dh28 for soft drinks.
Can I get a newspaper?
The hotel says a variety of local and international newspapers is available, with an iPad app for more publications and hotel iPads available on request from the butler. However, this guest’s newspaper request was wrong every day for five days and the butler said the hotel did not have iPads available.
Any cleaning facilities?
Pop your shoes in the bag for complimentary shoe-shining, along with up to two pieces of laundry free a day. Have it picked up by 9am for same-day service. There’s also one-hour pressing and an iron in the room.
What about room service?
Room service is delivered in 30 minutes, wheeled in on a heated hostess trolley draped in a tablecloth and then laid out for you. Breakfast is international, from congee to foul medames and chana masala; try the salmon from the all-day dining. And the late-night menu, from 11pm to 6am, includes the ever-present club sandwich and Arabic meze.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Company%20Profile
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto
Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm
Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
