The Address Hotel Dubai Marina will be rebranded as JW Marriott Hotel Marina from January. Sarah Dea / The National
The Address Hotel Dubai Marina will be rebranded as JW Marriott Hotel Marina from January. Sarah Dea / The National
The Address Hotel Dubai Marina will be rebranded as JW Marriott Hotel Marina from January. Sarah Dea / The National
The Address Hotel Dubai Marina will be rebranded as JW Marriott Hotel Marina from January. Sarah Dea / The National

Five luxury Dubai hotels to be rebranded under Marriott and Kempinski brands


Alkesh Sharma
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Five luxury hotels in Dubai, including three Address hotels, are to be rebranded after Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) joined forces with hospitality companies Marriott International and Kempinski Hotels.

From January 1, The Address Dubai Marina will be rebranded as JW Marriott Hotel Marina, while The Address Boulevard will be called Kempinski The Boulevard Dubai, and The Address Dubai Mall will become Kempinski Central Avenue Dubai, ADNH said.

Vida Downtown Dubai Hotel will be rebranded as Hotel Boulevard, Autograph Collection and Manzil Downtown Dubai Hotel will become The Heritage Hotel, Autograph Collection.

As part of the rebranding process, each property will be revamped, ADNH said in separate statements to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

Vida Downtown Dubai will be rebranded to Hotel Boulevard, Autograph Collection. Photo: Vida Hotels & Resorts
Vida Downtown Dubai will be rebranded to Hotel Boulevard, Autograph Collection. Photo: Vida Hotels & Resorts

The deals are in line with the company's “overall strategy and the evolving dynamics of [its] business model”, said Khalid Anib, ADNH’s chief executive.

Founded in 1976 as a hotel owner and asset manager, ADNH has expected into a hospitality group that includes hotels, restaurants, destination management services, catering and transport services.

Under its hotels division, it owns brands including The Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal and Park Hyatt Hotel and Villas Abu Dhabi.

ADNH will rebrand the five hotels after acquiring them from Emaar Hospitality Group in 2018.

“The UAE is our largest market in the Middle East,” said Jerome Briet, chief development officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Marriott International, which currently has a portfolio of more than 50 properties in Dubai.

“These deals reflect our conversion friendly strategy, and our teams are committed to efficiently transitioning the three properties … we are excited to further expand our footprint in Dubai.”

Maryland-based Marriott has a portfolio of nearly 8,700 properties under 31 leading brands spanning 138 countries and territories.

In November last year, it revealed plans to open four new hotels in the UAE over the next three years.

As part of an agreement with the Emirates’ RDK Tourism Investment, Marriott said it will expand its footprint in the UAE by more than 700 rooms, across its Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Executive Apartments and Autograph Collection Hotels brands.

The Address Dubai Mall is among the five hotels Emaar Hospitality Group has agreed to sell. Courtesy: Le Portes Des Indes
The Address Dubai Mall is among the five hotels Emaar Hospitality Group has agreed to sell. Courtesy: Le Portes Des Indes

Meanwhile, Kempinski, which has headquarters in Geneva and Munich, has been in operation for more than 125 years and has 77 properties in its global portfolio.

It is currently building the Kempinski Floating Palace in Dubai, touted as the world's first floating resort.

"Kempinski has been present in the Middle East for more than 26 years, and it remains one of the most dynamic and exciting parts of the world for us," said Rene Nijhof, chairman of Kempinski.

"Following a record year of performance, we will continue to grow our portfolio across the region in 2024 and beyond.”

BORDERLANDS

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis

Director: Eli Roth

Rating: 0/5

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg

Ajax v Real Madrid, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports

Five healthy carbs and how to eat them

Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand

Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat  

Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar

Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices

Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants

Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique

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Polarised public

31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all

Source: YouGov

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Essentials

The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes. 
 

Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes. 


In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes. 
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).

Second leg

Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm

Games on BeIN Sports

Section 375

Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat

Director: Ajay Bahl

Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL

Rating: 3.5/5

How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

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Tamkeen's offering
  • Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
  • Option 2: 50% across three years
  • Option 3: 30% across five years 
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015

- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France

Company info

Company name: Entrupy 

Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist

Based: New York, New York

Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.  

Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius. 

Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place. 

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.6-litre turbo

Transmission: six-speed automatic

Power: 165hp

Torque: 240Nm

Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)

On sale: Now

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Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Updated: January 04, 2024, 9:26 AM