Four Seasons to open its first hotel in Dubai in Q4 2014

Speaking in the emirate as part of the Toronto-based company's latest road show across the GCC, Christopher Norton, Four Seasons' President Hotel Operations Europe, Middle East and Africa, said Dubai is a market that the brand has been keen to enter for many years.

"Work on Four Seasons Resort Dubai, on the site of Jumeirah Beach, is progressing rapidly and we are very excited about what we believe will be an outstanding addition to the Dubai hospitality landscape," he said.

Asked about whether he was concerned about saturation in Dubai's luxury hotel segment, Norton believes the 237-room property will stand out because of its location and the strength of the brand, adding that he expects the new hotel will achieve 80% occupancy within 18 months of operation.

Norton also said given the strength of the Dubai market he is not opposed to opening a second hotel in the emirate in the near future.

"We have a great advantage because we enter the market as an established luxury brand. Also, we have one of the best marketing and PR organisations in the world, so as a truly global brand we can turn on a lot of the distribution channels that we know and control. And having been the business for over a half a century, we have a lot of knowledge, which gives us an advantage over other brands that need to go out and find good talent, which is not easy," he said.

Located on the northern end of Jumeirah beach, the hotel will offer 270 metres of beachfront, along with 49 suites, three restaurants, a spa, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts and a private beach club.

Other Four Seasons hotels in the pipeline in the Middle East include the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay due to open mid 2014. Active projects in the preliminary stages include Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island, Four Seasons Resort Oman, Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait City and Four Seasons Hotel Jeddah.

Worldwide, Four Seasons has 90 properties in 37 countries, and more than 60 projects under development.