(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) Dubai is a modern Las Vegas, a city built up from the desert, attracting as it does tens of thousands of visitors keen to get a feel for the most 21st century metropolis. The hustle and bustle of professionals from every corner of the world numbs the senses.
It is pleasant then, to be able to look upon all this development ¿¿" the skyscrapers, the madding crowds ¿¿" from a balcony, perched like a tropical parrot on the corner of the Palm Jumeirah, which allows one to have the best of two worlds ¿¿" city shopping by day and the reclusive calm of opulent luxury by the starry night.
The Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, a beachside resort on Palm Jumeirah, carries the Turkish theme throughout, with corridors bedecked in specially commissioned works of art. It is not shy and retiring, but is set out in a grandiose manner, keeping with the Ottoman penchant for the finer things in life, but nevertheless a perfect place for the family, or for a couple looking to get away from it all, or even for a business trip.
Facilities at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray are second to none, with every one of its 405 guests rooms and 38 royal residence villas, fitted out to the highest possible standard. A total of ten restaurants and bars cater to the guests, who probably have very little idea just how much effort had to be put into creating a such a relaxing place.
Construction was kept to a tight timescale, according to Stephan Schupbach, general manager at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, as the staff raced against time to prepare for the first arrival of guests in 2011.
''We were tasked with opening the hotel in four to six months and opened with 40 guests rooms, one restaurant, and no spa. We have only really been fully open for a year now and have already been given the award for now having the best spa in the world,'' said Schupbach.
The work on the complex has not finished however, with plans afoot to open a theatre with music hall performances every week, as well as an up-market late night entertainment venue. New restaurants will also be added as potential markets are identified, added Schupbach.
''The good thing is that we don't do much in the way of promoting ourselves, people just come. It is better when word of mouth gets around, rather than promotion on the television or radio because it helps keep the location that much more exclusive,'' he said.
Exclusive it certainly is, despite the hotel running at occupancy levels of over 80 per cent, even during the hot summer months. A gentle trickle of between 50-100 guests usually arrive every day to enjoy everything the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray has to offer, with the average length of stay increasing all the time. One can certainly see why, sat as it is snugly on land reclaimed from the sea, reclined on its metaphorical chaise longue, watching the world buzz about its busy day.
This is how to relax Ottoman-style, in a hotel more than deserving of its burgeoning repu
