Dubai hotel to be shut for six months

One of Dubai's oldest landmarks, the Sheraton Dubai Hotel and Towers, will close for almost six months while it undergoes renovation for Dh37 million.

The five-star hotel will be closed from May to early October while it gets a new exterior, front entrance and a lobby.

During this period, rooms will also be upgraded and more conference and banqueting facilities will be added, said Klaus Christ-andl, the hotel's deputy general manager.

And when the renovations are complete, the hotel will return with a new name - Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel and Towers.

This upgrade is funded by the owner, Almulla Enterprises. However, it is not the first time that the hotel, which has held its place on Dubai Creek for the past 24 years, has undergone renovation.

In 1997, the 255-room hotel got new restaurants, rooms, suites and conference facilities. This latest round of upgrades will take the total level of investment by Almulla Enterprises to more than Dh70 million over the past five years.

The hotel's management chose to get the renovations done during this time of the year to take advantage of the dull season. But the group hopes that its regular customers who come to Dubai during summer will use other Sheraton properties in the emirate.