ACCOMMODATION

Travelers visiting Dubai can look forward to putting up at a private apartment in Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, as an UAE-based online company, mydubaistay.com, is offering to rent an apartment on the nineteenth floor of the 188-floor tower for $285 per night. The private apartment boasts of modern amenities including air conditioners, wireless connectivity, work desks with PCs, satellite TV, DVD player and more to offer you luxurious comfort. The apartment has a well-furnished bedroom with a double bed and two sofa beds.

Studio. The specs: Measuring an ample 548 square foot, this studio flat with separate bathroom has just enough room to comfortably fit a bed, television and dining table. This particular studio is located on the 24th floor, and has an excellent view out the front of the building with the ocean in the distance.

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.

Nothing exemplifies the marriage of both modernity and hospitality more than the Armani Hotel Dubai — the first Armani Hotel designed and developed by legendary designer, Giorgio Armani and located in the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. Based on the philosophy that travel is as much an emotional journey as a physical one, Stay with Armani is the manifestation of this credence.

The world’s first Armani hotel, located in Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, won the ‘Best Business Hotel,’ award at the Gulf Connoisseur Awards 2010. Armani/Amal, the hotel’s in-house Indian restaurant, also won the ‘Best Fine Dining Restaurant’ award at the event. The Armani Hotel Dubai was unveiled in April this year and was designed by Giorgio Armani.

London has been voted the "World's Leading Destination" at this year's World Travel Awards, which took place November 7. The World's Leading Hotel gong went to the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, despite rivalry from 26 other properties including the Armani Hotel in Dubai, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in India, the Hotel Ritz Paris and the Emirates Palace in neighboring Abu Dhabi.

Room prices at Dubai’s Armani Hotel, which occupies the first six floors of the Burj Khalifa, are trading at 40 percent down from the published rates at launch, Arabian Business can reveal. Seven months after its opening, a standard room at the 160-room Armani hotel will now set back guests AED2,400 ($653) compared to a rate card price of AED4,000 at the end of April.

In addition to Armani's expensive catwalk collections, the store showcases his children's wear, a bookshop, flower shop and a branch of every celebrity's favourite restaurant, Nobu. Soon, it will also have an Armani Hotel - to go with the one already opened in Dubai.

Virtuoso®, the world's leading luxury travel network, is pleased to welcome the Armani Hotel Dubai into Virtuoso Preview, a program showcasing the most anticipated hotels and resorts that have just opened their doors or will be opening within the year. As the first hotel in the Middle East to participate in this prestigious program, the Armani Hotel Dubai joins an elite group of world-class properties that have turned to Virtuoso to increase visibility and add a competitive edge to their sales and marketing initiatives.

Rents for apartments in the world's tallest tower are dropping further, a quick search in property offers by Dubai's agents shows. According to Better Homes sales adviser Laura Adams, about 825 of 900 apartments in the Burj Khalifa are still empty, some nine months after the tower's launch.