Extension tower announced for award-winning Grosvenor House

The extension, to be called Grosvenor House The Residence, will have 288 furnished suites and five waterside villas looking out over Dubai Marina, and is scheduled to open by the end of 2008.

The Residence will be linked to the hotel by a glass bridge and will mirror the hotel building in look and feel. The guests of both towers will have unrestricted access to facilities in both areas, including restaurants, bars, business and conference facilities, as well as Retreat health & spa.

New facilities to be included in The Residence are two new concept restaurants: one of these will cover the two top floors of the tower, giving stunning views over Dubai Marina and the Arabian Gulf. The new building will also have a health club, hammam pools, swimming pool and children's play area.

The Residence will have a private entrance with a reception area, guest services and basement parking.

The suites are one, two or three-bedroom; all suites will have sweeping views of the skyline, the marina and the Arabian Gulf. The villas will have private entrances, with a dedicated car park and lifts, and each are constructed on three levels.

Within its first year of opening, Grosvenor House has already broken all targets on occupancy and revenue, and gained an instant reputation for setting new benchmarks of elegance, style, service and unique food and beverage concepts which have been called "the talk of the town".

These elements will form the core of the extension tower, and general manager Pam Wilby said:

"This decision is testament to Sheikh Ahmed's vision for Grosvenor House; we will replicate the soul of the hotel, but we still have some elements up our sleeve to give something fresh to the public in 2008."

The signature touches from the hotel will be carried through to The Residence such as: wireless internet throughout, the NeosTV entertainment system and plasma televisions, personalised butler service with 24-hour room service, in addition to the use of beach and pool facilities at the sister hotel Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa resort.

Grosvenor House Dubai was voted one of the most desirable addresses in the world when the fully furnished apartment suites were named the World's Leading Hotel Serviced Apartments at the World Travel Awards in London in November.

A record number of travel professionals - more than 170,000 - voted for the awards; the achievement was compounded by the fact that the property - both hotel and apartments - had only been open for seven months.