Aloft City Centre Deira Dubai’s topping out milestone

Majid Al Futtaim announces Aloft City Centre Deira Dubai’s topping out milestone

Dubai, UAE – Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, today celebrated the topping out milestone for the new Aloft City Centre Deira, Dubai. Announced in collaboration with Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR); the hotel development broke ground in June 2016 with the installation of the initial guide beam and has now completed the installation of the final concrete pour for the project.

Located in the historic heart of Dubai, the Aloft City Centre Deira, Dubai, offers tourists and the local community access to an all-star line-up of hotels surrounding the iconic City Centre Deira. The hotel development marks the 13^th addition to the Majid Al Futtaim - Hotels portfolio and sixth hotel development in Deira and; introducing a distinctive destination experience to the vibrant heart of the city, powered on an integrated mix of world class hospitality, leading retail, leisure and entertainment offerings.

 Set to open in Q1 2018, the hotel spans an area of 28,800 square meters and aims to redefine the upscale hospitality offering in the GCC. Designed to meet the needs of diverse audiences, with a special emphasis on millennials, the cinema-themed hotel is intended to extend a novel experience through the integration of intelligent technologies, vibrant interiors and ambience, and memorable dining, leisure and entertainment options.

 Aloft City Centre Deira, Dubai, features 304 spacious guest rooms, including 29 suites and offers direct connectivity to the shopping mall via a direct link on Level 2. Guestrooms on Level 5 of the hotel, comprising of four suite rooms, 25 standard rooms and associated public circulation areas, will immerse guests in a ‘world cinema’ and experiential journey.

 “The Aloft City Centre Deira, Dubai, is a significant milestone in Majid Al Futtaim’s ambitions and investments to bring our integrated destination offering to life. We look forward to opening the doors of an all new urban lifestyle experience and technology driven vision to both engage and enthral our guests, with our partners Marriott International. It has been an exciting 15 months since we broke ground and it is thanks to the dedication and passion of our teams that we continue to achieve new milestones and establish new benchmarks for the hospitality sector in the region,” said Jalil Mekouar, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim – Hotels.

Laing O’Rourke Middle East (Holdings) Ltd., a leading international construction company was awarded the project contract and has successfully handled all site constraints and challenges around logistics and traffic management without any disruptions to the operations of the pioneering mall. The project was developed using pre-fabrication techniques with approximately 40% MEP units installed on-site. In addition to using off-site prefabrication techniques and systemized modulation, development teams have successfully completed 100% installation of over 300 plus bathroom pods. With topping out now complete, wall cladding work is well underway and will soon be followed by fitting out and finishing work to ensure expedite construction for launch in Q1 2018. Hotel project design and construction continues to meet LEED Gold requirements in line with Majid Al Futtaim’s sustainability standards.

 The hotel will be home to an exclusive range of food and beverage options including the brand’s signature W XYZ Bar, a social public space where guests can mix and mingle over great music; a specialty dining restaurant Re:Fuel by Aloft and Re:Mix Lounge for light bites. In addition, it offers complimentary Bliss® amenities and pool, suites with sweeping views of the golf course and historic Dubai Creek. Designed for the savvy next-generation traveller, Aloft City Centre Deira, Dubai will feature state-of-the-art SPG Keyless technology - the industry-first keyless entry system that enables guests to use their smartphone or Apple watch as a room key.

Alex Kyriakidis, President and Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International added, “Aloft City Centre Deira continues to make great progress and we are excited about introducing the Aloft brand in the heart of Deira early next year. While we continue to work closely with the Majid Al Futtaim team on the project, we are also focusing on bringing on the right talent to ensure the service levels and overall guest experience are in line with Aloft standards.”

The Aloft City Centre Deira, Dubai marks the fourth hotel partnership between Majid Al Futtaim and Marriott International, which already includes Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates, Le Meridien City Centre Bahrain, and Westin City Centre Bahrain.