What does Atlantis the Palm have to offer?
The resort has an iconic location at the head of the Palm and offers the first opportunity for visitors to stay on the Crescent, looking back towards the Dubai skyline.
We have 1,500 rooms, 10% of which are suites, and 168 units are located in the premium Imperial Club, which has its own lounge. We also have two beaches and a spa with 27 treatment rooms.
What is available in the resort?
We have the 45-acre Aquaventure water park with 15 million gallons of salt and fresh water attractions, including the Ambassador Lagoon with a 10 sq metre viewing panel, the largest of its type in the world. Attractions among the 65,000 fish include back-lit jellyfish and anchovy ‘balls’, which are art installations in themselves, as well as sharks and manta rays, and there are also artefacts from the Lost City of Atlantis viewed from the Lost Chambers.
This is the largest water park in the region, with its own beach and a range of rides and slides, on inner tubes or body surfing – the 100ft Ziggurat has seven options including two that end up in lagoon.
What else is available for families?
We have a range of kids’ clubs for all age groups. For older kids, there is a ‘no adults’ club with disco, movies and electronic games, and we also offer arts and crafts, educational and exploration programmes, a pirate ship, and an underwater venue with windows extending into the lagoon so children can ‘float’ among the fish.
In addition, our spa has mother and daughter treatments on offer, there are four tennis courts and extensive water sports.
Any more firsts for Atlantis the Palm?
We have four celebrity chefs on board with restaurants by Nobu, Michel Rostang, Giorgio Locatelli and Santi Santamaria. On the bedroom side, there is the Bridge Suite spanning the Royal Towers, as well as two three-storey Lost Chamber Suites where master bedrooms have floor-to-ceiling windows looking in to the lagoon.
What are the selling points?
We see this as a layering process. The first sell is Dubai, then the Palm, which has novelty value as no one has opened a resort there before. Our opening also coincides with the delivery of the Airbus A380 to Emirates and the move of the airline to its own dedicated terminal in Dubai International Airport. There has been no significant resort development in the destination for four years and our launch will reinvigorate Dubai by giving operators something to sell again – something innovative.
Any special offers to launch the resort?
We have evaluated our price points and want to give the guest a reasonable offering, not discounting but not over-weighting the product in what is a crowded market. We have positioned ourselves as a fivestar hotel but what differentiates us is the resort aspect. And while we have already announced rack room rates from $454, for the first year we are offering free access for guests to Aquaventure, which is a huge value proposition.
How are you working with the UK travel trade to promote Atlantis the Palm?
We are seriously committed to the trade and in the UK we will be using training and events company The Network to provide retail agency training. We are already in Virgin Holidays and Gold Medal brochures. We are also working with online operators, and on February 1, we will launch our online reservations system. Our regional headquarters at Gerrards Cross will be responsible for distributing point-of-sale material and roll out agent selling tools through the first quarter.
Can you confirm an opening date, given the tendency for hotels in the region to launch later than planned?
We will open on September 24. In fact, we have brought forward the opening date by six weeks. As both developer and operator, we have control over the process. However, it presents a challenge because operators are not convinced it will happen – but bookings are beginning to flow in.
