Following my recent postings on the proposed hotel on the Fujairah corniche and a new hotel on the Fujairah coast, there has been a blitz of advertising regarding the opening of the Fujairah Rotana Resort and Spa at Al Aqah.Driving past all the hotel developments on the U.A.E. east coast, one begins to wonder when this area will reach saturation point.
Building on the coast is going helter-skelter, perhaps buoyed by recent reports of the rise in U.A.E. travel and tourism spending and the positive growth signs into the future.
The Rotana promotion is inevitably full of marketing superlatives and the staff is brimming with optimism, even though bookings have not begun in earnest and there are few guests around its precincts. What niche will this AED 130 million development carve as it lies nestled alongside the long-established Le Meridien?
Firstly, it offers guests an alternative, which might be attractive after years of attending other Fujairah hotels. It appears to be a smaller establishment (250 rooms and suites) which may make for a more personal and faster entry service from the car to the beach.
Architecturally, it does not offer the spectacular views of its neighbour but the Rotana is banking on its low slung suites with their front doors, a few seconds amble to the beach and massage tents.
The ‘mother’ building has a light, beachy atmosphere with flowing water that is cranked so high you have to shout across the coffee table.
The Rotana is being billed as a conference centre. Its different sized rooms and partitions afford flexibility and the spill out areas overlooking the sea will ensure that conference proceedings are kept as short as possible.
The full range of leisure activities is still under wraps except to say that there will be opportunities for guests to get into the Hajar Mountains, by camel, Quad Bike or Shanks’s Pony.
Staff members reckon that the Zen Room will be a feature for the harried, and for creative children, there is a giant graffiti wall (parents watch your walls when you get home). The water sports (except for boat trips to Musandam) will be included as part of the tariff and the supervisor assured me that the range is going to be extensive. Publicity reveals a number of pedalos (now made famous by English cricketer, Andrew Flintoff).
A variety of restaurants abound with menus changing to keep customers from getting gastronomically bored. Private parties may be served to guests from the gazebos or from the hotel dhow.
The tariffs for different facilities are being worked out but the healthy competition will pay off best for all hotel guests along Fujairah’s eastern coast.
Geoff Pound
Image: Fujairah Rotana Hotel: “nestled alongside the long-established Le Meridien.”
