The UAE’s second Viceroy Hotel, (the first one is the Yas Viceroy hotel in Abu Dhabi, and one is under construction in Jumeirah Village Circle) is set to open on March 31 on the Palm – and based on the sneak-peek we’ve had, this five-star hotel is all set to be the haunt of the city’s cool, young things.
Here are the top five things to know about it.
It’s LA meets-Miami-meets-Dubai
This second Viceroy hotel exudes the glitz and glamour of LA and Miami with its white-washed, glass-fronted, airy buildings, which we’re told is exactly the vibe and ambience architect Yabu Pushelberg was going for. The Viceroy also includes residence wings on either side with the hotel structured like an H situated right in the middle.
Show and tell
There’s no hiding if you’re staying at the Viceroy – unless it’s behind your big sunglasses. The hotel’s 477 guest rooms have been designed with a unique theatrical concept in mind: to see and be seen, a lifestyle model Viceroy considers is the DNA of the hotel industry. Once you walk through the lobby a giant, central courtyard opens up with the 60-metre statement sculpture in the centre and main restaurants (there will be 10 in total) on either. The restaurants include BLVD on One, the all-day dining option, Italian restaurant Quattro Passi and The Delisserie – a patisserie. Diners can see those swimming in the pool, and vice-versa.
It’s in their DNA
DNA is a buzzword and a theme that keeps popping up at odd and interesting sections of the hotel – right from the giant wooden DNA sculptures in the lobby (there’s selfie opportunities galore here), to the wallpaper patterns in the suites and the wooden screens in the ballroom.
To-die-for views
As fabulous as its features on the ground are, the innovation keeps building as you move up the hotel’s elevator. The 14th-floor suspended Vista Ballroom is point of pride for the hotel – located on the central bridge that connects the two towers, the 600sqm ballroom has slanted wall-to-wall windows that offer unparalleled views of the Dubai Marina, Downtown skyline and the still under-construction Ain Dubai (Dubai Eye).
Sky-high runways and underground nightclubs
What we were intrigued by the most were the meeting spaces off the ballroom called Elevate. Channelling the hotel’s glamorous young ambiance, a corridor accessed off the meeting rooms been designed to double up as a stylish catwalk for fashion shows, photoshoots and stylish soirees, all keeping up with the ‘see and be seen’ theme. Accented by pergola-style arches and edgy lamps, we can see this transforming into the place cool young things hang out at. Guests also have the hotel’s nightclub to look forward to. Inspired by the underground clubs of Beirut, details of who’d be operating the club were still under wraps during our tour.
Rooms start from Dh1,200; visit viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/en/dubai
