AL AIN // Not long ago, the city had four hotels boasting five-star ratings. Now, according to the Government, it has only one.
The establishment of a new hotel-rating system by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) leaves the Al Ain Rotana as the only five-star hotel in the city.
The InterContinental Al Ain Resort received a four-star rating from the ADTA while the Hilton Al Ain was given three stars.
The Mercure Grand Jebel Hafeet remains under review but is not considered a five-star hotel at present.
Previously, there was no official classification system in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, with hotels able, in effect, to rate themselves.
The ADTA system will be reviewed every two years, and hotels will be inspected three times a year.
Mikael Petersson, operations manager at the Hilton, said one of the main reasons his hotel had been marked down was that its bars were outside the main building and needed to be upgraded. The hotel has ordered new furniture and plans to overhaul the bars and clubs in the 38-year-old building.
"The rating has led to the company focusing its efforts even more to enhance the product and give the hotel a five-star rating," he said.
Andre Saade, general manager at the InterContinental, said his hotel was addressing ADTA concerns pertaining to "LCD screens, irons and ironing boards and new minibars".
Mr Saade applauded the ADTA ratings system. "My only concern with it was the time frame that was given to us to make the changes and implement the new requirements."
Both Mr Saade of the InterContinental and Mr Petersson of the Hilton will be seeking reclassification for their hotels in the first quarter of the coming year.
"Once the renovation is completed ADTA will be invited back for another inspection and I have every confidence that the hotel will receive a five-star rating," Mr Saade said.
Mr Petersson said Hilton staff still feel as if they work at a five-star hotel, "and I have every confidence that we will receive the higher rating we deserve." He added, "Our guests may interpret the three-star rating as a punitive measure against the hotel, but that is just not the case. The Hilton still carries the Hilton corporation's five-star rating and still provides the same quality service as before."
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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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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
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Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
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Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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