Sananda Sahoo
India’s Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has set its sights on operating a property on the Palm Jumeirah once again.
The hotel operator, which had to scrap a project on the man-made island announced in 2006, will open its first property there in 2019.
Its 325-room, five-star Taj Exotica Resort and Spa on the western crescent of The Palm will be owned by the Dubai-based real estate company Arenco Group.
The Mumbai-based company announced the 207-room Vivanta by Taj at Jumeirah Lakes Towers in Dubai last year. The property is also expected to be ready in three years.
“The markets of focus for Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces in the region are Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Muscat, Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar and Bahrain,” said Chinmai Sharma, the chief revenue officer at Taj Hotels resorts and Palaces.
“We are looking at expanding in regions such as the Middle East and North Africa, South East Asia and greater China – essentially in regions that are important feeder markets into India or are important outbound markets where Indians love to travel.”
India will remain its focus market as domestic demand continues to grow, he said.
The company has 85 hotels in India, and 16 overseas including in the US, the UK, South Africa, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal.
The Tata Group, which owns Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, opened the 296-room, five-star Taj Dubai in Business Bay last year.
The Indian Hotels Company and its subsidiaries is collectively known as Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces.
Hotel room inventory in Dubai, meanwhile, continues to grow with an eye on Expo 2020.
Dubai’s Emaar Hospitality this week announced that it will open at least 10 hotels and hotel apartments in Dubai within the next five years.
Emaar Hospitality operates four hotels and two serviced residences in Dubai under The Address Hotels and Resorts brand and two hotels under Vida Hotels and Resorts.
Dubai had about 82,760 rooms as of the end of March, according to the research company STR.
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
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The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo and dual electric motors
Power: 300hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,500-3,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.0L/100km
Price: from Dh199,900
On sale: now
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars