Dubai: The closure of the popular Ramada Hotel in Bur Dubai last week sparked a wave of nostalgia among long-term patrons and residents of the area.
As the 33-year-old hotel counted down to its last working day on August 31, residents flocked to their favourite restaurants to have that “one last meal” or just take selfies in front of what will soon be a “yesteryear landmark”.
Dubai resident and entrepreneur Savvy Kisani, who specially visited the hotel with a group of friends on the last day, said: “We went there just to take photographs.”
Cherished memories
Kisani, whose family has been in Dubai for four generations, said, “We have so many memories attached with this hotel that we just felt the need to do it. We lived across the road for years and went there ever so often. We have celebrated so many birthdays and anniversaries at the Ramada. I will miss everything about the hotel, including the grand chandelier at the entrance.”
For most people in the old district of Bur Dubai, the five restaurants in the Ramada provided a “decent, convenient and affordable” dining option at their doorstep.
Renuka Aser, a resident of Bur Dubai for 20 years, said, “We would come here at least once a week and have spent many memorable evenings at the Belgian Café.”
She said the Ramada was an integral part of their lives. “My daughter learnt swimming here. We frequently bought cakes from the hotel’s cake shop and I was a regular at the Wow Beauty Salon.”
The hotel, it appears, will be missed even as a literal landmark.
Kavitha Bhatia, who runs an events and photography business at the Al Rais Centre which is opposite the Ramada, said, “I take Ramada’s name every day whenever I have to give someone directions to my office, whether it’s over the phone or on e-mail. It’s unimaginable for me to think that this building will be no more.”
Bhatia, who has been in Dubai for 26 years, said she will especially miss the Chinese restaurant Dynasty, the Begian Café and the Wow salon.
A Pakistani businessman dining at the hotel with his family and friends also took a group picture but did not want to share it. “We will miss Ramada because we had most of our social and business gatherings here. We knew the staff by name.” Abdellah Essonni, CEO of Abjar Hotels International, which manages the Ramada, told XPRESS, “People were very much aware of the Ramada shutting down. There were many who came here to enjoy the restaurants that one last time.”
He said a mixed development will come up in place of the Ramada. To be ready by mid-2019, it will house a 180-room five-star hotel, 120 residences, an 8,000 square metre shopping mall with a supermarket and other retail outlets.
