Gyms, spas and complementary wellness services have increasingly become crucial additions to any hotel experience, but they still mostly remain optional add-ons.
Siro One Za'abeel, a soon-to-open hotel in Dubai, is challenging this ethos by putting fitness front and centre in its five-star offerings. Out with the generic fitness clubs and in with specialised holistic amenities.
Hotel operator Kerzner International – owner of Atlantis and One&Only – is the brains behind this new property, which is set to have a two-phase opening. From next Thursday, guests and members will be able to access the dedicated fitness and recovery floors, while rooms will be available to book from February 12, starting at Dh900 per night. Although we were told these will go up to Dh3,500 during peak season.
The hotel occupies seven floors of the newly opened One Za'abeel dual towers – from level 30 to 37 – with access available via the tower's main lobby.
As soon as you exit the lift, you know you've entered a world of its own. There is no intimidating reception, only sporty front-of-house staff armed with iPads to check guests in should they need assistance. Otherwise, room check-ins can be carried out through the Siro mobile app, which serves as an all-in-one platform for other hotel features, such as meal plans and group classes.
The concept is based on five “biohacking pillars”, hotel manager Desmond Cawley tells The National during an early tour of the venue. These are fitness, nutrition, sleep, recovery and mindfulness.
The fitness and recovery floors
Guests first arrive on the fitness floor, which spans a 900-square-metre area with purpose-built zones for training. One section has weights for resistance training, another has treadmills for cardio and there are studios for spin, Pilates, yoga and high-intensity interval training.
Hotel guests can access this area, but the fitness lab also allows non-guests to sign up for a typical membership package, with prices starting at Dh785 for a month or Dh7,095 for a year. Members also get other benefits such as discounts on room rates.
One level up is the recovery lab, which features several treatment rooms, offering myriad therapies that go beyond traditional spa services found in regular hotels. There is a cryotherapy (or cold therapy) room, a vibroacoustic therapy room and several others equipped with more generic recovery tools.
The therapies are individually priced, but there are also areas guests and members can access free of charge, such as steam and sauna rooms, as well as the plunge pool and relaxation zone, with massage chairs and a Himalayan salt wall.
The rooms
These also differ from regular hotels. Televisions are swapped with projectors that include in-house training content for those who want to try in-room guided workouts during their stay. The mattresses are thermo-regulated, and guests can also choose from an extensive pillow menu.
Each room has a recovery cupboard, with exercise balls, stretch bands, a meditation cushion and yoga mat. The mini bar is filled with healthy drinks and snacks, and the in-room dining menu includes macronutrient measurements. Guests can also ask for the staff to draw an ice bath for them, if they wish.
For those who want a more premium stay, the hotel has 12 bigger suites, six of which are fitted with fitness-focused amenities, while the other half are focused on recovery. The fitness suites, for example, have cardio equipment in the living area, while the recovery options include stretching accessories.
All suites have their own treatment areas for in-room therapies, which can be enjoyed while soaking in the world-famous Dubai skyline.
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
The specs: 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali
Price, base / as tested Dh207,846 / Dh220,000
Engine 6.2L V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque 624Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined 13.5L / 100km
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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The specs: 2019 Infiniti QX50
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 268hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy: 6.7L / 100km (estimate)
The specs: 2018 Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio
Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)
Engine 4.7L V8
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 520Nm @ 4,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
TRAINING FOR TOKYO
A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:
- Four swim sessions (14km)
- Three bike sessions (200km)
- Four run sessions (45km)
- Two strength and conditioning session (two hours)
- One session therapy session at DISC Dubai
- Two-three hours of stretching and self-maintenance of the body
ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon
For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.
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