One&Only One Za'abeel celebrated its opening with glittering fanfare in Dubai.
To mark the hotel's official opening, international celebrities including singers Jennifer Lopez, actor Idris Elba and wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba, music producer Mark Ronson and model Naomi Campbell walked the red carpet. Inside the party, both Lopez and Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram performed some of their biggest hits for the crowd, and Elba and Ronson both DJed.
British tennis player Emma Raducanu, American actress Vanessa Hudgens, French actor Vincent Cassel, and Hong Kong actress and business woman Angela Yeung Wing also attended.
To walk the red carpet, Lopez wore a full black Giambattista Valli haute couture gown with an oversized cape and Sartoro jewellery, and she later changed into a purple sequinned Valentino jumpsuit to perform at the Sphere afterparty.
Ajram described the hotel as "Dubai’s newest haven" on Instagram, and shared a video of herself arriving and images of her private performance.
The hotel has opened near the Dubai World Trade Centre and DIFC areas, and describes itself as the city's “first urban vertical resort”.
It is in the new One Za'abeel development, which features dual skyscrapers intersected by The Link, the world's longest cantilever, which is a futuristic boulevard 100 metres above street level.
The hotel has rooms, suites and a 755-square-metre Villa One penthouse, featuring an outdoor infinity pool, cinema, in-suite gym and private chef. All accommodation interiors draw inspiration from the Za'abeel area.
Over the course of the weekend, guests at the invite-only event have checked into the hotel to be among the first to enjoy its facilities.
The Link houses restaurants by award-winning such as Anne-Sophie Pic, Mehmet Gurs, Dabiz Munoz and Paco Morales. On top of The Link is Tapasake, One&Only's Nikkei cuisine destination, and the UAE's longest suspended infinity pool.
The hotel also has a children's club with activities inspired by the UAE's space mission, and the Longevity Hub by Clinique La Prairie.
The hotel officially opened in January and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, was among the first to visit. Joined by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed toured the new venue, praising the pivotal role of the tourism sector in the emirate.
