Emirates Hotels & Resorts ventures into serviced apartments

This will be the second city-based property closely following the opening of The Harbour Hotel & Residence in November last year.

Located in the Jumeirah Lake Towers precinct, expected to be one of Dubai's most prestigious addresses when completed, the Green Lakes Serviced Apartments, comprising two luxury apartment towers, will be set within a dynamic waterfront community alongside fashionable hotels and leisure and retail outlets.

Enhancing the appeal of the location, the Green Lakes is a stone's throw away from Dubai's key business and leisure districts. Dubai Media City, Dubai Internet City, Knowledge Village and Jebel Ali Free Zone are easily accessible, and Dubai Marina, the city's most sought-after lifestyle district is also within close proximity. Shopping and recreation centres including the Ibn Battuta Mall, Ski Dubai and Jumeirah Beach are a short drive away.

Green Lakes Serviced Apartments will be surrounded by landscaped gardens and waterways, and will feature 283 tastefully-furnished, modern apartments in a range of one-, two-, and three-room apartments.

Tony Williams, Senior Vice President Resorts & Projects, Emirates Hotels & Resorts noted: "The Green Lakes Serviced Apartments will echo Emirates Hotels & Resorts' core philosophy of providing superior location, personalised service and luxury experiences. It is designed for corporate and leisure travellers on short and extended stays in Dubai. To that extent the apartments are totally fitted and furnished with a full house of top-of-the-range kitchen appliances and well-apportioned living and dining areas."

He added: "Increasingly travellers to Dubai and around the world are seeing great advantages in fully-serviced apartment living, and are hence demanding more than just a hotel room. At very reasonable prices they are able to get spacious and flexible accommodation options. The Green Lakes offers all of this: comfortable and generous living spaces complemented by hotel-standard services. The property offers daily housekeeping service, full reception, concierge, guest relations, security and valet parking services, a state-of-the-art gymnasium and health club with rooftop swimming pool, and an in-house restaurant with room delivery services."

"Our 100-member strong team has undergone extensive training for the past few months, gaining also from their experiences through internship at our sister operation - The Harbour Hotel & Residence."

Following on the success of Counter Culture at The Harbour on Dubai's Marina, the hugely-popular deli-restaurant brand will be extended to the Green Lakes, and will be situated in the main lobby. With a reputation for wide varieties of organic, homemade, and wholesome menus, the innovative restaurant concept has already built up a large clientele.

With many products imported from around the world, following the outlets' 'farm-to-fork' purchasing, the restaurant's counters will be teeming with a wide selection of salads, sandwiches, pies, quiches, stews, baked potatoes, wraps, breads, premium meat cuts, gourmet cheese, caviar, organic produce, home-made pastas, pastries and pickles. Counter Culture will also provide hotel guests with in-room provisions.

Green Lakes Serviced Apartments is the third in a series of projects launched by Emirates Hotels & Resorts. Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa is recognised internationally for its leadership and contributions to conservation in the region, and is among the Condé Nast Traveller's Top 20-Hotel List; the only Dubai hotel recognized in this category.

The success of Al Maha is being used as the basis for designs and operations in subsequent conservation-focussed properties - the Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa scheduled to open in late 2009 in Australia's Blue Mountains, and at the heart of a World Heritage area. Cap Ternay Resort & Spa in the Seychelles is currently in its design and planning phase, and is promising to shape up as one of the Indian Oceans' best resorts. The Harbour Hotel & Residence is a 52-storey luxurious property located at the gateway entrance to the Dubai Marina.