A Towering Success

Dubai’s skyline is spiked with hotels grazing the heavens, but when it comes to meeting the needs of the business traveller, the Marriott Marquis stands head and shoulders above the competition

After a quarter of a century spent in partnership with Marriott International, Bill Keffer is a man with pretty good instincts when it comes to the expectations of the global business traveller.

As the current general manager of the magnificent 5-star JW Marriott Marquis Hotel in Dubai, he proudly oversees the hotel’s conference and business space. And in a city renowned for its super-sized, neck-craning buildings, he believes that no other hotel comes close to offering what the Marquis does. ‘First and foremost, we are a Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) hotel, and what makes us different as a business hotel is our capacity to host groups of up to 1000 to meet, eat and sleep in one location,’ he says. ‘We are the only hotel in Dubai that can host groups of this scale. Previously, conference and event organisers would have had no choice but to split their group between numerous different hotels within the same city.’

And what a business space that is. It covers over 8000m 2 of indoor and outdoor event space, including an impressive 32 meeting rooms for clients to choose from. The largest rooom comes in at 1392m 2 . ‘Executives choose us based on our business-oriented facilities and capacity to cater to their individual needs, and to do so intuitively,’ says Keffer, who has been at the hotel’s helm since 2012.

Although primarily a business hotel, the Marquis also boasts a grand total of 1608 luxury suites and rooms. Located within two iconic towers in Business Bay on Sheikh Zayed Road, the hotel provides guests with everything they require for a truly special stay in the United Arab Emirates. Each of the suites feature plush bedding, modern technology and a marble bathroom; with many enjoying waterfront views, as well as the dramatic Dubai skyline. In lulls between high-powered business meetings, there’s plenty close by to offer a welcome distraction, inluding Dubai Mall (for those in the mood for a retail therapy fix), the Dubai Opera and the Burj Khalifa. This needlelike skyscraper has held onto its crown as the world’s tallest building since 2010. However, at a heaven-grazing 829.8m, those of us with a serious fear of heights should perhaps give it a swerve!