US-based hotel chain Starwood Hotels & Resorts said on Monday that its Element-branded hotel in Oman is behind schedule, but it is now considering opening at least one hotel on Bluewaters Island in Dubai, according to a senior group executive.
“At the moment, we’re looking at that,” Guido De Wilde, the group’s senior vice president and regional director for the Middle East, told Gulf News in an interview.
Bluewaters Island, which is being developed by Meraas Holding, is a mixed-use development that will be located off the coast of Jumeirah Beach Residence. It will have retail, residential, hospitality and entertainment zones. Another hotel chain, Jumeirah Group, expects to have a hotel at that development.
“There’s so much happening in Dubai. We’re talking to various developers, but it would be too premature to start making announcements,” he said.
Starwood has 14 hotels in Dubai, and will add one more when the Sheraton Grand Hotel opens on November 22.
When asked if Starwood is currently in discussions with Meraas, and what brand it is considering to take to the development, De Wilde declined to comment. Another Dubai location that has attracted hotel operators is Dubai World Central (DWC), the site of the Wold Expo 2020, which is expected to attract 25 million visitors. Starwood said earlier this year that it is looking to have its mid-scale hotel brands present at DWC.
The hotel chain also expects to have properties under the St. Regis, Westin and W brands at Al Habtoor City, a multi-use development in Dubai, which is expected to be completed next year. The hotels are expected to open by the end of next year.
With 23 properties in most of the UAE, the group is looking to have properties in Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain as well, two emirates in which the group has yet to commit to, according to De Wilde.
Meanwhile, Starwood’s plans to open an Element-branded hotel in the Middle East have been pushed back from its original 2017 opening. It currently has no opening date set.
“No, for the moment, that’s on a slow track,” De Wilde said.
He did not provide reasons as to why the hotel’s opening has been delayed, except to say that it is “part of a three-property development — including a W and a Westin. The first property that will be developed is the W then the Westin, and then comes the Element.”
The hotel operator has nine global brands, and only one is missing in the Middle East — Element. The group has been pushing back the opening of the first Element hotel in the region for over a year. Starwood has been eyeing Dubai for an Element hotel.
