Five luxury Dubai hotels to be rebranded under Marriott and Kempinski brands

Three Address hotels, Vida Downtown and Manzil Downtown to be revamped as part of the move

The Address Hotel Dubai Marina will be rebranded as JW Marriott Hotel Marina from January. Sarah Dea / The National

Five luxury hotels in Dubai, including three Address hotels, are to be rebranded after Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) joined forces with hospitality companies Marriott International and Kempinski Hotels.

From January 1, The Address Dubai Marina will be rebranded as JW Marriott Hotel Marina, while The Address Boulevard will be called Kempinski The Boulevard Dubai, and The Address Dubai Mall will become Kempinski Central Avenue Dubai, ADNH said.

Vida Downtown Dubai Hotel will be rebranded as Hotel Boulevard, Autograph Collection and Manzil Downtown Dubai Hotel will become The Heritage Hotel, Autograph Collection.

As part of the rebranding process, each property will be revamped, ADNH said in separate statements to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

The deals are in line with the company's “overall strategy and the evolving dynamics of [its] business model”, said Khalid Anib, ADNH’s chief executive.

Founded in 1976 as a hotel owner and asset manager, ADNH has expected into a hospitality group that includes hotels, restaurants, destination management services, catering and transport services.

Under its hotels division, it owns brands including The Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal and Park Hyatt Hotel and Villas Abu Dhabi.

ADNH will rebrand the five hotels after acquiring them from Emaar Hospitality Group in 2018.

“The UAE is our largest market in the Middle East,” said Jerome Briet, chief development officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Marriott International, which currently has a portfolio of more than 50 properties in Dubai.

“These deals reflect our conversion friendly strategy, and our teams are committed to efficiently transitioning the three properties … we are excited to further expand our footprint in Dubai.”

Maryland-based Marriott has a portfolio of nearly 8,700 properties under 31 leading brands spanning 138 countries and territories.

In November last year, it revealed plans to open four new hotels in the UAE over the next three years.

As part of an agreement with the Emirates’ RDK Tourism Investment, Marriott said it will expand its footprint in the UAE by more than 700 rooms, across its Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Executive Apartments and Autograph Collection Hotels brands.

Meanwhile, Kempinski, which has headquarters in Geneva and Munich, has been in operation for more than 125 years and has 77 properties in its global portfolio.

It is currently building the Kempinski Floating Palace in Dubai, touted as the world's first floating resort.

"Kempinski has been present in the Middle East for more than 26 years, and it remains one of the most dynamic and exciting parts of the world for us," said Rene Nijhof, chairman of Kempinski.

"Following a record year of performance, we will continue to grow our portfolio across the region in 2024 and beyond.”