Life & Style | Home & Interiors
Lounging in luxury off Shaikh Zayed Road
Hidden away just off Shaikh Zayed Road is a little-known gem of a lounge offering guests the ultimate in 21st century chic.
- By Annie Cudmore, Editor
- Published: 09:01 October 28, 2008
- One recently-opened hideaway, however, offers something distinctly different and design-led.
- Image Credit: Silvia Baron/ANM
Hidden away just off Shaikh Zayed Road is a little-known gem of a lounge offering guests the ultimate in 21st century chic.
Lounges and bars are ten-a-penny in Dubai, and many of them, whilst offering a hospitable atmosphere, are merely homely places to meet up with friends after work and let the cares of the day slide away.
One recently-opened hideaway, however, offers something distinctly different and design-led. Interchange Two Lounge, affectionately known to its clients as I2, is tucked away in the deepest parts of The Metropolitan Hotel like a well-kept secret.
One of its owners, Phoebus Georgiades, the entrepreneur who brought The Meat Co. to Dubai's shores, tells how this chic yet little-known hangout came into being.
"It was originally my business partner Mr Rashid Al Habtoor's idea. The room was a restaurant and he used to use it occasionally for private functions, but one day he said to me, 'It's just dead space - let's do something with it.'
''After throwing out the idea of a karaoke bar they decided that there was a market in Dubai for an upmarket, glamorous lounge which would attract older, more discerning customers rather than the young clubbing crowd.
"We wanted to introduce a venue that played 70s' and 80s' music, as there's nothing like that in Dubai. A lot of places play house, or modern heavy music, but that's not what we had in mind for I2.
"We hired a resident DJ/VJ - after all people want to watch music while they listen to it. And the good thing about our audio/visual system is that it's not turned up loud, so customers can still listen to each other which is important as well.
"Basically, we wanted to attract a more sophisticated, older customer who would come here to chill out and spend money. And it's worked!" he smiles broadly, with a glint in his eye.
As far as the interior design went, the same ethos of attracting more 'sedate' guests was followed. "We decided to make this place something different," he declares.
"So we called the guys from THE One, and they came in and designed everything, putting in the white couches, the underlit bar and making the whole place into something a bit more sophisticated than normal clubs."
And it must be said that THE One did a great job. From its polished concrete floor, to its black walls with brilliant red alcoves, and from the atmospheric lighting to the huge white leather couches and the enormous silver-gilt mirrors, this is a lounge that oozes chic, whilst still being relaxing.
"The floor was originally wood," explains Phoebus. "We just ripped it up and polished the concrete to give it a different look. We changed just about everything in here, but it only took two months from thinking up the concept to the actual opening."
He makes it all sound so simple and easy, but it was his and Mr Rashid Al Habtoor's inspiration that drove the project, and made a once-underused site a modern haven of chic, sophisticated design. We love it!
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