Fujairah: Don't Sell Off the Beaches

In announcing the new luxury Iberotel Hotels and Resorts in Fujairah this week, there were some revealing insights as to how property in the eastern emirate is being developed.

In contrast to Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, which are continuing freehold development, Fujairah is concentrating on the establishment of hotels and resorts.

The Iberotel proposal will feature two hotels, shopping and dining facilities, as well as a spa and a raft of leisure activities. The Miramar Al Aqah Beach Resort should be open next month.

This style of property development is based on the premise that the east coast beaches are beautiful, ideal for a lazy holiday in the sun, offering attractive coral reefs for divers and those wanting to fish.

Fujairah is perceived as a slow, ‘get-away’ emirate where land is still relatively cheap, the seaside air is pure enough to be inhaled and the mountains provide archaeological and ecological treasures for the curious and energetic.

One caution to sound is the privatisation of the coastland. Even on the Fujairah corniche plans are being staked out for greater lengths of the beach to become part of new and existing resorts with access only to customers who paid a charge.

Furthermore, one of the pleasures of a beach is to be able to stroll along the promenade while getting a clear and sustained view of the sea. It would be a great mistake if the sensational views out to the eastern sea are blocked and hidden behind high rise hotels.

Geoff Pound

For more information, check out the blog posting, ‘Fujairah Sticks to resorts, Dubai Sticks to Property, 20 August 2007.

Image: The Fujairah beach and sea.

What the New Fujairah Rotana Hotel is Offering

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.”

More Hotel Beds for Fujairah

While the hotel construction business is booming north of the Fujairah township the walls have gone up around the construction site for this five star hotel (ground and eight floors).

It will be located on Fujairah’s corniche, a kilometre south of the Hilton Hotel.

More beds. More tourists for Fujairah.

Geoff Pound

Image: Promotional picture from the site.