The hotel's swimming pool and gardens are framed against the wall of Vatican City, pictured here. Reuters
The hotel's swimming pool and gardens are framed against the wall of Vatican City, pictured here. Reuters
The hotel's swimming pool and gardens are framed against the wall of Vatican City, pictured here. Reuters
The hotel's swimming pool and gardens are framed against the wall of Vatican City, pictured here. Reuters

Executive travel: this Roman hotel is built on an emperor's villa and fit for a king


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At first glance, the Gran Melia Rome is a classic urban resort hotel with its beautiful swimming pool and gardens framed against the wall of Vatican City, but around a quarter of its guests are actually business executives.

This January the hotel will host about 100 guests who are participating in a conference for 500 at the Rome Cavalieri hotel on the top of the Mario Monte hill, some 15 minutes drive away by transfer coach or taxi.

Yet this is much more than just an overflow residence for Rome's premier luxury conference hotel.

Gran Melia also hosts smaller conferences in its own right with one light-filled and spacious room seating up to 80, and smaller rooms for 24 or 10 guests, often lawyers or investment bankers.

Opened in 2012, this is one of Rome’s newest five-star hotels. It was converted from an orphanage that had been abandoned for half a century.

During construction, the villa of Emperor Nero’s mother Agrippina was discovered, and work on the site was suspended for more than a decade while archaeological works progressed slowly.

Still, the long-suffering Italian family that owns the property have been rewarded with a uniquely historic location that’s also convenient for any executive visiting the centre of Rome.

The interior decor is typical Spanish minimalism from the Gran Melia’s own design studio. Think white with splashes of colour.

This April, the hotel opened two attractive new additions on the ground floor: a large blue-and-white bar, Amaro, replacing the former library; and Ossimoro, a contemporary fine dining restaurant of red velvet upholstery and white linen, serving mainly classic Italian dishes.

There is also an extensive conservatory-style series of rooms on the ground floor that serve breakfast and also function as another bar, opening on to the spacious swimming pool area on top of what was once Agrippina’s villa.

It is all light and airy, comfortable and relaxed. Combined with Gran Melia’s confident and helpful young staff, this makes for a cool glade in this often hot and hectic city.

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Upstairs, and actually also downstairs for two floors, the 116 rooms follow the minimalist design playbook with white bathrooms, wooden floors and neutral blackout curtains. Prices start from $260 (Dh954) a night.

My desk was a bit narrow for working and the single two-pin continental plug just sufficient. The internet registered 7.5 Mbps, but signal was only really good if the door was kept open.

Oddly, the sliding bathroom door did not quite cover the entrance space so you needed to remember to close the curtains before taking a bath or shower.

The bedroom also lacked a comfortable chair or couch which left you watching TV from your bed. Room service was pricey: a club sandwich for €25; Coke €7; and Acqua Panna €6; and curiously for an Italian hotel, no pizza on the menu.

But the top suites are very much designed with the visiting executive in mind and have large terraces ideal for hosting evening parties that can be sealed off from the bedroom area with separate access to the toilet.

One has a spectacular panorama of Rome from its 360-degree terrace, while the Emperor Penthouse has a more restricted Vatican wall view, a huge bathtub on its 200 square-metre terrace, and a private fitness area.

Other facilities in this luxury boutique resort hotel include a compact gym with running, cycling and stepping machines, free weights and multi-gym equipment; and a Clarins spa with three treatment rooms.

Guests in the higher-end rooms and suites have RedLevel status that allows them access to a private lounge on the ground floor offering a limited selection of snacks and drinks from noon to nine in the evening; a work station with a Microsoft terminal and printer; and an exclusive concierge.

Nick's journey in numbers

Countries so far: 85

Flights: 149

Steps: 3.78 million

Calories: 220,000

Floors climbed: 2,000

Donations: GPB37,300

Prostate checks: 5

Blisters: 15

Bumps on the head: 2

Dog bites: 1

Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.

The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.

The specs: 2019 Haval H6

Price, base: Dh69,900

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Panipat

Director Ashutosh Gowariker

Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /stars

While you're here
WandaVision

Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany

Directed by: Matt Shakman

Rating: Four stars

The Details

Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5 

Honeymoonish
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Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh135,000

Engine 1.6L turbo

Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode

Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds

Top speed 420 kph (governed)

Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)

Results

Stage 7:

1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29

2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time

3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious

4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep

5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35

3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02

4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42

5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45

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Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting

-      Don’t do it more than once in three days

-      Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days

-      Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode

-      Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well

-      Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days

-      Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates

-      Manage your sleep

-      People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting

-      Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8

Transmission: nine-speed automatic

Power: 630bhp

Torque: 900Nm

Price: Dh810,000

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES

UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)

  • Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs 
  • Thursday 20 January: v England 
  • Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh 

UAE squad:

Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith  

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: seven-speed

Power: 720hp

Torque: 770Nm

Price: Dh1,100,000

On sale: now

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

How to help

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200

The Buckingham Murders

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu

Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

Al Jazira's foreign quartet for 2017/18

Romarinho, Brazil

Lassana Diarra, France

Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan

Mbark Boussoufa, Morocco

Stats at a glance:

Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)

Number in service: 6

Complement 191 (space for up to 285)

Top speed: over 32 knots

Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles

Length 152.4 m

Displacement: 8,700 tonnes

Beam:   21.2 m

Draught: 7.4 m

The specs

Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

Price: From Dh215,900

On sale: Now

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