There is a small teddy bear on my king-size bed wearing a shirt that reads "Please bear with us while we complete this journey". It is a humorous way of asking for patience in its first days after opening. The welcome, however, could not be slicker: cold towels to refresh as you enter, staff rushing over to help, even offering to carry my handbag, and the check-in girl noticing that I have an Indonesian visa and engaging me in a conversation about her hometown in Bali. From the outside the hotel looks like an office block with a grand drive; inside it is an Alice in Wonderland-like cornucopia with lights shaped like lily pads, angular silver sofas, armchairs made out of what looks like rope, metallic beaded curtains and a ceiling that at night changes colour every few seconds.
It is Between the Bridges and when the cranes have finally gone this will be the new Corniche. Down the road from the Shangri-La and Traders, smart, stylish villas are emerging from the dust. Midway between Yas Island and downtown, with a beachside location directly opposite the Grand Mosque, it will take a few years for the landscape to mature but it is already becoming one Abu Dhabi's most sought-after areas. ADTA and TDIC, both of which must know a thing or two about location, are just round the corner.
I bump into the restaurateur Marco Pierre White in the lobby and spot a few ex-England cricketers, including Darren Gough, in the glass lift. The jockey Frankie Dettori - after whom the restaurant Frankie's is named - and Prince Andrew were both guests this week. Currently the hotel is playing host to the world's press including CNN - the top brass of which are over not just for the Grand Prix but to open the news organisation's new operational hub on Monday. Businessmen here are cool and a little edgy (there are not many ties to be seen) and weekend clients are expected to migrate from Dubai and the Gulf states. The lure is the 36-hour package, which I am sampling. For US$500 (Dh1,855) for two people including tax, it includes an 11.30am check-in on Friday, a champagne brunch, accommodation, breakfast and a poolside lunch on Saturday with a checkout time of 6pm.
Ask for a bedroom overlooking the sea and the Grand Mosque where the floor-to-ceiling windows give you a fabulous view. My room is at the front of the hotel, and so looks out to a lot of half-developed buildings. But the room itself is gorgeous: all earthy browns and creamy neutrals, with a stylish curved sofa, a desk designed to cater for two people, a large soft and squishy bed covered in cushions and a great bathroom. The rain shower is beside the bath and pours directly on to the floor, which is interesting but I couldn't get it to work so I had a bath and kept the floor dry.
Probably the most attentive service that I have come across in the Emirates, and indeed anywhere. It is all smiles and sweetness, even when my plans keep changing. Appointments and taxis are booked and re-booked efficiently and the waiter recalls that I had ordered mint tea and offers it to me as I sit down at breakfast. The cleaners in the room are also friendly, speak enough English for good communication and, as with the rest of the staff, are desperate to please but are not embarrassingly servile. The general manager, Michael Kaile, opened the Fairmont in Dubai but left several years ago for Whistler, Canada. The owners of this hotel, apparently, insisted in the contract that he should be the launch GM before they signed the management agreement with Fairmont. He has imported several of the Dubai staff to help with the opening, which may account for the sheer number of senior staff in the lobby.
Dining is central to the hotel's statement of who and what it is. Marco Pierre White Steakhouse and Grill, Frankie's and Elements are the three main restaurants and sit side by side on the ground floor. Frankie's is Italian with its own pizza oven and a great live pianist. Elements is the largest of the three and offers a buffet, but by providing several live cooking stations, each specifically themed with food from Europe, Asia and the Middle East, it feels like several restaurants in one venue. Both the breakfast and Friday brunch were splendid as was the more casual poolside lunch. The only disappointment was the coffee, $6.50 (Dh24), in the Chocolate Gallery - a great venue for women to meet and gossip, but the actual coffee was rather watery. Next time I will try the hot chocolate.
Walking along the private beach at night, the design of the shisha cabins surrounded by water and the designer-madness of the lobby area. Also the sheer care and attention of the staff that made me feel special and relaxed.
Why when so much care and attention is given to every tiny detail do so many hotels have curtains that don't close properly: the thin line where they meet, or don't quite meet, means the light pours in at dawn. I also had to call technical staff to tell me how to turn off the night light in the ceiling - which he did by turning the master switch off. Considering the views, I was surprised there were no balconies.
Feels intimate despite having 369 rooms, and it perfectly straddles the requirements of being suited for both business and leisure travellers. Already one of my favourite hotels in Abu Dhabi - the 36-hour weekend offers terrific value - it's worth the stay even if you live in the city and don't need a room.
While the hotel is in its soft-opening phase, double rooms cost from $347 (Dh1,099) per night including taxes, but prices will go up next year when the spa and business centre are completed. The Fairmont Bab al Bahr, Between the Bridges, Abu Dhabi (www.fairmont.com/babalbahr; 02 654 3333).
sryan@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Racecard
6.35pm: The Madjani Stakes – Group 2 (PA) Dh97,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.10pm: Evidenza – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: The Longines Conquest – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 2,000m
8.20: The Longines Elegant – Conditions (TB) Dh82,500 (D)
8.35pm: The Dubai Creek Mile – Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Mirdif Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,400m
10.05pm: The Longines Record – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,900m
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Afghanistan fixtures
- v Australia, today
- v Sri Lanka, Tuesday
- v New Zealand, Saturday,
- v South Africa, June 15
- v England, June 18
- v India, June 22
- v Bangladesh, June 24
- v Pakistan, June 29
- v West Indies, July 4
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
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
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
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Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
more from Janine di Giovanni
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
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