ArabianBusiness.com

Depa Limited, the interior design contractor who fitted out the Emirates Palace Hotel, Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa, has signed a $60m contract in Angola, the Dubai-based company announced on Wednesday. Based in Dubai, but with sixteen offices and 8,000 staff worldwide, Depa has worked on projects such as the Atlantis Hotel, Armani Hotel and Burj Al Arab in Dubai, Yas Island and Emirates Palace hotels in Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Metro, Dubai Airport and the Savoy and Waldorf hotels in London.

There is little surprise at this hotel’s entry into the Top 10 Hotel openings of 2010. There were sceptics who claimed this was a “fluff” opening, but the noise surrounding the arrival of the world’s first Armani hotel couldn’t be ignored. All eyes were on Dubai for the right reasons — and quite a stunning hotel was the result. Room categories available include 24 Armani Studios, 44 Armani Classic rooms, 38 Armani Premiere rooms, 36 Armani Suites, six Armani Executive and six Armani Ambassador Suites, and five Armani Signature Suites.

The second hotel, located in Milan, is still on schedule to open in mid-2011. The first Giorgio Armani-designed hotel opened in the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai last April and Dardenne said he was pleased with the reception it had received. “These hotels you build them up over the years. I think, eventually, some people will come to Dubai just to stay at the hotel. It is bringing something new to Dubai and that has been very positive,” he added.

More than 800 apartments in Damac Properties’ Aykon City development have been sold, the company said in a statement.

The shops in Dubai Mall that were forced to close following a leak in its huge aquarium on Thursday, opened back to normal business on Friday. According to The National daily, the viewing tunnel running through the middle of the 10 million-litre tank remained closed.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said the emirate is recovering after state-controlled holding company Dubai World reached a debt restructuring settlement with creditors. Dubai’s vision is unchanged after projects such as Meydan’s racecourse and Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building developed by Emaar Properties, were completed on schedule, Sheikh Mohammed said. “All the projects that were there are going ahead,” although some may be delayed for six months to a year, he said.

Organisers said on Tuesday that an exclusive preview of the new BlackBerry Pearl 9105 smartphone device in Dubai has been cancelled. Arabian Business can reveal that the preview party, which was due to be held at Prive at the Armani Hotel on Wednesday evening, has been postponed until a later date. The decision follows an announcement on Sunday by the UAE that it will ban certain BlackBerry services in the country from October 11.

Dubai-based internet startup, Yadig.com, which provides real-time feedback on restaurants and entertainment, has revealed the UAE’s top five most popular restaurants and entertainment outlets, as picked by its uses. The site sourced more than 1,500 local user reviews to rank the best eateries, night clubs, bars and coffee shops in the Gulf state.

“Even if events remain fluid and the impact on the property sector is difficult to gauge at this stage, we believe the Egyptian real-estate market is likely to remain uncertain for some time,” analysts Nabil Ahmed and Athmane Benzerroug said in a note to clients dated on Thursday.

Missoni Kuwait is the latest in a growing list of Gulf hotels designed by top Italian fashion labels. The first Armani hotel opened in Dubai in 2010 and will be followed by the launch of the Palazzo Versace hotel later this year. Elisabetta Gucci, the great-granddaughter of the founder of the fashion label, last year said Dubai would be the setting for the first of up to 40 Gucci branded hotels.