TDIC appoints Westin Hotels & Resorts for contemporary Abu Dhabi golf course hotel

The hotel will be the hospitality heart of the planned Abu Dhabi Golf Course Hotel, Residences and Spa destination currently being developed at a cost of $354m (Dhs1.3bn).

'Westin was selected for its extensive experience in managing high-end golf resorts,' said Lee Tabler, CEO, TDIC. 'The company's well-established global network, which now spans 120 destinations, will also enable us to promote this property to an extensive international audience.

'With Westin, TDIC is once again aligning itself with a world-class partner and operational excellence - values at the core of the company's corporate philosophy.'

'We are proud of our partnership with TDIC to introduce The Westin Hotel, Golf & Spa, Abu Dhabi', said Roeland Vos, President Starwood Hotels in Europe, Africa and Middle East. 'Westin is a very innovative brand, and we have great expectations of this hotel and we believe it will offer a new level of experience to the guests in this region.'

The Westin Hotel, Golf & Spa, Abu Dhabi marks the entry of Westin into Abu Dhabi's rapidly-growing hospitality portfolio.

'Abu Dhabi is becoming a desirable destination for distinctive hospitality brands and one where we believe Westin's efficient services and effortless style will be in high demand and deliver an unforgettable guest experience,' said Sue Brush, Vice President of Westin Hotels & Resorts.

Conceptualised by international resort and leisure development experts Northpoint (Pty) Ltd of South Africa, the hotel has been designed in a contemporary wellness style by Chicago's GREC Architects. It boasts a modern interiors design style conceptualised by hospitality specialists GETTYS Worldwide which delivers dramatic views of the prestigious Abu Dhabi Golf Course, currently home to the annual European-backed PGA Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

Hotel interiors will be formed using natural stone, petrified and reclaimed wood, and boast stunning water features. Guests will approach the hotel via a signature arrivals gate and enter into a multi-storey lobby which has sweeping and breathtaking views of the Abu Dhabi Golf Club's National championship course.

Due for completion at the end of 2009, the hotel will feature a range of premium rooms, executive suites and a central Presidential Suite overlooking the spectacular National Course. It will have a range of indoor and outdoor fine dining outlets including a European-style lobby level café, a Mediterranean-inspired all-day dining restaurant; English-style 'spike' lounge, a private dining area and Moroccan-themed specialty restaurant reminiscent of the country's Riad-style homes complete with tranquil pools and landscaping. It will also boast extensive meeting facilities which will cater for up to 400 people, including a ballroom, conference and boardrooms and a business centre.

An integral wellness centre will have a spacious, state-of-the-art gymnasium with the latest fitness equipment, an indoor climbing wall, two squash courses and a tennis academy. The spa will feature nine treatment rooms and hammam-inspired facilities.

The Westin Hotel, Golf & Spa will offer the full array of the Westin brand's products, services and amenities. Guests will experience the Westin Heavenly Bed® and unwind with the help of Westin's new sensory welcome, consisting of a white tea scent, music, lighting and botanicals.

A second project phase will see the development of a prestigious, course-view gated residential community of 252 homes, a mix of exclusive freehold villas, luxury townhouses and spacious, premium apartments is being built skirting the Abu Dhabi championship course combining to create an A-list address within the emirate. The villas will have their own swimming pool, terraces overlooking the golf course, pergolas and shaded garden areas, maid's rooms and a two-car garage.

The contemporary homes, due for completion in 2010, have been conceptualised by Northpoint (Pty) Ltd, designed by Dubarch of the UAE with interiors designed by Southern California's CDC Design, named by Interior Design Magazine as one of the industry's '100 Giants.'

'This course-view community will be an exceptional environment that celebrates balanced, cultivated living,' added Tabler. 'The community's residential character will be welcoming - an attribute which will be achieved through the use of a warm colour and material palette. Residents will not only have homes in a stunning setting but access to the five-star hotel and spa and the excellent facilities at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.'

Abu Dhabi Golf Course Hotel, Residences & Spa is being built by TIDC-Leighton Contracting LLC, a joint venture between TDIC and Gulf Leighton, a subsidiary of Leighton International, Australia's leading contracting and engineering company.

'Construction is being undertaken in a phased manner with sensitivity to the needs of the Abu Dhabi Golf Club members and ongoing commitments to the PGA championship,' explained Tabler.

The Abu Dhabi Golf Club is managed by Troon Golf, the sport's foremost luxury brand which manages 187 clubs worldwide. It has an iconic clubhouse, built in the shape of a falcon overlooking sweeping fairways, on the capital city approach road. Last year TDIC undertook a substantial upgrade of Abu Dhabi Golf Club with the facility getting a new gatehouse, improved signage, a revamped approach road and extensive landscaping.

'Golf resorts have been shown to be integral to any long-term tourism strategy and TDIC is enhancing Abu Dhabi's golfing facilities with additional world-class courses planned for Saadiyat Island, just off the coast of the Abu Dhabi capital city, and our experiential Desert Islands destination, off the emirate's western coastline.

The championship-standard Saadiyat Beach Golf Course, due for completion at the end of 2009, has been designed by golfing legend Gary Player and is the Arabian Gulf's only 'ocean' course with several beach front holes.