Raffles Dubai is a luxury five star, 19-storey hotel that is built in the shape of a pyramid. The design was an inspiration taken from traditional Egyptian architecture. It is located at the Wafi food, fashion and entertainment complex, 15 minutes away from the Dubai International Airport. [ [http://dubai.raffles.com "Raffles Dubai Official Site] Retrieved 06.03.2008 ]
Raffles Dubai was built by the Wafi Group, a Dubai-based diversified business conglomerate that invested more than 140 million US dollars on its first luxury hotel project. The Wafi group entered into an agreement where the hotel would be managed and operated by the Singapore based hospitality chain Raffles Hotels and Resorts. The agreement also marked Raffles' entry into the Middle East and expanded its presence to 41 hotels in 35 destinations. [http://www.ameinfo.com/58409.html "Wafi Group signs with Raffles International"] 2005, Retrieved March 6, 2008]
The hotel's signature pyramid shape was conceived by architect Bryn Lummus and developed locally by lead architects Arif & Bin Toak. The interior of the hotel was designed by the Dubai-based LW Design group. Construction began in April 2005 and the hotel began its operations in 2007.
The Dubai Raffles project is also noteworthy because it was perhaps the first ever Raffles hotel to be newly built, as most hotels operated by the company are mostly buildings with historical importance which were bought over by Raffles Hotels and Resorts.
The Egyptian themed pyramid shape is considered the most striking feature of the hotel. The hotel is topped with a glass capstone that constitutes three stories of its structure. The top of the structure is of gold colour that sparkles during the day and is backlit during the night. [http://www.dubaiinformer.com/2006/09/raffles-dubai-new-hotel-at-wafi-city.html "Raffles Dubai, The New Hotel at Wafi City - Will You Like it?"] 2006, Retrieved March 6, 2008]
Another striking feature of the hotel is its Botanical Sky Garden that is one hectare in area and can be found on the third floor of the hotel. The garden was designed with four areas representing the essential elements of life - Water, Wind, Earth and Fire. These converge on a large glass dome, the Eye of Horus, god of the sky, which according to Egyptian legend, acts as the garden's centerpiece.
Each of the four areas is themed and color coded to match its separate identity. A display of crimson flora is used in the Fire section of the garden, while different species of long-grass feature in the Wind area. The main feature of the Water garden is a stream carrying various species of water plants, which flows and gathers at a large oval shaped pond. Each area also contains its own feature or sculpture, with a fan used in the Wind area, for instance, and a shiny metal sculpture included in the Earth section.
Over 129,000 different plants were used to create the garden, including some of which were used for the first time in the region, according to the landscape firm. The garden has some 260 trees, 650 palms including the hotel chain's signature Traveler's Palm, 1,400 bamboo plants, 500 aquatic plants, over 100,000 shrubs and 1,000 climbers. [http://www.arabianbusiness.com/507111-garden-of-delight?ln=en "Garden of Delight"] 2006, Retrieved March 6, 2008]
Among one of the 11 restaurants and bars within Raffles Dubai, elements of fire and ice are brought to the table. Bowls carved out of ice are used to serve salads, with table grills and Japanese hot stones are used to bring out the fire element.
The RafflesAmrita Spa has six treatment rooms and a VIP suite overlooking the city. It is one of the first spas to offer the Egyptian Gold, a 24-karat Gold Facial Treatment and provides a cooling system on the entire wave-shaped pool deck.
Each Presidential Suite at Raffles Dubai has a theme, Earth (natural hues of creams and browns), Fire (fiery splashes of color in the fabrics and dark timber finishes), Air (a blend of creams and whites) and Water (elaborate fountains)
*Raffles Hotels and Resorts
*Raffles Hotel
*Fairmont Raffles Hotels International
Edward Wesley Janson
Ook Chung