DUBAI Okay, so here’s another first for Dubai and the UAE: a beach in a high-rise building.
The unique feature will be part of the Rosemont Hotel & Residences, an upcoming five-star hotel and hotel apartment to be managed by Hilton’s luxury brand Curio. The development will be located on Sheikh Zayed Road in Al Thanyah First and will comprise two towers, 47 storeys high with a combined five-storey podium and two basements.
Preetam Panwar, executive director at Zas Architects, the lead design consultants, told XPRESS: “The artificial beach strip will be open air, mimicking an actual beach. The sand will be filled in pits, held by groins to mitigate erosion.”
Dr D.J. Armin, managing partner of Zas Architects said: “The area will offer fun water activities for both outside visitors and the hotel and apartment guests. Children can splash in the water and play in the sand.”
New addition
According to Panwar, the podium will be like a pedestal for both the towers in the newest addition to the ever-changing skyline of Dubai.
“While both the towers will have sky pools at the 24th level which cantilever to the outside and reception overlooking them, the concept of the podium roof is a ‘celebration of water in the rainforest’. It will be designed as a rainforest-themed landscape and will include a pool along an artificial beach strip around which will be jogging and biking trails. Lazy rivers along the landscape will connect to the pool providing an overall integrated feel to it.”
The podium roof will also house a rainforest-themed café and a fitness centre which will be connected to the trails.
Although the podium spans both the towers, Dr Armin said it will have separate lobbies for the hotel and serviced apartments, apart from facilitating the parking on the upper podium levels. Express elevators will take guests up to the sky lobby surrounded by the sky pool. The top floor of the podium will house an entertainment complex providing a bowling alley, a skydive simulator, kids play area, a private luxury cinema and food court. The podium will also have a night club.
The entire development will span 106,000 square metres in gross floor area to cover the 450 key hotel tower and 280 key serviced apartment tower.
Specialty fine dining restaurants and an all-day dining restaurant have been planned to overlook the skylobby and the pool providing spectacular views of the city. The specialty restaurants will offer a unique experience with guest tables having a surface mounted ordering facility.
A 1,200 square metre spa and health club will be connected to the skylobby. The hotel rooms will offer a state-of-the-art experience with colour themed floors, smart phone access cards and high-end guest room management, There will be executive floors with an exclusive executive lounge. The guest rooms will be a mix of standard/executive rooms and junior suites, suites and royal suites.
The project is expected to be ready in 2018.
YOUSPEAK: What are your views about such a beach facility?
