The Middle East’s first Legoland Hotel is set to open in Dubai in just over one week.
Located at Dubai Parks and Resorts, the new themed 250-room hotel will welcome overnight guests from January 21.
Offering free theme park access to all guests, the Legoland Hotel is set to be the ideal place to stay when taking a trip to the Dubai Parks and Resorts' brick-themed attractions.
A dragon-guarded entrance will welcome guests into the hotel where interactive experiences and themed rooms await. There’s also a huge temperature-controlled swimming pool, complete with Lego brick floating toys.
Aimed at those travelling with children, standard rooms can sleep up to five, and there are also family suites that can accommodate up to eight guests.
Mere steps away from Legoland Dubai with its themed rides, shows and attractions, the hotel also includes a disco lift, a castle-themed play area and plenty of Lego-brick architecture.
Rooms and suites have been designed in four immersive themes. Book a stay in a Lego Friends room where you’ll find plenty of pink and purple decor, bunk beds for children to sleep on and some of the Lego Friends’ toy pets to play with.
Kingdom rooms and suites offer a royal welcome and are packed with bunting, shields and a separate royal chamber where the children can sleep.
Pirate rooms have red and white stripy bedding bedecked with Jolly Roger symbols and plenty of pirate-themed Lego models, while Adventure rooms welcome guests with a surprise treasure hunt and feature Snakes and Ladders and Egyptian hieroglyphic-themed decor.
Breakfast at Bricks Family Restaurant is included in every stay. The buffet-style menu promises child-friendly options with food served at the children's height.
World’s fastest spinning rollercoaster opening at Dubai Parks and Resorts
Friday, January 21 is going to be a busy day at Dubai Parks and Resorts, as, in addition to opening the Middle East’s first Legoland Hotel, the attraction will also launch two new rides.
The world’s first rollercoaster inspired by the John Wick franchise and the world’s fastest single-car spinning rollercoaster, themed on the Now You See Me franchise, will open on the same date.
“The opening of the world’s first John Wick rollercoaster, the world’s fastest spinning rollercoaster and the region’s only LEGO-themed Hotel are an example of the breadth and diversity of entertainment experiences in Dubai,” said Fernando Eiroa, chief executive at Dubai Holding Entertainment.
"We are confident that these new offerings will contribute to further enhancing Dubai’s competitiveness as one of the leading international tourism destinations in the world."
Rooms at Legoland Hotel start from Dh1,170, including breakfast and one park entry; legoland.com
Check out the first Warner Bros-themed hotel in Abu Dhabi:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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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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The specs: 2018 Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio
Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)
Engine 4.7L V8
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 520Nm @ 4,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
On Instagram: @WithHopeUAE
Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
Saaed, meanwhile, faces the daunting task of caring for four family members with psychological disorders. “I’ve had no support and no resources here to help me,” he says. “It has been, and still is, a one-man battle against the demons of fractured minds.”
In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”