Starwood Signs 2nd Aloft Hotel in UAE

Starwood has signed an agreement to open a new 172-room Aloft hotel in Al Ain, UAE. Scheduled to debut in 2016, Aloft Al Ain will be the first Starwood property to open in Al Ain and the second Aloft hotel in the UAE joining Aloft Abu Dhabi, which opened in 2009.

Aloft Al Ain will be an integral part of the city’s 500,000 square metre mixed-use development surrounding the iconic 25,000-seat Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, poised to be one of the most advanced sporting arenas in the Middle East. The development will include office space, residential units, family entertainment, retail shops and dining.

“Our aim is to create a pioneering new entertainment and tourism destination,” said Kareem Nagy Hassan, Chief Executive Officer, Al Ain Club Investment Company. “With the stadium as the central hub, this highly anticipated development will provide an exclusive combination of living, working and a healthy lifestyle in one location and we are thrilled to have Starwood’s Aloft Al Ain as our flagship hotel within this.”

Aloft Al Ain will feature 172 rooms, including two presidential suites, all featuring the brand’s ultra-comfortable platform bed and large walk-in showers with complimentary Bliss Spa products.

The newly constructed Aloft will also offer the brand’s signature W XYZ bar, RE:Charge fitness center and RE:Fuel by Aloft, a convenient grab-n-go kiosk with an array of sweet, savory and healthy food, snacks and drinks available 24 hours a day.

For meetings and presentations, the new Aloft will offer two creative spaces equipped with the latest audiovisual technology.

“We see great opportunities to grow our Aloft portfolio in established markets across the Middle East, where there is a strong demand for stylish and leading-edge hotel brands,” said Bart Carnahan, Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Development, Europe, Africa and Middle East Division, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “As the second largest city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi with increasing investment and growing business and leisure opportunities, Al Ain is an attractive destination for development.”

Starwood currently operates an Aloft hotel in Abu Dhabi and is set to open another four new Aloft hotels in the region in the next three years in Al Ain and Sharjah in the UAE, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Erbil in Iraq.