Source: www.business.maktoob.com
DUBAI – The much-anticipated opening of the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, has been delayed by more than a month, UAE daily the National reported on Monday, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The opening ceremony of the Italian designer’s first hotel will now take place on April 22, instead of March 18, due to unfinished work, the newspaper said, adding that it will open to the public two days later.
The hotel’s reservations office confirmed the opening dates to the National, but neither management nor Emaar Properties, developer and operator of the hotel, commented on the delay.
“We needed additional time to make sure everything was 100 percent perfect,” the source, close to the property’s management, was quoted as saying.
The hotel will occupy the levels between the concourse and the eighth floor, and levels 38 and 39 of the tower. Its 160 rooms were personally designed by Armani.
The Burj Khalifa, whose own opening was delayed a few times, also houses 150 privately owned Armani Residences, which will be handed over to buyers before the hotel opens.
In 2005, Giorgio Armani and Emaar launched an agreement to start Armani Hotels and Resorts, which plans to open at least 10 hotels under the Italian fashion designer’s name within the next decade in locations such as Milan, New York, London and Morocco.
