Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts establishes firm foothold in the UAE

Says Tapken, 'the hotel is booming. The energy and vibrancy you now feel when you walk in is exhilarating, and makes all the hard work worthwhile. Occupancy is up, the number of guests in the restaurants is up, use of the banquet and function facilities is up, and people are talking about us!'

The hotel is proud to claim the highest occupancy in town for several nights in December and January, and is looking forward to an even better February! Tapken has introduced several weekly theme nights in each of the hotel's restaurants, which are guaranteed to tempt local residents back into the property. As an experienced chef himself, Tapken demands high standards from his kitchen staff, and guests benefit from his fanatical attention to detail! He is also starting the year with one of his pet interests - raising money for charity.

The first of these major events is the building of the biggest heart in the UAE - entirely out of balloons, to celebrate Valentine's Day, and at the same time raise money for impoverished children in the region. Along with sponsors Swiss Air, who have donated two tickets for lucky winners on this day, and the Wafi City Mall who have donated 2,500 Wafi bears, there are many local companies contributing to help make this a success.

This energetic hotelier, with many years of experience in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, has many other projects planned for 2004 - so make sure you keep an eye on the Mövenpick Hotel Bur Dubai, or it is likely that you will miss out on all the excitement!

The Group is also expanding, and construction is scheduled to start very shortly on the new Mövenpick Pearl Hotel Dubai - located between Knowledge Village and Media City, at the gateway to The Palm. Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts was recently presented with the Middle East Travel Award for the 'Fastest Growing Hotel Chain in the Middle East' at World Travel Market in London in December and since 2002 alone, the group has added more than 1140 hotel rooms in the region. Quantity is not sacrificed for quality, however, and the Group's standards remain high, and focused.