A gym, bowling alley, and basketball and squash courts are among the facilities at the first club for women in Al Ain.
Set to open by September, Al Ain Ladies Club will also have restaurants, shops, a salon and spa, and a children’s playground.
Residents have welcomed news of the club’s opening.
“The ladies’ club will give women a chance to be more free and to go out and have fun. It is a club. I’m sure it’s going to have a lot of recreational activities,” said Komal Lakhani, 25.
“It is going to bring the women together.”
The club, designed by Abu Dhabi General Services, is planned to be environmentally sustainable as part of the emirate’s 2030 vision.
The club will be able to accommodate about 350 women.
Ms Lakhani said that while there were many activities for women in Dubai or Abu Dhabi there was not much for women in Al Ain.
“It’s going to be quite beneficial for women in Al Ain to have a club.”
Ms Lakhani, who lives in Town Centre, said her complex had many facilities, such as a sauna and jacuzzi, but “if they offer me something better, then I would go for it”.
She believes many women in Al Ain would enjoy the club as few have access to pools and other recreation.
Women could be themselves “without the interruption of men”.
Mohammed Al Mahmoud, general secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said: “This project will provide a state-of-the-art, ladies-only sports and recreational facility unmatched in the City of Al Ain”.
The club is an ADSC initiative. It is off Shakhboot bin Sultan Road.
nbakhsh@thenational.ae
