Riu is the first international hotel chain to sign an agreement with Nakheel, which is expanding into the hospitality business and planning 10 hotels across Dubai. The first opened earlier this month, and six more have been announced or signed.
The planned Riu hotel will be located at Nakheel's Deira Islands development. With 750 rooms, it will be the largest built there to date. Deira Islands is one of Nakheel's major coastal projects and includes a retail and entertainment complex, the Deira Islands Night Market with 5,300 shops, a marina and an amphitheatre seating 30,000 people.
Luis Riu, CEO of Riu Hotels & Resorts, said that "the formal signing of this partnership represents another step towards making the first Riu project in the Middle East a reality. We're proud to have a partner with the experience and prestige of Nakheel for undertaking this ambitious project. Dubai is one of the great new centres of international tourism as it represents a strategic enclave on the route between Europe and Asia".
Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah added that "under this new partnership, Nakheel will proudly introduce one of the world’s biggest, most respected names in hospitality and an entirely new concept in hotel accommodation to Dubai. This is a major milestone for our growing hospitality business and a significant step towards creating a new range of affordable, family resort-style hotel accommodation in the Emirate, in line with the government of Dubai’s tourism vision for 2021."
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