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Khalaf Al Habtoor, Chairman and Founder of Al Habtoor Group, and Christopher J. Nassetta, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hilton Worldwide, view an artist’s impression of their joint venture Image Credit: Pankaj Sharma/Gulf News

Dubai: Al Habtoor Group has partnered with Hilton Worldwide to convert two of its hotels in Beirut to the Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand and to develop the very first Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts property on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.

The agreement, signed on Monday, would see the global hotelier developing the 324-room Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah, the first luxury resort by the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand in Dubai, scheduled to open at the end of 2013.

It would also will see Hilton Worldwide making its foray into Lebanon by converting the 195-room Habtoor Grand and the 183-room Metropolitan Palace to the Hilton Beirut Habtoor Grand and Hilton Beirut Metropolitan Palace, with both hotels due to open in early 2012.