Business Traveller Middle East - March 2023

RAS AL KHAIMAH RISING

The northernmost emirate of the UAE is increasingly attracting a diverse set of travellers AIRSIDE

55 AIR MILES

22 A TRAIL OF ADVENTURE

An exclusive interview with Raki Phillips, CEO of the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority

26 IN THE PIPELINE...

We go inside the Neste Sustainable Aviation Fuel re nery in Rotterdam

32 NEW FRONTIERS

Radisson’s Elie Milky is bringing new brands to the Middle East

40 STAYING GREEN

Hotel brands are o ering a growing number of responsible hospitality options

52 CURATING COOL

Cool Inc recently launched in Saudi Arabia as a trendsetter in experiential hospitality in the kingdom

THE NEXT STEP

BM Hotels and Resorts was among the earliest entrants into Ras Al Khaimah’s hospitality market

Two years ago, the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) announced a Dhs500 million investment plan for sustainable tourism projects. Since then, the northernmost emirate of the UAE has been consistently making headlines – first for announcing that Las Vegas’ Wynn Resorts was coming to RAK, and more recently when it clocked its high-ever annual visitor figures in 2022 with over 1.13 million overnight arrivals. But the line between ambitious and responsible is a fine one, and for the moment Ras Al Khaimah is treading it with ease. In the case of its visitor numbers, for example, its target is to reach three million annual visitors – and then avoid the phenomenon of “over-tourism”, as RAKTDA’s CEO, Raki Phillips tells us in an exclusive interview (pg22). Our cover story features BM Hotels and Resorts (pg16), one of the earliest entrants into the emirate’s hospitality sector who has seen first-hand the destination develop into a world-class location.

Also in this issue, we shine a light on the issue of sustainability – from Emirates conducting its first test flight using 100 per cent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in one

engine (pg14), to visiting a SAF refinery in Rotterdam (pg26) and looking at some of the major ecotourism hospitality projects coming up in the Middle East (pg40).

There’s plenty more in this issue including a chat we had with Elie Milky from the Radisson Hotel Group who outlined some of the most exciting openings coming up from the brand within this region (pg32). We also explain everything you need to know about ETIAS (pg64) which is a visa waiver system for visitors coming to the Schengen area of Europe starting later this year. And as the 2023 F1 season commences this month, turn to our Air Miles feature (pg55) where McLaren Racing’s CEO, Zak Brown, shares his top travel tips.

Enjoy the issue.

THIS ISSUE’S PICKS

Business Traveller Middle East is jointly published by Motivate Media Group and Panacea Media Ltd

MOTIVATE MEDIA GROUP

Editor-in-Chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer

Managing Partner and Group Editor Ian Fairservice

Editor Varun Godinho

Art Director Clarkwin Cruz

Editorial Co-ordinator Londresa Flores

Contributors Alice Holtham, Gemma Greenwood, Hannah Brandler, Annie Harris

General Manager – Production S Sunil Kumar

Production Manager Binu Purandaran

Production Supervisor Venita Pinto

Chief Commercial Officer Anthony Milne

Group Sales Manager Chaitali Khimji

Senior Sales Manager Murali Narayanan

PANACEA MEDIA LTD

Managing Director Julian Gregory

Associate Publisher Middle East Rania Apthorpe

Global Editor-in-Chief Tom Otley

businesstraveller.com

A TRAIL OF ADVENTURE

In conversation with Raki Phillips, CEO of RAKTDA (Page 22)

STAYING GREEN

Ecotourism is on the rise and hotels in the Middle East are responding (Page 40)

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AIR MILES WITH ZAK BROWN

The CEO of McLaren Racing shares his travel tips (Page 56)

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Varun Godinho, Editor

PIF-BACKED COMPANY LAUNCHED TO DEVELOP DOWNTOWN RIYADH

THE NEW MURABBA DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has been launched to build what is being billed as the 'world’s largest modern downtown' in Riyadh. The New Murabba project will be situated at the intersection of King Salman and King Khalid roads to the north-west of Riyadh, and is due to be ready by 2030. It will be spread over an area of 19 sq km, with one of its highlights being the cube-shaped Mukaab structure which will serve as a premium hospitality destination and include retail, cultural and tourist attractions. The entire project is expected to add SAR180 billion to the kingdom’s non-oil GDP and create 334,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030.

Kuwait Airways unveils new premium economy and business class seats

KUWAIT AIRWAYS has unveiled new premium economy and business class seats for the carrier’s A330 neo aircra . e airline has a total of seven A330-900 aircra on order, having already taken delivery of four A330-800s. It will be only the second Middle Eastern airline a er Emirates to launch a premium economy seat. Also, the airline revealed new crew uniforms by Italian designer Ettore Billota themed around diamonds. Besides, Kuwait Airways has also announced a new home check-in service for premium class passengers, as well as a limousine service for Royal and business class customers, and a new Elite lounge at Kuwait International airport.

104,000

Residential units

980,000 sqm

Retail space

1.4 million sqm

O ice space

620,000 sqm

Leisure assets

GRAND MILLENNIUM RESORT TO OPEN IN RAS AL KHAIMAH

DUBAI INVESTMENTS has inked a deal with Millennium Hotels and Resorts to open the Grand Millennium Resort, Danah Bay, on Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah. The freehold project will include 300 rooms. It is being positioned as an upper upscale resort with specialty dining options and several beach recreational facilities. It is expected to open in Q4 2025. Millennium Hotels and Resorts manages and operates a range of more than 145 hotels in 80 locations across its portfolio in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, North America and New Zealand.

THE NEW MURABBA PROJECT

New

Saudi

Stopover

Visa includes free hotel stay

SAUDI ARABIA has introduced a new free Stopover Visa for those transiting through the kingdom onboard either Saudia or Flynas. e Stopover Visa that allows passengers to stay in the country for up to 96 hours will be automatically available through the respective airline’s booking platforms and can be applied for up to 90 days before travel. Additionally, Saudia customers who book this visa will also be eligible for a complimentary one-night hotel stay during their stopover. e visa is available for both business and leisure travel purposes, and can be used to perform the Umrah too. Custom 24-, 48-, 72- and 96-hour itineraries are also being o ered to help transiting passengers get the most out of their brief visit.

NH Collections debuts in the Middle East with property in Dubai

Nobu confirms entry into Ras Al Khaimah

AFTER MAKING ITS PRESENCE felt in Dubai and announcing plans for Abu Dhabi too, the Robert De Niro-backed Nobu Hospitality has turned its attention to another emirate within the UAE – Ras Al Khaimah. The Nobu property in RAK is expected to open on Al Marjan Island and will include a hotel, branded residences, and its famous restaurant. Enevoria Development will develop the Nobu hotel and the 300 Nobu branded luxury residences in the project which will be spread across an area of 70,000 sqm and will include a spa, a fitness facility and swimming pools.

Nobu Al Marjan Island will be the second Nobu hotel to open in the UAE, after the Abu Dhabi outpost opens in 2026. No opening date has yet been confirmed for the Nobu assets in RAK.

THE NH COLLECTION brand has opened its first Middle East property in Dubai. The new-build NH Collection Dubai The Palm is a 532-key hotel located on the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah with direct access to West Palm Beach. It includes 226 hotel guest rooms and suites in addition to 306 studios and apartments across 11 room categories. NH Collection Dubai

The Palm joins an existing portfolio of over 90 NH Collection properties worldwide. Two further properties under this brand are expected to open in the region later this year.

Six Senses confirmed for Tel Aviv

SIX SENSES WILL open a property in Tel Aviv in late 2025. Six Senses Tel Aviv will occupy a 42- oor tower, which will be connected at the ground level to ve 110-year-old preservation buildings. e LEED platinum-certi ed tower will house the ten- oor, 140-key Six Senses hotel along with 55 serviced residences located on the 21 oors above. e property is located at the edge of Rothschild Boulevard and stretches across an entire city block between Rothschild, Herzel and Lilienblum streets. Elsewhere in Israel, the Six Senses Shaharut in the Negev Desert opened in 2021.

THE PENINSULA ISTANBUL HOTEL OPENS

THE PENINSULA ISTANBUL HOTEL opened to guests last month. It is located along the banks of the Bosphorus in the city’s revitalised waterfront district, Galataport. Its 177 rooms are spread across four separate buildings, three of which are protected historical landmarks dating to the early 1900s, each renovated and restored in collaboration with The Heritage Board. The Peninsula Hotels portfolio comprises 10 hotels in locations including Hong Kong, New York, Beverly Hills, Paris and Manila. Following the recent devastating earthquake in Türkiye, the hotel major has decided that until December 31, 2023, for every room night booked at any of The Peninsula properties worldwide, that hotel will donate €10 per night towards disaster relief e orts.

PLANS UNVEILED FOR BACCARAT HOTELS AND RESIDENCES IN DUBAI

DUBAI-BASED SHAMAL HOLDING will open a Baccarat Hotel and Residences property in Dubai in 2026. Shamal’s latest o ering will be the first Baccarat property in the UAE. It will be located in Tower One in Downtown Dubai and will host 144 rooms and suites, along with 49 Baccaratbranded residences and four F&B outlets. The project will be managed by SH Hotels and Resorts, an a iliate of global private investment firm Starwood Capital Group. Baccarat Hotels and Resorts launched in 2015 with a hotel in New York, which was the first hotel and global flagship of the over 250-year-old Baccarat crystal brand.

DXB HOSTED 66 MILLION PASSENGERS IN 2022

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL (DXB) AIRPORT has reported passenger numbers of 66,069,981 for the entire year of 2022 – a 127 per cent year-on-year growth. In comparison, Heathrow’s 2022 tra ic last year was pegged at 61.6 million passengers. For DXB, December was the busiest month in 2022 with 7.1 million passengers using the airport. Over the entire year, India was the top destination country for DXB by passenger volume, with a total tra ic of 9.8 million passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia (4.9 million) and the UK (4.6 million). DXB is connected to 229 destinations across 99 countries through more than 88 international carriers. Paul Gri iths, CEO of Dubai Airports, forecasts DXB to welcome 78 million passengers in 2023.

Dubai Visitor Numbers in 2022

14.36 million

Number of international overnight visitors

73%

Average occupancy rate across hotels in Dubai

804

Number of hotels in Dubai at the end of 2022

Dhs521

Average daily rate of hotel rooms in the emirate

Holding

SARDEGNA RESORTS has signed agreements with LVMH Hospitality Excellence for the latter to manage two of its hotels in Costa Smeralda. e LVMH brand Belmond will manage the Hotel Romazzino, which will open for the 2024 season as the Romazzino, A Belmond Hotel, Costa Smeralda. e second property, Hotel Pitrizza, will be managed by the LVMH brand Cheval Blanc. e hotel will continue to operate under its current name until 2026, when it will be rebranded as Cheval Blanc Pitrizza, Costa Smeralda, following the completion of a renovation project. Sardegna Resorts is a part of Smeralda Holding which is wholly owned by the Qatar Investment Authority.

Hyatt confirms three new hotels for Saudi Arabia

HYATT HAS SIGNED a management agreement with Rua Al Madinah Holding Company – a Public Investment Fund (PIF) entity – to manage three new Hyatt-branded hotels in Saudi Arabia. e three properties – Grand Hyatt Madinah, Hyatt Regency Madinah and Hyatt Place Madinah – will add a combined 1,729 room keys to Hyatt’s portfolio in the kingdom. Hyatt Place Madinah will feature 860 guestrooms, a large dining restaurant, event spaces and a tness centre. Hyatt Regency Madinah will have 539 guestrooms, multiple dining venues, a spacious lobby lounge and a Regency Club. Grand Hyatt Madinah meanwhile will include 330 guestrooms, premium dining experiences, and a double-height lobby with modern interiors. e three new properties will be part of the Rua Al Madinah project. Madinah aims to attract 30 million tourists by 2030.

LVMH to manage two properties belonging to Qatar’s Smeralda

Jumeirah Mina A’Salam completes extensive refurbishment

JUMEIRAH MINA A’SALAM, Madinat

Jumeirah’s boutique beachfront property in Dubai, has completed an extensive refurbishment of its rooms, suites, ballrooms and Amal Club Lounge. e refurbishment programme also extended to the hotel’s private ballrooms, Majlis Al Salam and Majlis Al Mina, which now re ect the rooms’ and suites’ neutral colour palette. Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts operates over 6,500 rooms and suites in 26 properties across the Middle East, Europe and Asia.

JUMEIRAH ACQUIRES LE RICHMOND PROPERTY IN GENEVA

DUBAI-BASED JUMEIRAH GROUP has acquired the Le Richemond hotel on the banks of Lake Geneva. e property was closed since the mid-2020s due to the downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but will now reopen as an “ultra-luxury hotel”, following renovation works which are planned to conclude in 2025. e hotel currently features 87 rooms and 22 suites. e hotel’s previous operators include Rocco Forte and the Dorchester Collection. e Switzerland acquisition will join Jumeirah’s portfolio of existing European hotels – e Carlton Tower Jumeirah and Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in London, Capri Palace Jumeirah in Italy, and Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel and Spa in Mallorca.

Emirates invests US$135 million for new pilot training facility in Dubai

UAE CARRIER EMIRATES will soon commence building a state-ofthe-art US$135 million pilot training facility in Dubai. Located adjacent to the existing Emirates Training Facilities, the new centre is slated to open in March 2024 and will accommodate six Full Flight Simulator (FFS) bays for the airline’s future Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X aircraft. Emirates said that it will now have the potential to expand its pilot training capacity by 54 per cent per year. With the addition of this centre, Emirates will also have access to 17 FFS bays o ering a capacity of more than 130,000 training hours per year. Emirates said that it expects the training of its first batch of A350 pilots to commence in June 2024.

1 Virgin Hotels opens in New York City

Virgin Hotels has opened in New York City, located at Broadway. Some of the rooms within the 460key property overlook the Empire State Building. It is the seventh property in the brand’s portfolio, with other locations including Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, New Orleans, Las Vegas and Edinburgh.

2 Skyteam unveils lounge in Sao Paulo

Skyteam has teamed up with Global Lounge Network to open its first joint lounge at Sao PauloGuarulhos International airport. Located in Terminal 2, the 700 sqm lounge can seat 180 guests. It is available to Skyteam Elite Plus members, and select customers of Aeromexico and Air Europa.

3 Swiss to resume ights to Shanghai this month

Swiss will restart flights to Shanghai with a service from Zurich. The airline will operate one weekly flight from March 3, and increase it to thrice-weekly services from April onwards. The airline had previously suspended passenger services on the route in April 2022 due to the pandemic.

4 e Ascott’s Citadines to debut in Djibouti

The Ascott Limited has partnered with Salaam Properties to launch its first Citadines property in Djibouti. Citadines City Centre Djibouti will open in 2024 and will comprise of 83 units including studios, as well as one- and twobedroom apartments, and will be Ascott’s twelfth opening in Africa.

5 Air India signs mega deal with Boeing and Airbus

Air India will purchase 190 Boeing B737 Max narrowbody jets, 20 B787 widebodies and ten B777Xs. It will also purchase 250 Airbus planes, split between 210 singleaisle A320neos and 40 widebody A350s. The Boeing agreement includes options for a further 50 B737 Max aircraft, and 20 B787-9s.

6 SIA introduces free wi for select guests

Singapore Airlines has rolled out complimentary unlimited in-flight wifi for all business class customers, as well as its PPS Club members and PPS Club supplementary card holders. Also, KrisFlyer members can avail three hours of free wifi when travelling in premium economy.

Four

7 Marriott to bring RitzCarlton to Suzhou Marriott International will bring two of its brands to the city of Suzhou. The Ritz-Carlton Suzhou will open at the end of 2024 and will feature 190 keys. By June 2025, the hospitality major will also open the Marriott Executive Apartments serviced apartments brand for long-stay travellers.

9 Bulgari Hotels to open rst Japanese property Japan’s first Bulgari hotel will open next month in the Yaesu 2-Chome North District Category-I Urban Redevelopment Project district of Tokyo. Designed by architectural firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, it includes 98 rooms and suites. It is located close to the Imperial Palace and Ginza shopping area.

8 Four Seasons con rms hotel in Taiwan

Seasons Hotels and Resorts has partnered with Yuan Lih Construction to open a hotel in Taipei. Four Seasons Hotel Taipei will be located in a 31-storey building, directly opposite the Taipei 101 skyscraper. It is currently under construction and anticipated to be ready “in a few years’ time”.

10 Qantas to launch Melbourne-Jakarta route Qantas will connect Melbourne and Jakarta starting next month. A thrice-weekly service will launch on April 16, 2023. It already operates a Sydney-Jakarta service. The Melbourne route will increase the airline’s capacity to the Indonesian capital by over 6,600 seats per day.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS PARTNERS WITH MARRIOTT TO PLANT 12,000 MANGROVE TREES

ETIHAD AIRWAYS and Marriott International teamed up earlier this year to plant 12,000 mangrove trees at Jubail Island in Abu Dhabi. The programme was undertaken at the 150 sq km Etihad Marriott Mangrove Forest, which will be the only evergreen forest in the GCC. The Etihad Forest initiative aims to plant 182,000 mangrove trees in the first quarter of 2023 in the UAE, before expanding the programme to include planting forests in international destinations where the airline operates to as well. Globally, mangroves are believed to store approximately 6.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, almost four times more than other terrestrial forests.

Emirates conducts test ight with 100 per cent SAF

Emirates recently conducted a test ight with 100 per cent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in one engine of its B777-300ER aircra . Having departed from DXB, it ew for over an hour over the Dubai coastline. It became the rst ight in the Middle East and North Africa to be powered by 100 per cent SAF. e test ight is part of the progress to support future certi cation where 100 per cent drop-in SAF is approved for aircra – currently, SAF is approved only in blends of up to 50 per cent with conventional jet fuel. e test ight was conducted in partnership with GE Aerospace, Boeing, Honeywell, Neste (turn to page 26 to read about our visit to its re nery in Rotterdam) and Virent.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

MARRIOTT PROPERTY IN DUBAI CONVERTS HUMIDITY INTO DRINKING WATER

THE DELTA HOTELS BY MARRIOTT, Dubai Investment Park has partnered with AirOWater to transform humidity in the air into drinking water for its guests. The hotel has installed two AirOWater’s Atmospheric Water Generators (AWG) units which produce between 500 to 1,000 litres of water each day, enough to cover all the property’s drinking water requirements. For every 1,000-litre AWG unit installed, the hotel says that it saves approximately 11,000kg of plastic and further reduces its carbon footprint as there is no wastage of water, compared to desalination or typical RO treatment systems of water.

It is anticipated that by the year 2050, the average home’s electricity usage will rise by about 75 per cent, necessitating the use of more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives to meet demands in light of global warming and various countries’ energy crises”

Dawoud Al Hajri, directorgeneral of Dubai Municipality

BM Hotels and Resorts was among the earliest entrants into Ras Al Khaimah’s hospitality market. Today, it has three properties in the emirate and plans to expand globally too

THE NEXT STEP

WORDS VARUN GODINHO

Back in 1986, when the UAE was only a decadeand-a-half old and the World Trade Centre was the tallest building in Dubai, hotel accommodation options in the UAE were limited. Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi were where most of the hotels were located and ideas about setting up hospitality establishments elsewhere in the country were ambitious, if not fanciful. It is within this context that BM Hotels and Resorts was established, acquiring its rst property that it called BM Beach Hotel in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. “My father came to the UAE in the 1970s, with US$200 in his pocket. He worked as an accountant at the Al Bustan Hotel near the airport in Dubai. He eventually came across a hotel in Ras Al Khaimah which was up for sale, and it became the rst hotel that he acquired in 1986,” says Fadl Saadeddine, chief nancial o cer at BM Hotels and Resorts. As Fadl explains, the property was the rst beach hotel in Ras Al Khaimah, and was initially slated to be bought by an Indian family. But when that family backed out of the deal due to personal circumstances, his father instead ended up purchasing it.

ABOVE: Longbeach Campground is an alltent property

RIGHT: The Longbeach Campground is built around the concept of experiential hospitality and glamping

e tourism industry in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the UAE wasn’t as developed and organised as it is now, so getting people to the hotel was a challenge that the group had to contend with early on. “We were among the rst to get into the charter business. Charter business operators package rooms and ights, and those companies usually work with the government and tourism entities to get certain bene ts on landing fees and airport fees, etc. We were the rst in Ras Al Khaimah to facilitate interactions with Russian charter operators to bring tourists from Russia directly to the emirate. at’s how we initially started growing.”

A er a decade, BM Hotels and Resorts acquired its second property a few kilometres away in 1996 and it was called BM Beach Resort. By 2016, it established its third property – Longbeach Campground – at a site adjacent to its rst hotel, and with it pioneered the glamping concept for the emirate.

While the business grew gradually over the years, it was when the second generation of the family entered it that

the necessary changes were introduced to steer the company rmly in the direction of a modern hospitality rm by way of it consolidating and streamlining its operations.

“We reached a point in the mid2000s where we were operating around 1,500-1,600 keys. When my brother and I came on board six-seven years ago, we downsized to around 350 keys. We restructured things internally in terms of our organisational culture and systems. A er that, we started the Longbeach Campground which in the beginning was just a few tents on the beach, a cinema screen and some F&B service. Once we had a proof of concept and knew that it worked, we decided to invest more to develop it.”

Part of the overall restructuring of operations also meant getting in new management which included Ashraf Saleh, cluster hotel manager of BM Hotels and Resorts, who joined the company two years ago and oversees all three properties. Before Ashraf could get going on renovating the hotels, he instead decided to focus on a transformation programme for

the around 400 employees – 95 per cent of whom stay on-site. “ e rst investment that I went to ask money for from the owners was to renovate the employees’ accommodation. I said to the owners, ‘Forget about the hotel for now. Let’s look a er our people rst, and then everything else will follow.’

We renovated the accommodation and set up a full training department with monthly surveys, proper uniforms and so on just to keep the employee morale high.”

Also high on Ashraf’s priority was rolling out sustainability initiatives across the property. Built several decades ago,

The facade of BM Beach Hotel (1986)

We downsized and restructured our organisational culture and systems

FADL SAADEDDINE, chief financial o icer at BM Hotels and Resorts

ABOVE: A presentday view of the BM Beach Hotel

the Beach Hotel and Beach Resort properties weren’t equipped with the measures required to be sustainable. “You’d think that sustainability will cost an organisation a signi cant investment that cannot be recovered, but funnily enough we recovered that investment in just four months alone in savings. When you save 85,000-90,000 kilowatts a month, it’s not only a lot of saving, but it’s also a lot less fossil fuel being consumed. When it comes to water, we have a sewage treatment plant where we recycle all our water for irrigation. We also changed the chemicals used in our laundry and switched from diesel to gas. We now use 35-40 per cent less water than before in the laundry. We repurpose the heat from the boilers too.”

BM Hotels’ growth over the last nearly four decades hasn’t been without its share of speedbumps.

Animageoftheswimmingpoolatthe newly-rebrandedBMBeachHotelin1986

In general, Ras Al Khaimah didn’t have a central organised tourism authority to coordinate the growth in the emirate’s hospitality sector until around 2011, and more speci cally for BM Hotels, unlike established global hotel chains, it did not have a ready reckoner for standard operating procedures all of which had to be drawn up from scratch. “Internally, as a business, we faced challenges in 2001 when 9/11 happened. Tourism came to a halt at that time. en, the 2008 recession happened which wasn’t as bad as what followed more recently –the Covid pandemic. We shut down for two months during the start of the pandemic, but we made it a point not to lay o any sta members. Going through that phase allowed us to restructure things for the better, all of which is now paying o . We took that time to improve our infrastructure, which was otherwise di cult to do since we normally operate at high occupancy rates,” says Fadl.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Business Traveller recently visited the three properties in Ras Al Khaimah. We started with a tour of BM Beach Hotel, the group’s rst acquisition, where the exteriors of the four- oor property have remained almost the same over the last nearly four decades. It features 120 keys across two room categories and one suite category. ere’s a rustic charm to the hotel, with three restaurants at the ground level including Al Rahala which is the all-day diner. At one end of the lobby is Pebbles bar, formerly known as Red Lion. As Salwa Saadeddine, cluster marketing manager at BM Hotels and Resorts explains, this was one of Ras Al Khaimah’s most popular bars, and back in the day featured Atari gaming consoles too. Today, there’s a pool table and dart board stations which have replaced those gaming consoles. Slipping around the back of the property, we walk past the hotel’s pool, with a hedge lining one side of it. Salwa says that the hedge will soon be pulled down and the open piece of land next to it will be converted into a mini farm where guests at the hotel will be able to enjoy farm-totable produce. Beyond the pool is a recreational area with a large garden and a tree-lined path that guides the way to the 300m stretch of private beachfront at the property

category.

The tree-lined access path to the beach at BM Beach Hotel (1986)

ABOVE: A presentday image of the path leading to the 300m stretch of private beachfront at BM Beach Hotel

ABOVE: A present-day view of the same pool at BM Beach Hotel

A few metres away from BM Beach Hotel is Longbeach Campground which is an all-tent property. As we enter its premises, there is a large reception tent where guests are served refreshments as they check in to the hotel. Apart from the reception tent, there are separate tents for activities such as pottery and a kid’s play area. We make our way to the accommodation tents which are available in di erent con gurations. e Dome Suite tents are perhaps the most popular and can accommodate up to six adults. It has an en suite bathroom and also a private open-air hot tub.

e Safari Suite tent meanwhile can accommodate a similar number of people and di ers from the dome tents in the shape which resembles a regular tent. en, there are smaller tents too, but those do not have an en suite bathroom. e top-end accommodation on the property, meanwhile, is the Sunset Terrace Suite Tent of which there is only one unit. It is a by-invitation-only tent, and is a repurposed shipping container which has been made to resemble a tent’s accommodation and features an en suite bathroom, lounge area on the roof, and a large private sitting area in front of it. ere are several dining areas around the property including a poolside bar and restaurant, as well as a large tent pitched just beyond the accommodation tents on the beach itself where the bu et meals, including breakfast, are served.

e 300m stretch of private beach includes an overwater structure at one end where movies are screened every night. Just outside it is a large bon re campsite too. None of the accommodation tents have ACs, staying true to a genuine camping experience. Given the severe summers in the region, Longbeach closes between June to September.

A 15-minute drive from these two hotels is the BM Beach Resort property which has 253 rooms, spread across several low-slung structures dotted around the property that are no more than two oors each.

TIMELINE 1986

1996

All rooms – which are positioned as either chalets or cabanas – have either a balcony or terrace. ree pools, a 500m beachfront and several dining options and bars lend this hotel – which was also the rst dog -friendly property in Ras Al Khaimah – a full- edged resort experience. From the beach you can get a good view of Marjan Island and the many hotels that have sprung up there – remember, Marjan Island didn’t exist when BM Hotels started operating this property back in 1996. e grounds of it are expansive and Ashraf explains that corporates, as well as individuals, regularly host large gatherings here as over 1,500 guests can easily be accommodated in the dedicated open-air events space by the beachfront, with enough space to separate them from the hotel’s residents who want to use the beach.

The reception building at BM Beach Resort (1998)

The lobby of BM Beach Resort (1998)

The newly rebranded BM Beach Hotel opens

The sprawling BM Beach Resorts welcomes its first guest

Longbeach Campground opens adjacent to BM Beach Hotel

BM Beach Hotels and Resorts to open its first property in Saudi Arabia

RAISING THE BAR

As Salwa says, the next phase of growth for BM Hotels and Resorts will be transforming it into more of an experiential brand. e Longbeach concept was the rst step in that direction. “People want to climb into their rooms. ey want to go through a process of discovery and journey in their hotel. Like Longbeach Campground, you have hotel concepts all around the world such as tree house hotels, an igloo in the middle of a snowy island in Iceland, or a hotel in Bhutan where you need to hike to get to because it is inaccessible by cars. ese do well because there is a market for such things and it goes back to the point of the market being saturated with regular hotels. How you di erentiate yourself in terms of a concept is very important for the future of hospitality,” says Salwa.

Fadl adds that in the case of Longbeach, when it opened back in 2016, because of its experiential hospitality positioning, it would charg e over US$1,000 for a tent per night which was more than what any ve-star property was charging in Ras Al Khaimah. “With experiential hospitality, you need to create a concept that’s targeted to a speci c group of people and build the right product at the right price,” says Fadl.

It is that experiential hospitality concept with which BM Hotels will expand to international destinations – starting with Saudi Arabia. “We’ve recently signed our rst Saudi management deal. e boutique property is located 250km west of Riyadh in Soufa Village. e owner of the property initially wanted to build a farmhouse for his family. But when he realised the opportunity in building a hotel, given Saudi’s push towards growing its tourism, he instead chose to open a hotel. Construction on it is halfway through and it should open in the next 6-12 months.

“As we are focusing on experiential tourism, we’ve met the tourism board in Saudi Arabia a couple of times and are looking at di erent sites. We’re looking at something in the mountain region as well as by the beach, and in the desert too. By doing so, we will be able to interlink experiences for a person coming from Europe, for example,

who will be able to stay at three unique properties over the course of their holiday.”

Alongside building up the experiential o erings of BM Hotels, Fadl is also focusing on digital innovation whereby he is working on programmes wherein guests can access their rooms using their smartphone instead of a key card and use their phones to order meals to their room too. “It’s just a matter of what your imagination can come up with,” he says about the scope of those digital advancements that can be implemented into the business.

A er Saudi Arabia, Fadl says that BM Hotels could expand potentially into Africa and Asia in locations including Bali, China and Tanzania. As Fadl notes, “What I would like to leave for the next generation is a company that’s well built and fundamentally established with a very strong base that would then give them the opportunity to grow something out of that.”

People want to go through a process of discovery and journey in their hotel

SALWA SAADEDDINE, cluster marketing manager at BM Hotels and Resorts

The BM Beach Resort in its early years (1998)

TOP: An aerial view of BM Beach Resort which opened in 1996

OPPOSITE PAGE TOP

LEFT: The modernday view of the lobby at BM Beach Resort

OPPOSITE PAGE BOTTOM

LEFT: The reception building of the BM Beach Resort

A TRAIL OF ADVENTURE

The emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE had its best year on record in terms of visitor numbers last year. Now, it wants to nearly triple that figure. Raki Phillips, CEO of the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, explains why that isn’t a tall order

WORDS VARUN GODINHO

Roughly a decade ago, the northernmost emirate of UAE – Ras Al Khaimah – embarked on a steep path to build its tourism sector. The Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) was established in 2011, and gradually the emirate began streamlining its tourism operations. It recognised the fact that it enjoyed a terrain and weather, especially in the high-altitude areas of the emirate, that differed from other regions in the UAE and thereby opened the destination to year-round visitations. It was one that could attract domestic and international tourists who were seeking a share of the adventure travel market.

Its tourism strategy has paid off handsomely. Last year, Ras Al Khaimah recorded its highest-ever annual visitor numbers, with over 1.13 million overnight arrivals, an increase of 15.6 per cent over 2021. At the helm of RAKTDA, driving that growth, is its chief executive officer Raki Phillips. “The results exceeded pre-pandemic levels, indicating recovery and resilience in a volatile year. In addition to these record visitor numbers, [we also had a] 40 per cent increase in international visitors versus 2021. We have recently announced a series of strategic partnerships with airlines and leading tour operators to target emerging and growing source markets including India, Central and Eastern Europe,” says Phillips. Last year, key international source markets for the emirate included Kazakhstan, Russia, the UK, Germany and the Czech Republic.

OPPOSITE PAGE: Nature and adventure tourism are the highlights of Ras Al Khaimah

BOTTTOM: Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority

One of the first steps towards getting those international tourists in was to fly them directly into the emirate. As Phillips explains, “Seventy-five per cent of passengers that land in Ras Al Khaimah airport end up vacationing in RAK. So, for us, it’s very important to be able to drive the partnership of direct flights into RAK airport. However, we’re also 45 minutes outside of Dubai International airport, and 35 minutes outside of Sharjah.”

But apart from air connectivity, the emirate has found itself developing its cruise tourism division too given that it has a coastline and the potential to attract high-spending cruise ship tourists. A few years ago, RAKTDA and RAK Ports worked on transforming the old ferry terminal into a state-of-the-art cruise terminal. The 1,000 sqm terminal can handle a disembarkation rate of 400 passengers an hour and can dock several cruise ships up to 214 metres in length. In 2022, Ras Al Khaimah received three luxury cruises with over 2,500 passengers and crew. RAK now aims to attract 50 cruise ship calls each season, and quadruple last year’s figures to host 10,000 passengers within the next few years.

One of the pillars of RAK’s growth has been that of its hospitality sector. Last year, a raft of new hotels and resorts opened in the emirate raising its inventory by 17 per cent to reach more than 8,000 keys. Major international players such as Intercontinental Hotels Group, Radisson and Mövenpick made their debut in Ras Al Khaimah with properties including InterContinental Mina Al Arab, Radisson Resort Ras Al Khaimah Marjan Island and Mövenpick Resort Al Marjan Island. There’s plenty more to come. RAKTDA has indicated there are 19 properties that will open in the emirate over the coming years. These will be from brands such as Marriott, Millennium, Anantara and Sofitel, among others, who collectively account for an additional 5,867 keys in the pipeline, and will result in a 70 per cent increase versus current inventory. In January, Nobu Hospitality announced that it too would make its way to the emirate and open a beachfront luxury hotel, 300 branded residences and its signature restaurant on Marjan Island across a 70,000 sqm project. However, one of the biggest and most eagerly anticipated projects under construction in Ras Al Khaimah is the mega Wynn Resorts which is expected to open in 2026. “The partnership between Wynn Resorts, Marjan and RAK Hospitality Holding to open a multi-billion-dollar integrated resort development on Al Marjan Island, is set to attract a new segment of travellers to the emirate,” he says. It will feature over 1,000 rooms, a shopping arcade, meeting and convention facilities, over 10 restaurants and a gaming area too. “Wynn is not only an operator of the integrated resort, but they’re also an investor which really shows the resilience of the destination and the interest that there

Seventy-five per cent of passengers that land in Ras Al Khaimah airport end up vacationing in RAK

is to invest in the destination,” notes Phillips of the project which marks the single biggest foreign direct investment into the emirate.

Apart from foreign investments, locally, back in 2021 RAKTDA said that it would invest Dhs500 million to build 20 sustainable tourism developments in partnership with RAK Hospitality Holding and the RAK Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “We have launched several new attractions and experiences over the past year. These include the launch of our toboggan ride on Jebel Jais – the Jais Sledder, which has seen more than 127,000 visitors since its opening, as well as the development of the longest network of hiking trails in the UAE. We have a line-up of upcoming enhancements on Jebel Jais including attractions like the Jais Wings and Jais Mini Golf We will also be diversifying our accommodation offering s with new sustainable accommodation and glamping concepts, including Earth Altitude, an eco-based pop-up hotel concept, Saij, a Mantis Collection Mountain Lodge that will provide a mountain retreat experience, and Cloud7 Camp Jebel Jais which will assure the ultimate sustainable glamping experience,” says Phillips of the progress of those projects which are backed by that investment.

While adventure, glamping and ecotourism will continue to be a major attraction for visitors to Ras Al Khaimah, MICE tourism will also be a growing focus for the emirate. To support business travellers and MICE groups, last year, RAK introduced a series of measures including flexible rates at the 2,700 sqm Al Hamra International Exhibition and Conference Centre facility, an incentive programme (rebate on accommodation rates), a waiver of permit fees and reduced delegate rates for many of the emirate’s attractions.

“Ras Al Khaimah has strengthened its MICE offering through a robust programme of familiarisation trips, participation in exhibitions and roadshows and hosting workshops in key tourism markets – we participated in over 250 events and roadshows in 24 markets worldwide last year. Ras Al Khaimah secured several strategic event partnerships in 2022 too. We are also working to ensure Ras Al Khaimah offers a wide portfolio of world-class hotels to dedicated MICE venues to Al Hamra International Exhibition and Conference Centre – the UAE’s only purpose-built MICE venue located directly on the beach, and outdoor event venues in Jebel Jais,” notes Phillips. “We also work very closely with the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) when it comes to tourism startups. RAKEZ launched an unbelievable [co-working] hub called Compass which is a great place for startups to come and get their licence and work out off.”

To protect our natural environment and local communities, we are ensuring that there is no overtourism in RAK

Ras Al Khaimah’s tourism goals are deliberately measured – three million annual visitors by 2030. The underlying motive of that is, as

Phillips explains, to ensure that there is no “over-tourism” in the emirate which feeds back into its sustainable tourism goals. “Nature and our wide-open spaces are the calling card of our destination. In order to protect our unique natural environment and local communities, we are committed to ensuring that there is no over-tourism in Ras Al Khaimah. We are also investing in cultural conservation, with four tentative UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Suwaidi Pearls, the only traditional pearl farm in the UAE.” The emirate is also looking internationally when it comes to formulating and meeting its sustainability goals. RAKTDA partnered with Australian company EarthCheck which undertakes

sustainability certifications. “We looked at specific places such as Panama which is a carbon-negative country and asked ourselves how do they do it? We looked at countries like Costa Rica, Iceland and Slovenia which do a very good job [in sustainability]. All of those are great examples for us to learn from and benchmark ourselves.”

Elsewhere, new frontiers to grow its tourism will be that of inclusive travel and sports tourism, observes Phillips. “People with disability and special needs spend approximately US$8 billion on tourism services annually, and the World Health Organization estimate the number of people with disabilities will double to two billion by 2050. At Ras Al Khaimah, we have engaged with accessibility experts to map out the consumer journey from the eyes of the traveller with a determined spirit.” As for sports tourism, one of the immediate benefits will be growing the visibility of the destination in international markets. “In 2022, global sports events held in Ras Al Khaimah were televised in more than 180 countries. As one of the fastest-growing segments in the industry, sports tourism also provides sustainable economic growth in every respect from job creation to new income opportunities. The benefits of a thriving sports tourism infrastructure can also be enjoyed by the local community,” says Phillips of the emirate whose roster of sports events include the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, the DP World Tour – RAK Championship, Highlander, Gumball 3000 and 1000 Miglia and even the region’s first Minifootball World Cup which will be held later this year.

Overall, Phillips says that RAKTDA is also enhancing the livability of the emirate for its permanent residents who are playing a vital role in the emirate’s tourism strategy. “Our goal with regards to visitor arrivals is one thing, but building the livability of the destination is also very important to us and tourism is the main contributing factor to the success of livability in the emirate,” says Phillips. It’s a win-win scenario for all the stakeholders.

OPPOSITE PAGE FROM TOP: Raki Phillips speaking at the Arab Aviation Summit; The emirate has a long coastline

THIS PAGE FROM TOP: Marjan Island; The Date Farm in RAK; The Cove Rotana Resort in Ras Al Khaimah

In the pipeline...

WORDS TOM OTLEY

The production of SAF is well underway, but will the industry and its customers accept the financial cost of more environmentally friendly fuel?

The Neste refinery at Rotterdam isn’t a beautiful place, even between rain showers. The current expansion of the site at Maasvlakte means it has a half-built look about it, and with a coal power station pumping smoke into the sky close by, Cosco and Evergreen tankers moored on the far side of the Yangtze Canal, and the constant noise of construction traffic penetrating even the mandatory ear plugs, it’s hard to see it as the future of anything, let alone carbon-free flight. Yet when the refinery completes its €1.9 billion expansion in 2026, it will be one of the largest Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production facilities in the world.

If you enjoy international travel, but find the subject of SAF boring, the next few years may be challenging. Airline websites will encourage you to pay a supplement on your ticket so that a proportion of the fuel used for your flight is SAF, a SAF mandate will be added to increasing numbers of flights from certain airports and countries (the Netherlands and France already do so) and there will be articles like this one examining the subject. To understand why SAF is so important, and also to dig a bit deeper around some of the more problematic elements, I visited the Neste refinery in Rotterdam to learn more. And to be absolutely transparent, I went on a private jet arranged by Victor, the on-demand jet charter platform.

First, the background. Aviation makes up around 2 per cent of global emissions worldwide, and even with technological efficiencies with engines, aircraft and air traffic control, this percentage will rise along with passenger numbers, which may double in coming decades. Hydrogenpowered flight and battery-powered flights are possible, but are many years away from being commercially viable, and the aircraft entering service today have lifetimes of up to 30 years, taking us way past the net zero targets of 2050. Meanwhile, the world gets warmer and climate-related disasters more common. We need to reduce emissions by 7.6 per cent every year from 2020-2030 to limit global warming to 1.5C. Something has to give. SAF is what aviation is pinning its hopes on. Instead of digging up carbon and burning it for propulsion, SAF uses resources as diverse as used cooking oil, animal fat wastes and algae to create a fuel which reduces the lifecycle emissions by up to 80 per cent. It is a drop-in fuel, meaning no modifications are necessary to the engines currently being used by the world’s airlines. At present they could run on 50 per cent SAF and in future will probably be certified to run on 100 per cent SAF. Inside the industry, if you look at

the ‘path to net zero’ of most airlines you’ll find SAF taking up the heavy lifting to get airlines to net zero, with IATA seeing it as up to 65 per cent of the reduction in emissions by 2050. Yet opinions on SAF outside the industry range from disinterest to scepticism.

The reasons range from the cost to worries about whether ramping up production will inevitably lead to farmland being diverted from feeding people to producing fuel for the wealthy to fly around the world. All are valid concerns, yet without SAF, aviation’s emissions will continue to rise, and as we move towards 2030, it will become increasingly unsustainable for airlines to rely on carbon offsets such as planting forests or sponsoring cookstoves.

Privilege should pay

If this applies to commercial airlines, imagine working in private aviation. Victor says that: “The privilege of flying privately comes with an urgent and important responsibility to the planet.” While most of us would agree that anyone who is flying in a private jet can – and perhaps should – pay for SAF, does that same argument apply to us? It’s true that whichever cabin we are flying in, whether for business or leisure, we are privileged compared to the vast majority of the world’s population, a substantial proportion of whom are in countries threatened by climate change and without the funds to adapt. So should we pay, and if so, how much?

The privilege of flying comes with an important responsibility to the planet

LEFT: The Neste refinery in Rotterdam ABOVE: Experimenting with sustainable aviation fuel options

Sliding scale

Starting with the extremely rich and including the rest of us, websites now give us plenty of options beyond the familiar carbon o sets. What could be simpler than a sliding ruler which allows us to decide how much SAF we would like to pay for to o set our emissions, ranging from nothing to 100 per cent. As already mentioned, at the moment, you aren’t allowed to have more than 50 per cent on a commercial ight, but that doesn’t matter since the SAF won’t be on that particular ight but instead is loaded, in much smaller amounts, onto aircra at other airports, ying other routes, and at di erent times. It is a more e cient system than trying to supply SAF to every airport, and so long as the documentation is certi ed, it ‘proves’ the emissions reduction which is the important thing for the environment and possibly your conscience. is is called by Neste and Victor, ‘Pay here, use there’ and the certi cation you receive will count towards your Scope 3 emissions statement (see box on pg30).

One in ve

Victor has been o ering this since the summer of 2022 and says that at present around one in ve bookings choose to buy some SAF, with the average per booking working out as 32 per cent SAF. e company says that if this were replicated globally for all commercial ights it would equate to 21 million metric tonnes, around 6 per cent of global fuel burn (320m mt in 2019).

Of course, this ignores the fact that Victor’s clients are extremely wealthy, but if you (or your company) believe that committing to net zero is worth doing, then the prices are not astronomical, though they are certainly inconsistent (see box on this page). Using the slider from British

The strange case of SAF prices

The number of airlines o ering SAF is increasing, and many airlines o er the opportunity to use a slider scale to decide how much SAF you would like to buy, but the pricing remains… confusing.

So if you fly with British Airways from London Heathrow to New York return in business class, buying 100 per cent SAF will cost around £389. This is on a platform provided by a company called Chooose and which British Airways calls CO2llaborate. O set the same flight using the Chooose platform on the London Heathrow website, and you will pay €582 (£517). Go to the Chooose website, and it is €746 (£663), all for the same route. Italian airline ITA has recently signed up with Chooose, but if you o set a return business flight from Rome to New York, the price is €2,500.

Chooose says there are several reasons for this. Each airline platform uses unique emission calculation methodologies for that airline, including its fleet, its fuel burn data and the airline’s preferences on calculation methodologies where there isn’t an industry consensus (i.e. whether or not to take into account such things as radiative forcing – see note below for an explanation of that). In summary, Chooose says “emission estimations for the same or similar route may di er across Chooose’s partner programs.”

In addition, Chooose says that “since SAF is a relatively small industry and SAF products have not been ‘commoditized’, pricing for specific SAF products varies considerably across SAF producers (i.e. based on feedstock and associated SAF to CO2e conversion factors, supply chains, etc.).” It means that these variances are reflected in the di erences in prices for di erent SAF products being o ered. In short, airlines have made deals with SAF producers and the cost of SAF is di erent for nearly every deal.

British Airways’ carbon calculator uses average historical airline data from the most recent full year and a radiative forcing index of one (so that the price isn’t altered) since the science on that is still uncertain. It also sells SAF to customers e ectively at cost price because: “By keeping the costs to our customers to a minimum, we hope this will encourage more customers to address the carbon emissions from their flights.” chooose.today

■ What is radiative forcing?

In addition to greenhouse gas emissions including CO2, aircraft also cause non-CO2 climate e ects such as condensation trails. Radiative forcing is a metric or measurement basis that aims to combine the CO2 and non-CO2 climate e ects. In the example above, ITA Airways uses a radiative forcing of 1.9, which nearly doubles the emissions and therefore the amount of SAF to o set those emissions.

Go to the Chooose website,

Airlines have made deals with SAF producers, but the cost is di erent for nearly every deal

ABOVE: British Airways o ers a sliding scale for customers to pay for

SAF

Airways, for instance, you can see that buying 100 per cent SAF for a return flight from London Heathrow to New York JFK would cost an additional £389.73, while the price in economy is £132.75. Not cheap, but when set against the price of a semi-flexible business class ticket to New York, it probably averages around an additional 10 per cent. Not every business could afford that, but plenty could do so.

British Airways is clear that it believes SAF “can be a game-changer”, and Carrie Harris, the airline’s Head of Sustainability says that: “SAF availability remains low and we need to scale up its production as quickly as possible.” Harris adds that the airline hopes that “engaging our customers and giving them the opportunity to purchase SAF… will raise awareness and interest, which in turn will encourage further investment in the advancement, production and commercial rollout of SAF to help reduce aviation’s reliance on fossil fuels.”

Jonathan Wood, VP Europe, Renewable Aviation for Neste says

that SAF is now being employed at scale by commercial airlines. Air France and KLM recently signed a deal with Neste to buy 1 mt (approximately 1.26 billion litres) over a period of eight years starting in 2023, and some European airlines are being pushed along by various government regulations. Air France for instance, has added a levy to its ticket prices since it has been mandated to fly with 1 per cent SAF, and as a result KLM has made the ‘voluntary’ decision to also impose the levy. The challenge with that, of course, is that once prices get to a certain point, flyers may choose to use transit airports outside those countries, or even the EU. Why transit Amsterdam Schiphol or Paris Charles de Gaulle to get to a long haul destination when you can fly via Istanbul, for instance, and not pay those charges?

Mandates or...?

It’s a significant challenge to the idea of mandates, yet the fuel industry thinks mandates are essential because since there is no tax on kerosene, alternatives such as SAF are more

expensive. If the ‘full cost’ of using fossil fuels were included however – including the damage to the environment (the carbon cost) then of course that differential would be reduced.

“The carbon cost [of flying] is not being adequately reflected today,” says Wood, “Externalities are not being costed into the use of that fossil fuel energy, so we firmly support the proposal to have mandates – to require a set proportion of all fuel to be renewable, both in road and aviation transport.”

There’s certainly no shortage of demand from airlines, powered by initiatives like Jet Zero, a partnership between industry and government with the aim of delivering at least 10 per cet SAF in the UK fuel mix by 2030 pledge. From Neste’s point

The

challenge is flyers may choose to use transit airports outside these countries

ABOVE: Private jet in St Moritz

BELOW: Neste creates SAF from used cooking oil

of view they are solving the other end of the problem. “ e biggest step is we’ve broken the cycle of ‘it’s not available, it can’t be used’” says Bart Leenders, VP Production, Renewables Platform. “We’ve proven it can be done. In order to get the next investments, the best thing that policymakers can do is create some sort of market security, but leave it to industry, because then you get competitiveness and innovation.

at’s why we believe a mandate is a perfect instrument where you create some sort of market certainty but leave it to competition and innovation.”

At the moment, Neste has an annual SAF production capacity of 100,000 tons (approximately 34 million gallons) at its re nery in Porvoo, Finland. e expansion of its Singapore re nery and modi cation of the Rotterdam re nery will see the company increase capacity to produce some 1.5 million tons (515 million gallons) of SAF annually by the end of this year, with further expansions coming through until 2026.

Feedstock issues

We have dealt previously with concerns about where the feedstock for SAF is going to come from. It’s a real challenge for the industry, since no one wants to see valuable farmland being taken over by the fuel industry. It also relies heavily on certi cation to make sure that waste oils aren’t, in fact, relabelled palm oil from Asia.

What Victor has done is try and perfect the ‘book and claim’ system used elsewhere, though they prefer the term ‘pay here, use there’. e di erence comes in the fact that Neste has what it calls “line of sight on the SAF and onto the aircra and it’s all certi ed.”

e fear is that: “Other organisations might start selling this and trading it, and very quickly people don’t know what’s going on.” is is the nature of any market.

Jonathan Wood says: “In the Netherlands there are incentives to buy SAF, and once they have the documentation for having bought the SAF they can sell it to someone who has an obligation to buy SAF in the road transport sector, for instance, and suddenly they’ve got it at a lower net price. We don’t do that because that is riding o the back of someone who is obligated. So

adverts. Toby Edwards, Co-CEO, Victor believes that: “It takes bravery for clients to do this. ere will always be accusations of greenwashing. If you say ‘We are going to y and we’re going to use SAF’ then critics will start questioning it.”

Private jets are never going to have a great press when it comes to the environment, but as Edwards says: “People are not going to stop ying, and who is anyone to say ‘You shouldn’t y’? So if people are going to keep ying and the sector is going to keep growing, then we need to really quickly gure out what are the best ways of doing it. So we all need to help.”

when corporates say: “You are too expensive”, our reply is: “Ask your supplier why they are able to sell it to you for such a low price? It might be coming from us, and you better nd out where and what incentives have been involved in that price.”

Greenwashing?

It is the dreaded word for anyone either making claims about what they are doing in environmental terms or, if viewed another way, overstating what they are doing, and there are strict rules over claims made in

Scope of emissions

The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard classifies greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into three ‘scopes’. Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources.

Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy.

Scope 3 emissions are all indirect emissions (not included in scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.

The travel-related emissions for most companies are Scope 3 emissions ghgprotocol.org

‘It takes bravery for clients to do this. There will always be accusations of greenwashing’

BELOW: A Neste SAF tanker refuels a plane at the airport

ELE TOR PITCH

Marriott Hotels welcomed the first Marriott resort of its kind in the region in December 2022. Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, Dubai is where thoughtfully designed rooms, suites and spaces come together in aesthetic harmony with the locale. Outside of it, the ocean laps the shore of 7,000 sqm of private beachfront, offering adventure and relaxation in equal measure.

The property welcomes a broad spectrum of visitors from intrepid solo travellers and couples on a romantic escape to discerning business guests too. Set on the Palm West Beach promenade, it offers unparalleled views of Dubai Marina and Ain Dubai.

The resort’s 608 guest rooms are all distinguished by a welcoming ambience and superb attention to detail. Filled with natural daylight and offering sea views with its floor-to-ceiling windows, each room features at least one private balcony.

The M Club, the resort’s executive lounge, resonates strongly with our guests. Open 24 hours every day, it offers a complimentary buffet breakfast, light bites during the day, a grab-and-go menu, aperitifs and hors d’oeuvres in the evening.

A gourmet’s dream destination, it includes homegrown favourites and

international brands. The resort’s 10 restaurants, lounges and bars will inject new flavours into the UAE’s dining scene and includes international brands such as Above Eleven, as well as Smoki Moto, the city’s first Korean steakhouse, neighbourhood Italian trattoria, Cucina, and beachside restaurant Senor Pico, among others.

As for keeping you entertained during your stay, there are plenty of water sports and marine activities. The property has a 75m pool too

which includes a swim-up bar, and spa baths.

We recognise fitness as a key component of wellness. Our expansive fitness centre allows for 24x7 access. Easing into the rejuvenating end of the wellness spectrum, mindful indulgence at the Saray Spa is often one of the highlights of our guests’ stay. Here, they can enjoy facilities including separate treatment rooms for men and women, express rejuvenation centres, a treatment space for couples, relaxation areas and a thermal suite featuring a sauna, steam room, spa bath and ice station.

From celebratory to corporate, events at Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah stand apart for their planning and execution, as well as for the resort’s facilities. A dedicated events floor, 11 versatile venues, an outdoor terrace and other key spaces and amenities reinforce this proposition.

Leisure seekers, holidaying families and business travellers who choose Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah expect the extraordinary. By being gracious hosts, we deliver memorable experiences across world-class dining, recreation, wellness and beyond, inspiring our guests to return to a feeling of wonderful hospitality and a celebration of life being lived to the fullest.

Business Traveller Middle East gives Gerrit Schmitt, general manager of Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, five minutes to pitch his property to prospective guests

“The resort’s 10 restaurants, lounges and bars will inject new flavours into the UAE’s dining scene and includes international brands”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The property features 608 rooms and suites; The Lobby Lounge at the resort; A suite with views of Dubai Marina and Ain Dubai; Gerrit Schmitt

NEW FRONTIERS

WORDS VARUN GODINHO

FRONTIERS

Radisson’s Elie Milky is driving the development of the company’s diverse hospitality brands across the Middle East, one of its biggest growth markets

It’s an exciting time to be in the shoes of Elie Milky, vice president of development at Radisson Hotel Group, as he oversees an extensive region spanning the Middle East, Pakistan, Cyprus and Greece. Of these, the Middle East has seen an unprecedented boom in hospitality. Take for example Dubai which has for long been the bellwether for the health of hospitality in the region. It received 14.36 million international overnight visitors last year which was a 97 per cent year-on-year growth from the 7.28 million tourist arrivals it recorded in 2021. But those numbers tell only half the story. Data from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) revealed that global tourist travel in 2022 was 37 per cent lower than in 2019. Yet, Dubai comfortably exceeded those pre-pandemic numbers with visitor arrivals reaching 86 per cent of its pre-pandemic levels. Arrivals in the larger region of the Middle East climbed to 83 per cent of its pre-pandemic numbers.

“In some markets we have exceeded our pre-pandemic numbers,” says Milky, about the recovery at Radisson’s properties within the region which currently stands at 53 operational properties, and11,600 keys. “In markets such as Riyadh, we have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. We’ve had a fantastic past year in Qatar because of the World Cup. Other markets like the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait have not recovered to pre-pandemic numbers yet. But the investments focus on Bahrain and Kuwait has been much stronger than it was ever before.”

In Bahrain, he says, Radisson is now considering a third property along with its existing owners there. He adds that government initiatives in that country speci cally from bodies such as the Bahrain Economic Development Board are aimed at seeing through its goal of attracting 14.1 million tourists by 2026.

Milky who is based in Dubai, said that the emirate can serve as a case study for how Bahrain can get to those numbers. “What makes Dubai so attractive, is that it has so many hospitality segments – MICE properties, city hotels, and a lot of beach resorts. at’s what makes it very successful and less seasonal.

If Bahrain develops more beach resorts, it will attract more yearround arrivals, and less seasonaldependent demand.”

ABOVE: Elie Milky

LEFT: Nofa Riyadh, A Radisson Collection Resort

Around 20-30 per cent of our signings in the region in recent years have a serviced apartments component built in

Regionally, the growth for Radisson is expected to come through two major segments: beach resorts and serviced apartments. “Most of our activity as a company is towards these two hospitality models. Half of our signings in all regions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa have been resorts in recent years,” he says. In the UAE, Radisson already had beach properties in Abu Dhabi, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. In November last year, it opened its first beach resort in Dubai called the Radisson Beach Resort Palm Jumeirah. “We have nine hotels in Dubai. It’s a wish and not a target yet, but by 2030 we would like to double that number in Dubai. In the UAE, we’ve got almost 20 hotels, we believe we should be able to hit 30 hotels by 2030.”

Apart from beach resorts, the other high-growth segment for Radisson is poised to be serviced apartments. “Around 20-30 per cent of our signings in the region in recent years have a serviced apartments component built into it. The recently opened Mansard Riyadh, A Radisson Collection Hotel has 30 per cent of its inventory as serviced apartments, the Radisson Hotel Riyadh Airport has around 40 per cent of its inventory as serviced

apartments, and the Radisson Blu Diplomatic Quarter is a fully serviced apartments operation. We’re opening the Radisson Residences in Makkah which is a serviced apartment standalone property located next to two Park Inn by Radisson properties.

“Serviced apartments have proven during the pandemic, and even prepandemic, to be the most resilient hospitality model. During the pandemic, many hotels lost money, but serviced apartments were the only hospitality model that made money. Why? Because of the high demand for more space and the lower staffto-room ratio, which also meant a lower cost structure for the operators.”

Active government initiatives, notes Milky, are vital to the growth of hospitality within the region. The UAE, for example, launched a UAE Tourism Strategy 2031 that aims to attract Dhs100 billion as additional tourism investments. It also aims for the tourism sector to contribute Dhs450 billion of GDP by then, and for the

country to receive 40 million hotel guests annually too. In Saudi Arabia, the Tourism Development Fund was established by way of a Royal Decree to aid tourism investments in the kingdom to attract 100 million annual visits by 2030. “The Tourism Development Fund is facilitating investments in the kingdom and connecting owners, developers and investors. They are funding projects that are stalled. For example, the Radisson Blu Al Ahsa was signed in 2018-2019, but the owner ran out of cash a couple of years later. The Tourism Development Fund stepped in and financed that project and revived it. We’re working with the Tourism Development Fund to create a framework to do more hotels together, where we bring investors to them to fund the projects and they bring investors to us to partner with. Their focus is on secondary cities, and so we’re looking along with them at

[Saudi Arabia’s] Tourism Development Fund is facilitating investments and connecting owners, developers and investors

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: The Saudi debut of Radisson Red will take place in Riyadh within the next few years; Radisson Beach Resort, Palm Jumeriah; The tasteful interiors of an Art’otel property; Radisson Blu Riyadh Convention and Exhibition Centre

several locations – Tabuk, Ha’il, Abha, Taif, Khamis Mushait – where we are not present yet,” says Milky.

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has backed some of the kingdom’s giga projects including Neom, Red Sea Global, Qiddiya and Diriyah Gate. And Radisson is keeping a close watch on the developments of these projects, each of which is being built with multi-billion dollar budgets. “We’ve announced the Radisson Red with Diriyah Gate which will open in three years and will launch that brand in the kingdom. With Diriyah, we believe we could sign our second hotel because of a strengthened relationship that we have with the Diriyah Gate Development Authority. We’re looking at Qiddiya entertainment city where we could have at least fourfive hotels. We’re looking at some opportunities with Neom. The Red

Sea development started with ultraluxury brands which sit above our Radisson Collection brand and hence it didn’t include us.”

Elsewhere in the kingdom, Saudi Arabia has 26 operational Radisson hotels including the Mansard Riyadh, A Radisson Collection Hotel and Nofa Riyadh, A Radisson Collection Resort which are part of the group’s luxury lifestyle collection, as well as Radisson Hotel Riyadh Airport which opened last year. Radisson’s pipeline for the kingdom includes the Radisson Blu Riyadh Convention and Exhibition Centre which will open this month. “That’s a 200-plus key property and is being opened with the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce. After the opening of that property, we expect to shift our activity to Makkah where we’re opening two-three hotels before the end of the year. We’re also looking at Rua Al Madinah, along with PIF,

where we could do 3,000 keys in phases one and two.”

As Radisson’s expansion in the kingdom continues, apart from opening up an office within the country, it is also training Saudi nationals to take up key roles. A few months ago it launched the Concierge Navigation to Success programme that aims to upskill Saudi nationals in the hospitality industry. “In Saudi, we’re getting more and more Saudis wanting to work in the hospitality industry. And programmes like the Concierge Navigation help, because we have a good talent pool there and we can train them to staff the hotels [with the goal of] Saudisisation.”

In the regions that Milky oversees, he finds that hotels are becoming more efficient with their workforce to cope with a shortage of skilled labour. “In the region, we previously had high-cost structures compared to the European models. In the Middle East, the staff-to-room ratio was one-to-one. In Europe, they were running as halfto-one. The pandemic made us more efficient, and we started operating like the European model. We began clustering operations too,” says Milky.

53

Operational properties

11,600

Number of active keys 26 Hotels

Milky notes that the current Radisson mandate would be to introduce new brands in the region. These will include its five-star upper upscale lifestyle brand Art’otel, as well as Prizeotel in the efficient midscale tier. “We can see Art’otel launched in locations in Saudi Arabia such as Diriyah and Jeddah Old Town which has a strong focus on local culture and heritage. We can easily have 5-10 Art’otel properties in key heritage locations in Saudi Arabia. Prizeotel is our economy lifestyle brand. We’re looking for developers with large land banks who want to roll out 10-20 hotels from this brand in one go because these are compact real estate propositions for investors.

“2023 onwards will see us making more announcements around new brands and more strategic agreements. That’s something that I’m driving personally.” An exciting time to know Milky.

RADISSON HOTEL GROUP IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Are ultra longhaul flights viable?

They have plenty of appeal, but can airlines afford to keep them going amid rising fuel costs?

What’s the definition of an ultra long-haul (ULH) flight? It can best be described as a nonstop flight taking over 16 hours.

It was two South East Asian carriers, namely Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines (SIA), which started the ball rolling back in 2004. Both of their nations suffer a geographic disadvantage compared to the likes of Hong Kong because Bangkok and Singapore lie that much farther from North America.

Thai Airways and SIA were finally able to launch their first nonstop flights to the US thanks to Airbus and its A340-500. This four-engine aircraft was able to fly further than any other at that time. It meant both Thai and SIA could launch nonstops to Los Angeles and New York, the latter taking up to 19 hours.

Airbus must have hoped global A340500 orders would follow, but Thai and SIA remained the most significant customers.

Why? Because ULH flights are uneconomical in terms of fuel consumption, so the cost of operation will depend on the cost of fuel at any given time.

A NEW DAWN

Airbus’ hopes that Air France might order some A340-500s were dashed when the then-CEO branded the aircraft as “flying fuel tankers.”

In fact the ‘sweet spot’ for a long-haul flight is a sector of around eight hours, as former CEO of Air Asia X, Azran Osman Rani, claimed when the Malaysian budget carrier quit Europe in 2012.

ULH flights are fuel inefficient because so much fuel is carried that, in the early stages of flight, fuel must be burnt solely to carry fuel.

During a time of high fuel costs, Thai cancelled its US flights after a few years, although SIA did its best to maintain service until 2013. Thai never returned to the US but, using the improved economies of Airbus’ twin-engined A350-900, SIA restarted both routes in 2018. These continue to this day, although rumours have surfaced that SIA is looking at changing the onboard layout so that revenue can be boosted with more premium seats.

Previously it had done this with its A340-500s converting them, latterly, to an all-business class layout.

The next big ULH development to note for those in Europe is Qantas’ Project Sunrise.

A former Qantas boss said Australia suffered from ‘the tyranny of distance’, hence Qantas’ plans to operate more ULH nonstop flights.

Perth-London nonstop started in 2018 with B787s and Qantas plans to launch Sydney-London nonstop in 2025. The roughly 20-hour journey will be the new longest passenger flight in the world – beating even SIA’s Singapore-New York link.

Qantas also hopes to add Paris and Frankfurt to its nonstop network later, along with New York.

Although the situation may change, Qantas currently offers a multi-class configuration for its B787s on the London route with economy, premium economy and business seating. For Project Sunrise it will use the Airbus A350-1000.

ALEX MCWHIRTER CONSUMER CHAMPION AND RAIL EXPERT

UNEXPECTED DETOUR

ULH flights are not easy, though. This is what Air New Zealand (Air NZ) discovered to its cost when it launched Auckland-New York nonstop. It found the 17.5-hour New York to Auckland sector more of a challenge than Auckland to New York owing to weather conditions. It has meant that Air NZ must fly with a reduced payload if it wants to operate nonstop. In turn this affects profitability.

Even then the best laid plans can go astray depending on weather conditions, which can change even when the flight is aloft.

The current issue of Russian overflying rights is also impacting some routes. After avoiding Russian airspace for several months, Cathay Pacific has now rerouted its Hong KongNew York flight over Russian airspace to both save time and to offer a greater payload.

Air India is also a beneficiary of the geopolitical situation.

Being able to operate through Russian airspace has enabled it to expand its US network with a new nonstop service between Mumbai and San Francisco.

By contrast the ban has meant that North American carriers have had to suspend or modify their flights to India. For example, Air Canada now has to route its Mumbai service via London rather than being nonstop.

ULH flights are uneconomic but commercially vital. That fact ought to mean we can expect more ULH in future, though much will depend on fuel costs.

ULH flights are fuel inefficient as, in the early stages of flight, fuel must be burnt solely to carry fuel

Sustainable hospitality: A trend or a necessity?

The industry and the end consumers have a nearly equal role in shaping the conversation around sustainability in the hospitality sector

PIETER VAN BEUGEN GENERAL MANAGER, DOUBLETREE BY HILTON RESORT AND SPA MARJAN ISLAND

As the climate crisis deepens, there is no denying that taking appropriate steps towards decreasing the pressure on our natural resources and encouraging a shift to more sustainable practices is paramount.

This is true not just for businesses, but for every individual and every choice they make.

In November 2022, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) saw UN Secretary-General António Guterres urge the world to take more drastic actions to reduce emissions –he called it the need for “a giant leap on climate ambition”.

As an industry, hospitality often comes under fire, especially the bigger players due to their expansive number of rooms, huge breakfast buffets and millions of tiny plastic toiletries consumed every single day.

Walking the talk, one step at a time

Given the crucial role our industry can play in accelerating sustainability for a green future, we must come together as a team to implement more environmentally conscious processes into our operations.

The pandemic allowed us to pause and rethink how we do things, and how we can do better. Despite it being a challenging time, it was also an opportunity: a blank slate to consider our travellers’ needs and priorities and take stock of how our operations impact the environment.

The key areas for the industry revolve around energy, water consumption and waste. Though many have been doing their part since before the pandemic with initiatives such as encouraging the reuse of towels and

keeping the same sheets for longer stays, there are those who have introduced new initiatives on the other side of Covid. One such key initiative is the adoption of digital technology that minimises the usage of paper.

The next biggest challenge is to not only cut down on waste, but also to consider how that waste is disposed. By categorising and managing waste by prevention, minimisation, reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal, hotels can create a framework and take charge of their waste stream. Most

breakfast and switching to an à la carte menu instead.

There’s also plenty that the hospitality industry is doing behind the scenes to reduce the industry’s impact. These range from switching to more environmentally friendly cleaning products, using energyefficient lighting and sensors, acquiring locally sourced produce where possible and taking care of the natural ecosystems in their local community.

It takes two to tango

With global awareness increasing, the traveller mindset has also changed, with an increased desire to make more conscientious travel choices. According to Booking.com’s Sustainable Travel Report 2022, 81 per cent of global travellers said that travelling sustainably is important to them. They have started putting more thought towards how they arrive at their destination, choosing a hotel with sound sustainability efforts, and even carefully considering the type of activities they participate in during their holidays.

properties work around complete waste segregation of plastic, glass, paper, cardboard and used cooking oil, which is collected by the government’s waste management division for recycling. Additionally, hotels are also switching plastic straws with the paper variety, eliminating the use of plastic bottles and implementing robust programmes for recycling. Others are tackling food waste by rethinking the buffet

The hospitality industry and travellers, together, need to reshape the idea of a hotel stay. Many little luxuries are part of the experience: making up the room daily, expecting the mini toiletries, enjoying cold bottled water by the pool and tasting a bit of everything at the well-stocked buffet breakfast. Though nothing will change overnight, you’ll notice more hotels leaving little prompts as signs and even incentives for guests to make more sustainable choices. Perhaps you can have your bed made every second day, choose a hotel with soap dispensers rather than toiletries or bring your own reusable bottle to fill up with water. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango.

More hotels are leaving little prompts for guests to make their sustainable choices

Hotel brands are raising a green flag, offering a growing number of responsible hospitality options to travellers

Staying Green

WORDS GEMMA GREENWOOD

Sustainable travel is no longer a niche. It has rocket-launched up the list of top criteria that consumers consider when making booking decisions. Increasingly aware of the environmental and social impact of their travel plans, travellers now consider how destinations and brands are giving back to the planet and its communities.

Many are seeking regenerative travel, with the onus, for instance, on accommodation options that not only preserve, but also improve the locations they inhabit. Hotels are under the microscope as travellers start to scrutinise their values, ethics and sustainability commitments.

Recent research by Online Travel Agency (OTA) Booking.com saw 81 per cent of global travellers confirming that sustainable travel was important to them, while 57 per cent said they would “feel better” staying in accommodation with a certification related to sustainable practices.

When it comes to buying business travel, a survey of travel management and procurement leaders across Europe and North America conducted by corporate travel and payment technology platform HRS and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), found nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) prioritised hotels that have earned a validated sustainability certification, such as LEED. More than half (59 per cent) indicated they elevated the visibility of these hotels in their corporate online booking solutions used by employees to book hotels.

The hotel industry is responding, and even though it has a long way to go, it is making strong headway in 2023. The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (SHA), which brings together leading hospitality companies from across the globe to tackle key challenges impacting the planet, endeavours to enable the industry to collectively operate responsibly and grow sustainably. Its members include major hospitality

companies such as Accor, Four Seasons, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Jumeirah Group, Marriott and Radisson, among others, which comprise 35 per cent of the global industry by rooms which totals 6.2 million across 45,000 properties. These groups are all pursuing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies to varying degrees. However, with many of them operating large portfolios, and often with properties housed in old buildings in urban locations, progress will be gradual.

The trailblazers of sustainable accommodation, therefore, are the smaller, more agile hospitality companies, including startups, who have the luxury of working from a blank sheet of paper. For those operating in markets like the GCC, where many tourism destinations are still considered ‘emerging’, or ripe for development, it’s a dream come true for developers and operators who want to build in sustainable practices from day one.

ENVI Lodges

One startup tapping into the accelerated demand for transformational and regenerative tourism experiences that positively impact destinations and communities is the GCC’s first experiential eco lodge brand, ENVI Lodges.

Its eco lodges, built in remote locations, are cocooned in nature and anchored around experiences such as adventure, wellness, agritourism, cultural immersion, and environmental discoveries.

With projects opening this year in Saudi Arabia, more are planned for the UAE, and another recently signed in Costa Rica – a destination considered a pioneer of responsible tourism. ENVI Lodges is one to watch as it quickly grows its footprint. Keep a close eye as savvy investors, keen to align to government goals that prioritise the development of regenerative and nature-centric tourism projects, are snapping up ENVI’s three accommodation concepts – tents, prefabricated

DID YOU KNOW ?

Members of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance include major hospitality companies such as Accor, Four Seasons, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Jumeirah Group, Marriott and Radisson, among others, which comprise 35 per cent of the global industry by rooms.

OPPOSITE AND THIS PAGE: ENVI The Islita is an ecotourism project which is being built in Costa Rica’s secluded Nicoya Penisula

The first ENVI lodge for Saudi Arabia is set to open in Q1 2024 on the Red Sea coast and is located on a privately owned date farm. It will offer 25 biophilic pods with private plunge pools. The second and third lodges planned for the next phase in the kingdom will have 40 units in each property.

SUSTAINABLE HOSPITALITY

villas and alternative pods. ey are also acutely aware of consumer appetite for genuine ‘eco-friendly’ stays and experiences, with the global experiential lodging (glamping) market predicted to be worth US$3.9 billion by 2027, with a 17.5 per cent CAGR, according to Businesswire.

e three upcoming ENVI properties in Saudi Arabia are as diverse as the kingdom. First to launch and due to open by mid2023 is a waterfront eco lodge on the pristine Red Sea coast featuring 40 pods, a restaurant, a beach club, private pools, an experience hub, a wellness sanctuary, and a kid’s club. In Al Ahsa, the largest governorate of Saudi Arabia and one of the top focus destinations of the National Tourism Strategy of the kingdom, travellers will be able to choose from a circuit of three distinct eco lodges. e rst lodge, set to open in Q1 2024, is located on a privately owned date farm and will o er 25 biophilic pods with private plunge pools, nestled between palm trees. Al Ahsa is considered one of the largest producers of dates in the world, and the lodge will o er guests the opportunity to discover and experience this very special fruit in various foods, spa and bath amenities, agricultural and wellness activities.

e second and third lodges planned for the next phase will have 40 units each. One will focus on adventure and the other on family beach activities.

ENVI has also signed a master agreement with the Mansour Alsanooni Group to operate multiple eco lodges across the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mansour Alsanooni Group is owned by Mansour Al Sanooni, a successful entrepreneur and prominent gure in the country’s entertainment industry. e lodges will comprise innovative modular pods conceived by Al Sanooni himself, providing a “memorable escape nestled in nature, with an innovative culinary o ering, and ve-star amenities.”

Travellers will also be able to travel outside of the region to experience ENVI’s experiential eco lodge o ering, with the company recently announcing plans to develop its rst property on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula. ENVI e Islita will comprise 31 guest units made of canvas and wood, as well as 26 low-impact villas that will be sold to individual owners and put back in a rental pool to be managed by ENVI Lodges as part of the eco lodge inventory. Facilities will include jungle lounges immersed in nature where guests will gather to unwind, connect, and enjoy the pool and a communal dining experience. Local chefs and farmers will connect with guests and celebrate food, culture and the natural surroundings of the peninsula.

ENVI Lodges is also a member of Beyond Green, an alliance of eco-hotels established in 2020 by the Preferred Hotel Group.

Kerten Hospitality

With multiple brands under its belt, its properties in the Middle East can be found in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Türkiye and Kuwait, and further a eld, in Georgia too.

Kerten Hospitality says that it is carving a niche as a “mixed-use, ESG and lifestyle operator”. In layman’s terms, this means it is committed to creating destinations and concepts with a purpose – to make a positive impact on communities.

e company, part of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (SHA), collaborates with like-minded partners and brands across food, retail, entertainment and art to create lifestyle hubs with a focus on “community empowerment and entrepreneurship” and, of course, sustainability.

Brands include e House Hotel, e House Residence, Cloud7 Hotels and Cloud7 Residence, each with its distinct proposition. In Saudi Arabia, the Cloud7 Residence AlUla, now open in the kingdom, is an a ordable eco lodge o ering bungalow accommodations, locally sourced farm-to-fork dishes, and live music nights with local guests and handicra artisans.

In Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province of Aseer, e Wellness Hotel Abha by Cloud7, currently under development, is being pitched as “the ultimate

ABOVE: ENVI’s three accommodation concepts include tents, prefabricated villas and pods

destination for wellness, detox and regeneration”. Guests staying in the 89 villas or rooms at this wellness retreat destination will be able to enjoy organic food options, two pools, a gym, a spa and a fully-equipped wellness centre, with mountain views and rich nature as the backdrop.

Also in Aseer, the Cloud7 Rooh Resort in the city of Abha is envisaged as a lifestyle destination with 70 eco villas that aim to “build a community of long-stay guests, digital nomads, and ecotourism travellers” Abha’s rst eco-resort will o er personalised experiences and connect international travellers to the local community through curated events and exploration of the local neighbourhood and nature. As an ESG-driven destination, Cloud7 Rooh Resort will help create opportunities for local employment and training in hospitality.

Over in Kuwait, e House Hotel Al Khiran immerses guests in the new community of Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City, o ering locally relevant curated events designed to connect Kuwaitis and international visitors. Other properties already open include Stayso by Cloud7 hotels in Istanbul and Bomonti, as well as e House Residence Helis Bodrum, all in Türkiye, and the well-established Cloud7 Residence Ayla Aqaba in Jordan.

Upcoming hotels with a distinct eco lodge o ering includes the Cloud7 Camp Jebel Jais glamping resort in Ras Al Khaimah, which will mark Kerten’s UAE debut. is

mountain property with 30 units all built from local stone, will o er guests the chance to explore ecotourism tracks and authentic Emirati hospitality and Bedouin culture.

ABOVE AND LEFT: In Saudi Arabia, the Cloud7 Residence AlUla, now open in the kingdom, is an a ordable eco lodge o ering bungalow accommodations

BOTTOM ROW: The House Hotel Al Khiran in Kuwait immerses guests in the new community of Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City

The Mysk Moon Retreat glamping destination in the Mleiha desert is set in the shadow of Fossil Rock and is a first-of-itskind luxury glamping destination comprising 10 single-bed domes, eight of which have private pools, four family tents with private pools, and two singlebed tents.

Shurooq

The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) is a driving force behind the transformation of Sharjah’s tourism offering, with a focus on ecohospitality and environment-led projects. Its Sharjah Collection, operated by Mysk, has played a key role in putting the emirate on the map as a promoter of sustainable and responsible tourism, with properties revealing the essence of Sharjah by delicately balancing luxurious accommodation with the protection and conservation of culture, heritage and the environment.

The most recent addition was the Mysk Moon Retreat glamping destination in the Mleiha desert Set

in the shadow of Fossil Rock amid the dunes of Mleiha, this is a first-of-itskind luxury glamping destination comprising 10 single-bed domes, eight of which have private pools, four family tents with private pools, and two single-bed tents.

Each unit is self-sufficient and fitted with essential amenities, including a private barbeque area, in addition to a lobby and a common area. It is part of the Travel Sustainable Programme, which means Shurooq has taken significant steps to ensure stays are eco-friendly and sustainable. It uses 100 per cent renewable electricity throughout the property to offset some of its carbon footprint, while guest accommodations feature waterefficient toilets and showers, and

waste recycling bins. Also, most food served is locally sourced and organic.

Other Sharjah Collection properties include The Kingfisher Retreat, inviting guests to discover a unique world of conservation in one of the UAE’s most diverse ecosystems, Kalba. It is set on an island off the east coast of Sharjah, where birds, gazelles, turtles, and crabs can be found abundantly amidst mangroves. Guests arrive by a private boat, stay in one of the 20 luxury tents with private pools, and enjoy bespoke dining and curated onsite and offsite experiences including visits to the island’s conservation centre. The tents are set up around 30m from the shoreline and raised from the ground by almost one metre to preserve the flora and fauna.

The third property in the collection is Al Badayer Retreat, a picturesque desert resort in the sweeping dunes of central Sharjah, comprising private tents and traditional accommodation that is evocative of an Emirati home. It offers handcrafted dining options, private spa rooms, a large family pool and an amphitheatre.

And there is more to come. The Lux Collective, a luxury hospitality management company, is set to operate two upscale eco resorts in Sharjah’s scenic central and east coast regions this year. The nature-inspired LUX*

Al Jabal Resort in Khorfakkan, located on a spectacular terrain hill overlooking a beach, will feature 45 eco-friendly units and suites that open out to expansive views of aquamarine waters and a jagged mountain range. Shurooq’s commitment to sustainability is evident in the ecofriendly cube-shaped accommodation imported from Finland. Made from a special variety of Finnish pine wood, it is validated by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certi cation, a global sustainable forestry initiative.

LUX* Al Bridi Resort in Al Dhaid meanwhile will be located next to the newly-opened Sharjah Safari, the largest conservation park in the region and the largest wildlife safari in the world outside of Africa. A partnership with Sharjah’s Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) ensures the care and conservation of the wild species inhabiting the reserve. Also scheduled to open this year, the property will feature 35 luxurious private tents, as well as a LUX* Me Spa, a gym, a pool, a restaurant and a kid’s club.

Shurooq has also unveiled plans for a rst-of-its-kind tourism project in the region known as Nomad – fullyequipped travel trailers that aim to o er close-to-nature travel experiences for families and adventure enthusiasts.

MANTIS

LOOK OUT FOR

A pioneer of curated hotels, eco lodges and waterways since 2000 when founder Adrian Gardiner, a global entrepreneur and conservationist, opened the first sustainable conservation tourism project in South Africa, Mantis is now spreading its wings in the Middle East. Look out for two new properties, one in the UAE and the other in Bahrain.

Opening this year, Saij Mountain Lodge in Ras Al Khaimah is a “protected and sustainably managed mountain resort” with 35 eco lodges built from natural materials. Guests staying at the Mantis Collection mountain lodge will be able to take part in guided treks in the emirate’s mountain ranges as part of an activity programme that helps them reconnect with nature, reassured that water conservation, energy e iciency and minimal waste generation programmes dictate how this retreat is operated.

US$3.9 BILLION

The global experiential lodging (glamping) market by 2027 17.5%

The CAGR of the experiential lodging (glamping) market worldwide by 2027

*According to Businesswire

Hot o its heels and slated to debut in 2024, Mantis will open a property on Bahrain’s Hawar Island, which is a 45-minute boat ride from the mainland and recognised by UNESCO for its natural history. Guests will stay in one of 75 overwater villas with direct access to the sea and surrounded by a wildlife sanctuary, enjoying the island’s biodiversity, which includes sand gazelles, Arabian Oryx, multi-coloured coral reefs, and endangered dugongs. The island is also a birdwatchers’ paradise, attracting various migratory birds,

particularly Socotra Cormorants. Facilities will include five dining concepts, an adventure park, a bike track, a waterpark, meditation spaces, and other social areas for adventure and sports enthusiasts.

EARTH HOTELS

From urban resorts to remote retreats, Earth Hotels, opening soon in UAE locations including Ras Al Khaimah, are described as the place to “wake up” and get a “fresh perspective”. These design-conscious hotels for the “earthly traveller” will be boutique but easygoing, built with minimal environmental and social impact while creating spaces to ‘just be’. The founders describe themselves as ecowarriors, but without the judgement, with Earth Hotels built with a “sustainable state of mind”, using technology to minimise waste and repurpose existing spaces, all with a creative twist and a sense of play. Recycled materials, low-energy lighting and solar power are standard. Earth Hotels will o er a range of experiences for travellers in pursuit of “authentic culture, mind-boggling nature and boundary-pushing adventures”, carrying the slogan, “let your time on Earth be as wild or chilled as you want it to be”.

At Earth Hotels, guests will be able to “Reboot. Relax. Recharge (or party all night long).” The operators are keeping details on the concepts under wraps, but look out for Earth Hotels on the coast, in the mountains, and other locations in between.

ABOVE: The Kingfisher Retreat in Sharjah’s Kalba region

OPPOSITE PAGE: The Mysk Moon Retreat glamping destination in the Mleiha desert

TOP OF THE CLASS

As travel restrictions eased across the world, the winners of our inflight wine awards impressed returning passengers

WORDS HANNAH BRANDLER

ollowing two years of route disruptions and restrictions on in ight services, the world has reopened and travel is back in full force. is also signalled the end of socially distanced tastings and the return to a normal judging process for our Cellars in the Sky awards, which have been running since 1985.

Late last year, a panel of expert judges convened at Haberdashers’ Hall, in Smith eld, London, to select the best bottles served by airlines in business and rst class in 2022. e judges were John Worontschak, Helen McGinn, Masters of Wine Peter McCombie and Sarah Abbott, and head judge Charles Metcalfe, founder of the International Wine Challenge.

“ e standard has been more even than previous years,” explains Metcalfe. “ ere were very few wines that we felt did not perform.” ankfully the pandemic did not lead to a drop in quality, with airlines continuing to invest in top-class beverages.

HOW THE AWARDS WORK

e competition is open to any carrier that serves wine in business or rst class on mid- or long-haul routes. Each airline is invited to enter two reds, two whites, a rosé, a sparkling, and a forti ed or dessert wine from both cabins. ey can compete in as many categories as they like, but to be eligible for the Best Overall Cellar

award they must enter at least one red, white and sparkling. For 2022, 22 airlines entered.

All tasting is blind, with the branding of bottles hidden beneath black bags labelled with a letter and two numbers – FC1, for instance, means the rst ight of rst class white wines, with the number di erentiating each entry. e judges are unaware of the wine make or the airline that entered it, eliminating any unconscious bias. Working in pairs, the judges taste half of the entries for each ight, with both teams putting forward their favourite bottles before re-tasting the nal selection and marking them out of 100.

WHAT THE JUDGES LOOK FOR

Unlike other wine competitions, our judges have the added challenge of putting themselves in the position of passengers on a plane at 35,000 . is means their favourite wines on land may not perform well on an aircra – and vice versa.

Acidity and tannins are emphasised at altitude, so the judges look for expressive, bold, and fruitier wines. “Subtlety can be a little problematic because humidity is low, so passengers dry out and become less sensitive to aromatic things. It’s almost like the aromatics boil o , in a sense,” explains McCombie.

Red wines always present a challenge as they tend to have high tannins but this doesn’t mean you should

FABIEN GYSEL/ISTOCK

strike them o . Metcalfe points out that pinot noirs and shiraz from Australia and New Zealand are more gentle and appealing options. McCombie, meanwhile, advocates for lighter and fresher reds: “It would be nice to see someone getting excited about a good Beaujolais.”

Of course, even wine experts have personal preferences, but the judges recognise their biases and deal with them in a professional manner. “It’s better to acknowledge them than to pretend you don’t have them,” explains McCombie, adding that the collegial element is critical. While the airlines are in competition with one another, the judges are working in alliance, so there’s certainly “no sticu s,” as Metcalfe puts it.

“ e strength of the panel format is that it mitigates against a really strong personal preference. We are open to learning from each other and having di erent perspectives,” adds Abbott. is is why the judges make their own assessment individually and have a discussion a erwards before settling on a nal score.

More o en than not they are all in agreement. “ e winning white wine in rst class [Tolpuddle Tasmania Chardonnay, 2018, Australia] absolutely stood out,” says McCombie. e winning wine in the forti ed and dessert category for business class [Domaine La Sobilane, Rivesaltes, 1948] also prompted smiles, accompanied by descriptors of “extraordinary” and “historic”.

wines,” explains Abbott. In fact, a lot of wines selected have come from the New World. “It’s by no means certain that the European wines will win,” Metcalfe adds.

is can o en be due to the relatively young nature of the wines, which have not yet harmonised. “You can see it is a wine of quality, but in terms of drinking pleasure, it’s not quite there yet,” Abbott reveals. McCombie agrees, stating that such labels “probably would have wowed us with two or three years of bottle age”.

You can never assume that just because it’s a famous label or region the wine will do better than less well-known ones. Herein lies the bene t of blind tasting, preventing the judges from being swayed by the name and sticking to the objective: Is it doing the right job for the air?

FUTURE TRENDS

How can airlines aim for the sky in the future? With sustainability on everyone’s mind, and the adverse impact of both rst and business class cabins on the environment, the judges are interested in how in ight services will adapt to face the challenge. “We are moving towards a point where an experience or a product will not be deemed luxurious or desired if the price paid damages the environment,” explains Abbott. Airline wine buyers will need to adjust their sourcing, opt for responsible suppliers, and promote authentic, and perhaps local, products. “Just as we have to consume alcohol responsibly, we need to y responsibly,” she adds.

And, with that, here are the bottles that most impressed our judges. Congratulations to the winners and sincere thanks to all of the airlines that entered and to event sponsor Whispering Angel.

e joy of this competition is that the wines occasionally even take our judges by surprise. e most o -the-wall entry this year was a niche church wine put forward by Finnair, which achieved a good score despite it not winning an award. “We appreciate when carriers do that, it’s part of the sense of discovery,” says long-time judge Abbott.

BIG EXPECTATIONS

Passengers must set their price tag expectations aside, as some of the more well-known and expensive labels don’t do the trick. “ e kind of wines that do very well at altitude are not necessarily the most famous, classic

Acidity and tannins are emphasised at altitude, so judges look for expressive, bold, fruitier wines

THIS PAGE: The judging panel hard at work to find the best wines in the sky

WINNING REDS WINNING WHITES

BEST FIRST CLASS RED GOLD

British Airways

Teusner The Riebke Barossa

Valley Shiraz, 2019, Australia

Judges said: Delicious black fruit flavours, warm spices, and lovely, lingering saline finish.

Score: 94

SILVER

Singapore Airlines

Clonakilla O’Riada Canberra

Shiraz, 2019, Australia

Judges said: Very refined, supple, juicy, elegant, classy and beautiful.

Score: 93.5

BRONZE (joint)

Oman Air

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier

Cru Les Sorbets, Albert Bichot, 2017, France

Judges said: Refined aromatics build on the nose, supple tannins, spiced elegance and beautiful balance.

Qatar Airways

Two Hands Ares Barossa Valley

Shiraz, 2014, Australia

Judges said: Soft and voluptuous yet elegant, extravagant nose, raisin and spice. Very ripe, jammy and powerful.

Score: 93

BEST BUSINESS CLASS RED

GOLD

Singapore Airlines

Teusner The Riebke Barossa Valley Shiraz, 2019, Australia

Judges said: Delicious black fruit flavours, warm spices, and lovely, lingering saline finish.

Score: 94

SILVER

British Airways

Santa Rita, Medalla Real Gold Medal Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 2017, Chile

Judges said: Bursting with plum, berry and chocolate flavours, lovely tannins and long finish.

Score: 93

BRONZE

Icelandair

M. Chapoutier Belleruche, Côtes-du-Rhône, 2020, France Judges said: Delicate aromatics, nice fruit balance, silky tannins.

Score: 92.5

BEST FIRST CLASS WHITE GOLD

Qantas

Tolpuddle Tasmania

Chardonnay, 2018, Australia

Judges said: Toasty fresh oak, subtle depth and elegance, lovely length and delicate intensity.

Score: 95

SILVER

Qantas

Penfolds Reserve Bin 18A

Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, 2018, Australia

Judges said: Crisp oak, creamy, reductive, tangy, fresh, vibrant but not aggressive.

Score: 93

BRONZE

Singapore Airlines

Domaine de Montille PulignyMontrachet 1er Cru “Les Chalumeaux”, 2017, France

Judges said: Classy oak, delicate intensity, mouthwatering acidity.

Score: 92

THE WINNERS

THE WINNERS

BEST BUSINESS CLASS WHITE GOLD

Qantas

Penfolds Max’s Chardonnay

2018, Australia

Judges said: Stone fruits, faint wafts of citrus, floral notes with a hint of ginger, oak balanced giving a nutty nuance.

Score: 94

SILVER

Aircalin

Crozes Hermitage Mule

Blanche Domaine Paul

Jaboulet Aîné, 2021, France

Judges said: Aromatic nose, white flowers, delicate woody note, well-rounded, fresh finish.

Score: 93.5

BRONZE

Cathay Pacific

Nik Weis Saarfeilser Riesling

GG, 2016, Mosel, Germany

Judges said: Full of character, complex, pronounced and refreshing.

Score: 93

WINNING SPARKLING WINNING ROSES

BEST FIRST CLASS SPARKLING

GOLD

Oman Air

Champagne Charles Heidsieck, Blanc des Millénaires, 2007, France

Judges said: Creamy and complex, deeper gold-green hints, breezy aromatics.

Score: 97

SILVER (joint)

Qantas and Singapore Airlines

Champagne Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blanc, 2008, France

Judges said: Rich, complex, spice and citrus feel, dense yet elegant.

Score: 96

BRONZE

British Airways

Champagne Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle NV, France

Judges said: Good development, nutty, some spice and oak, broad and rich.

Score: 95.5

BEST BUSINESS CLASS SPARKLING

GOLD

Air Tahiti Nui

Champagne Charles Heidsieck

Brut Réserve NV, France

Judges said: Creamy and complex, vanilla, brioche, light and reductive on the palate.

Score: 95

SILVER

Singapore Airlines

Champagne Piper-Heidsieck, 2014, France

Judges said: Sophisticated style, evolved, stony, salty, fresh acidity.

Score: 94

BRONZE (joint)

EVA Air

Champagne Castelnau Brut Millésime 2006, France

Judges said: Deep gold, stony and yeasty, nice evolution, rich toasty style.

Finnair

Champagne Joseph Perrier

Cuvée Royale Brut NV, France Judges said: Toasty, nice personality, honeycomb with a hint of ginger.

Qantas

Champagne Jacquart Brut Mosaïque NV, France Judges said: Elegant and creamy, green aromatics, apple and pear, mineral finish with lemongrass.

BEST FIRST CLASS ROSÉ

Note that only silver and bronze awarded in first class as the judges did not score any submitted rosés above 92, the benchmark for a gold award.

SILVER

Qatar Airways

Domaines Ott Château

Romassan Bandol, 2020, France

Judges said: Pale pink colour, good depth, citrus with a hint of liquorice.

Score: 91

BRONZE

American Airlines

Pebble Lane Pinot Noir Rosé, 2021, California

Judges said: Elegant and silky, well-balanced, intense, bright red fruits.

Score: 90

BEST BUSINESS CLASS ROSÉ

GOLD

Air Tahiti Nui

Château des Demoiselles – Côtes de Provence, 2021, France

Judges said: Vibrant, lively, savoury, hints of lavender and rosemary.

Score: 92

SILVER

Qatar Airways

Château Beaulieu, Cuvée

Alexandre Rosé Coteaux d’Aixen-Provence, 2020, France

Judges said: Savoury, crisp, flavours of strawberry and redcurrants, nice acidity.

Score: 91

BRONZE

Virgin Atlantic

Château de Montfrin La Tour Rosé, 2021, France

Judges said: Peach and strawberry aromas, crisp and light with good balance.

Score: 90

Brut Judges said: creamy, green aromatics, THE WINNERS

CELLARS IN THE SKY AWARDS MARCH 2023

49

BEST FIRST CLASS FORTIFIED / DESSERT WINE GOLD

Qatar Airways

Château Rieussec 1er

Grand Cru Classé Sauternes, 2010, France

Judges said: Bouquet of ripe peach, nectarine and honey; hint of ginger, perfectly balanced acidity.

Score: 95

SILVER

Qantas

Morris of Rutherglen Old Premium Rare Topaque, NV, Australia

Judges said: Treacle, raisin, nice bitterness, molasses, fig jam, smooth and balanced.

Score: 93.5

BRONZE

American Airlines

Maynard’s 20 Year Old Tawny Port, NV, Portugal

Judges said: Advanced nose, nutty and tangy spice, caramel notes, clean oak flavour, appealing raisin fruit.

BEST BUSINESS CLASS FORTIFIED / DESSERT WINE GOLD

Aircalin

Domaine La Sobilane, Rivesaltes, 1948, France

Judges said: Aromas of quince and oranges, flavours of nuts and dried fruits, smooth and balanced.

Score: 94.5

SILVER

Qantas

Baileys of Glenrowan

Founders series Classic Muscat, NV, Australia

Judges said: Clean and bright within treacle muscat lusciousness.

Score: 94

BRONZE (joint)

Singapore Airlines

Morris Classic Liqueur Muscat NV, Australia

Judges said: Really sweet and sticky flavours, burnt sugar, tobacco, prunes and raisin.

TAP Air Portugal

Graham’s 10 Years Old Tawny Port, NV, Portugal

Judges said: Complex nutty aromas, rich mature fruit flavours.

Score: 93

BEST FIRST CLASS CELLAR

GOLD – Qantas

SILVER – Singapore Airlines

BRONZE – Oman Air

BEST BUSINESS CLASS CELLAR

GOLD – Singapore Airlines

SILVER – Qantas

BRONZE – Cathay Pacific

OVERALL

BEST OVERALL CELLAR

GOLD – Singapore Airlines

SILVER – Qantas

BRONZE – Oman Air

WINNING FORTIFIED/DESSERT WINNING CELLARS WINNING WINE LIST

FIRST CLASS BEST-PRESENTED WINE LIST

GOLD – Singapore Airlines

SILVER – Japan Airlines

BRONZE – Korean Air

BUSINESS CLASS BEST-PRESENTED WINE LIST

GOLD – Singapore Airlines

SILVER – Jetblue

BRONZE – Air Canada

WINNING ALLIANCE

BEST ALLIANCE

GOLD – Oneworld

SILVER – Star Alliance

BRONZE – Skyteam

PRIVATE DESERT NATURE RESERVE

To know more, visit //www.ritzcarlton.com/alwadidesert or dial +971 7 206 7777

Cool Inc recently launched in Saudi Arabia as the purveyor of trendy experiential hospitality and is bringing in global F&B concepts to the kingdom, as well as building the country’s bespoke travel and adventure experiences sector

U

CRATING COOL

Saudi Arabia aims to become one of the top ve tourism destinations in the world. e country intends to spend US$6 trillion to attract 100 million domestic and international travellers annually which would help contribute 10 per cent of its GDP.

But with 100 million travellers in the kingdom annually by 2030, it is equally imperative that Saudi Arabia ramps up its domestic o erings to appeal to a diverse global audience.

at’s where Cool Inc, a Saudi-based company that launched last year, comes in with the concept of being a curator of experiential hospitality o erings within the kingdom.

To do so, it is importing some of the biggest names in the F&B and members’ clubs space from around the world, and also setting up di erent verticals to cater to bespoke travel and luxury lodging as well as adventure experiences. Cool Inc was co-founded by Sinan Al Saady who began his career in banking. e well-travelled Sinan saw the potential to bring high-end lifestyle concepts to the kingdom. “Cool Inc is an investment company. We focus on investments in hospitality and leisure. At Cool Inc, we’re committed to introducing a vibrant lifestyle within the kingdom to selective clientele – people who are well travelled and who have seen a lot of these concepts elsewhere in the world,” says Sinan.

Cool Inc’s current activities will be focused around F&B. Its has partnered with major global restaurants to bring them to Saudi. It plans to roll out 20 restaurants across mainly Riyadh and Jeddah over the next few months.

WORDS VARUN GODINHO

ABOVE: Chilled Maine Lobster at Cut by Wolfgang Puck

LEFT: Sinan Al Saady, cofounder of Cool Inc

In Riyadh, Cool Inc will be bringing in the likes of Asian restaurants Sexy Fish and seafood concept Scott’s. Sexy Fish will be making its Middle East debut a er having travelled from its Mayfair home in London to open in Miami last year. Expect favourites on the menu including the duck salad, smoked tuna belly and black cod.

“Riyadh is an energetic and diverse city with a cosmopolitan culture, making it a perfect match for Sexy Fish,” says Richard Caring, owner of Caprice Holdings which owns Sexy Fish. Another Caprice brand, Scott’s, which is also found in Mayfair is coming to Riyadh, courtesy of Cool Inc. Scott’s is believed to be among

restaurants in London and is one of the city’s most glamorous seafood establishments. Both Scott’s and Sexy Fish are con rmed to open shortly in Via Riyadh, a new luxury district in the Saudi capital which was unveiled only a few weeks ago and will feature several dining concepts, the kingdom’s rst St. Regis Hotel and high-end shopping boutiques.

Over in Jeddah, Cool Inc will be bringing Los Angeles favourite Madeo Ristorante to the city (a second outpost will open in Riyadh too), as well as the Japanese wagyu ramen concept, Mashi no Mashi, which will open along with Madeo this year itself. e other international concepts that will be imported into the kingdom by Cool Inc include steakhouse Cut By Wolfgang Puck, Paris celebrity haunt Ferdi, Michelinstarred London restaurant Gymkhana and the collective of beef speciality restaurants by Wagyuma a. Apart from the restaurants, Cool Inc is also bringing in members’ clubs such as Spring Place which has outposts in New York and Beverly Hills. Another

o ering which will serve as a space to network will be the Cigar Lounge by Manu Harit in Riyadh. “At Cigar Lounge by ManuH Cigars, we are not only importing some of the rarest, most excellent cigars from around the world, but we are also providing memorable new experiences for the region’s cigar a cionados, right here in Riyadh,” says Sinan.

Beyond the F&B vertical, Cool Inc is introducing a bespoke travel vertical which is expected to launch in the kingdom this month. Heading that aspect of its business is Stuart McNair, the managing director of bespoke travel at Cool Inc. As McNair explains, the aim of the bespoke travel division at Cool Inc would be to serve as a destination management company wherein high-end travel experiences are arranged in di erent parts of the kingdom. ere are four sub divisions that the bespoke travel vertical will cater to. e rst is tourism products which will range from quick Instagram photo tours around a speci c area, to private dining experiences and all the way up to visits to glamping sites. e second vertical will be tour operations wherein Cool Inc’s in-house team

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Eringe tempura at Sexy Fish; Cool Inc; Via Riyadh; Stuart McNair; Mashi No Mashi

of tour operators will advise on and curate packages over several days for visiting international guests. “We’re activating the whole kingdom. So, we’re starting in year one by activating about eight beautiful regions. Some of those do not have accommodation at the moment, and so we are bringing up our own mobile glamping sites down to these areas such as Tanomah,” says McNair. e high-end mobile glamping sites will allow Cool Inc to set up camp in remote unexplored areas of Saudi Arabia.

To aid its bespoke travel operations, it will be relying on its third sub-division – its own transportation eet. “It will start with 10 vehicles in the next few months, and that will increase to about 50 vehicles by year ve.

ese will include a mix of Land Cruisers, green vehicles and luxury buses,” says McNair. e fourth subdivision would be dedicated to brand activations and events, wherein luxury brands could approach McNair’s team to look a er visiting VIP guests, and to help curate events around brand activations and product launch campaigns within the kingdom.

Apart from bespoke travel, luxury lodging and the F&B vertical, the third main area of focus for Cool Inc will be developing adventure lifestyle activities within the kingdom.

at vertical is being led by Roland Zieher, the CEO of EBDA. Zieher was working at Nintendo World in Japan when he got the call from

Sinan. “EBDA is the adventure vertical of Cool Inc and we have already been operating it since 2020. It has since then opened an asset in Riyadh, where we operate a 200m zipline, an outdoor skate park as well as a 2,500 sqm indoor adventure park,” notes Zieher, whose previous experience in the Middle East included working on developing the experiences on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

With EBDA, Zieher will develop its operations across three further subdivisions. e rst will be operations where they invest themselves – as they have with the current asset in Riyadh. e second sub-division will focus on the management of assets. “We’re working on concept design developments with several partners here in the kingdom, where we will develop new asset hospitality leisure destinations,” says Zieher. e third sub-division will be a consulting and advisory business wherein EBDA will engage with government and private

partners to help them develop their own adventure destinations. Part of that mandate would be to include in the team not only expat experts, but also to foster Saudi local talent that can carry the baton.

Cool Inc’s operations, as Sinan points out, are all service oriented and hence the company is heavily invested in developing its human capital, speci cally in growing its Saudi employee base. “We are working with multiple government agencies. We have a programme with the Ministry of Tourism to train 400 people locally and internationally to elevate the hospitality scene in Saudi,” says Sinan.

In its communication of the brand, Cool Inc uses an image of a chameleon, one that Sinan says represents Cool Inc’s desire to be a company that can quickly adapt to the needs of the market as it becomes the ultimate purveyor of all things cool in the kingdom. “ e Cool Inc persona will be everevolving – therefore mimicking a chameleon. e chameleon is attuned to its surroundings, sees and hears everything constantly – and that’s how we think of ourselves.”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A creation at Scott’s; A biryani at Gymkhana; Roland Zieher; Madeo; A cutlet sando plated by Wagyumafia

Zak Brown AIR

MILES

WITH e chief executive o cer of McLaren Racing spends two-thirds of the year travelling. Here’s how he does it

What is your fondest memory of a holiday while growing up? Rome. It’s a beautiful city. I found its architecture and history fascinating.

How many days do you spend travelling in the year with McLaren Racing? I travel 270 nights per year. I’m now able to bring my family to a few more races, and my wife travels with me more o en since our kids have gone o to college. at’s de nitely made things a little easier.

What are your top travel hacks that you follow when preparing for a business trip? I pack just one Tumi bag, regardless of where I’m going and for however long. I’ve got bags in di erent sizes, but I refuse to bring lots of luggage. I live out of one suitcase [when I travel].

What were some of the big numbers for the McLaren F1 team last year? Last year equaled

the record for the most races in a season –with a total of 22 races across 20 countries. We completed 2,448 laps, made 84 pit stops, with an average of 3.8 stops per race. Our fastest pit stop was 1.98 seconds, achieved at the Mexico GP – an incredible achievement and a real example of teamwork at its absolute best.

Any travel quirks that you’ve noticed among McLaren F1 drivers? Drivers like to sleep the moment they get on the plane – but I’m not sure if that’s a quirk or a necessity. Like them, I really like being on planes. I nd them to be quite relaxing, and somewhat therapeutic.

If you weren’t at the helm of a racing outfit, is there another career path that you’d chosen? Also, what will life after racing look like for you? Death. I absolutely love everything about racing and plan on doing this forever. I would’ve liked to have been a baseball player, but I gave up on that too early in my baseball career. It’s something I would’ve certainly enjoyed doing though.

What’s the one travel experience you’d rather forget? I’ve had a bunch of those given how much I travel in any given year. Probably going on a ski trip where all my ski equipment was lost.

What are the three things that you always pack in your suitcase? Several phone chargers, attire, and my laptop for  business work.

How do you spend your air miles? Personal travel. My kids and wife will o en y out to join me throughout the racing season. I pay for these things myself, so that’s where I use my air miles.

Where’s the one location that’s still on your bucket list? e Galapagos Islands. It looks like an incredible location and not easy to get to. If I had a second, it would be Egypt, because I’m fascinated by history.

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER REGISTRATION CLOSES MARCH 17

VOTING OPENS MARCH 6

VOTING CLOSES MARCH 31

#BTMEAwards

Singapore Airlines A350-900 premium economy

SINGAPORE - LONDON

BACKGROUND This service from Singapore to London Heathrow was operated by an A350-900 aircraft, which had 42 seats in business, 24 seats in premium economy and 187 in economy class. SQ13 had a departure time of 1245 and arrival time of 1910.

CHECK-IN I checked in online and downloaded my boarding pass. It’s worth downloading the SIA app as it provides useful information such as the check-in and bag drop location. This was Zone 4, Row 7 and included check-in desks, self-service boarding pass and bag tag machines, and automatic bag drop machines.

BOARDING At Changi Terminal 3, the shops are located before security. Bear this in mind given the 100ml limit on restrictions. Boarding took place at Gate B3 at 1235.

Kris yer members get two hours’ free wi if you add your details when booking

THE SEAT Premium economy has 24 recliner seats in a 2-4-2 configuration, with a grey colour scheme brightened by orange accents. There are three rows, with curtains to separate the cabin from both business and economy.

The seat is well-designed with a headrest featuring movable wings, making it more comfortable for sleeping, and an adjustable personal reading light. There is a built-in calf rest and a footrest under the seat in front (apart from in the first row – see right).

Passengers can store belongings below the seat in front or within the magazine pocket. There’s a small mesh pocket below the 13.3-inch HD touchscreen monitor.

There is a USB port between the seats at the rear of the armrest, as well as another USB port on the right of the monitor. There’s a UK power socket by your legs. At the front of the armrest is space for both passengers

to place a drink, and a sturdy tray table is within the armrest.

There is a large pillow and a blanket at the seat, with noise-cancelling headphones in the pocket in front. Ear plugs, eye masks, socks and dental kits are available on request. The seat feels spacious – it is wider than in economy (19 versus 18 inches) – and there’s also up to 4 inches of added legroom.

BEST SEAT

The bulkhead row (31) o ers extra legroom – window or aisle seats are recommended. My window seat at the back of the cabin (33K) was comfortable.

THE FLIGHT Shortly after take-o the cabin crew confirmed food choices for those that had pre-ordered. We were o ered beer, juice or water, followed by a glass of Champagne and a snack.

This is a long flight, so I had time to watch a movie and sleep at various intervals. Lights were dimmed in the middle of the journey and the aircraft was quiet.

The IFE has an excellent selection of 1,800 entertainment options. My monitor was frozen at first, but worked once rebooted. The sound then did not work, but sta provided business class headphones which did the trick. Krisflyer members get two hours’ free wifi if they add their details at the booking or check-in stages. Otherwise it costs US$9.99-15.99 for 100-200MB or three-hours worth for US$15.99.

FOOD AND DRINK This flight included lunch and dinner services, plus snacks. Passengers can pre-order meals online or via the app, with the option to experience the Book the Cook service. Lunch was served at 1430 and dinner at 2115 (Singapore time). The latter was tasty and included an appetiser of orzo with a sesame soy dressing and curried tofu; a Malay-style fish tamarind curry with white rice and sauteed vegetables; and a generous slice of pear hazelnut cake.

I was quite thirsty throughout the flight as you only get water in small cups, which did not feel su icient. Other drinks available included red and white wine, various spirits, Tiger/Heineken beer, Singapore Sling and non-alcoholic options.

ARRIVAL We landed at Heathrow Terminal 2 ahead of schedule at 1840.

VERDICT This is a good premium economy product, with the added legroom and seat width making a long journey more comfortable than in economy class. Service was attentive and friendly.

Hannah Brandler

FLIGHT TIME

14 hours 25 minutes

CONFIGURATION

2-4-2

SEAT WIDTH

19 inches

SEAT PITCH

38 inches

PRICE

Internet rates in March for a one-way SingaporeLondon flight in premium economy start at £2,118

CONTACT

singaporeair.com

Phulay Bay, a RitzCarlton Reserve, Krabi

BACKGROUND In 2009, Ritz-Carlton opened a property in Thailand so special, it required the creation of an entirely new category under the Ritz-Carlton brand. And so Phulay Bay became the world’s first Ritz-Carlton Reserve. The di erence between Ritz-Carlton Reserves and their regular sister properties? Remote locations, petite size and bespoke service. In the 14 years that have followed, only four further Reserves have opened, with a sixth set to open in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea development this summer.

WHERE IS IT? Nestled in a private bay on Krabi’s picturesque coastline, it’s roughly 45 minutes from Krabi International airport.

WHAT’S IT LIKE? First impressions set the tone for a stay that’s truly outstanding at every level. The red carpet is metaphorically rolled out for guests at a welcome ceremony at the Sala Srichan, a welcome pavilion set overwater, guarded by high stone walls in deep mauve. From there, guests are whisked to their rooms, of which the hotel has just 54, on buggies driven by their dedicated Ton Hung, Phulay Bay’s iteration of a private butler. Everything

BEST FOR Luxury down to the finest detail

DON’T MISS

A private dinner at Sala Srichan, the welcome pavilion that gets illuminated by 2,000 candles after dark

PRICE

Internet rates for a Reserve Pool Villa in mid-March start from US$1,040

CONTACT

111 Moo 3, Nongthalay, Muang, Krabi, 81180 Thailand; +66 756 2811; ritzcarlton.com/hotels/ phulay-bay

is dotted around the grounds, which feature lush gardens, tranquil lily ponds and streams that flow from the mountains behind the resort.

ROOMS A collection of 54 villas and pavilions are designed to make the most of the locale, each one unique in its layout and finish, but all rich and grand in their aesthetic. I stayed in a one-bedroom Reserve Pool Villa, cleverly laid out so the terrace at the back, where a sunken tub is

flanked by palm trees, enjoys the morning sun, while the private pool at the entrance benefits from the afternoon heat. Touches like the enormous domed ceiling bathroom, the largest beds in the world, and handpainted Thai-Lanna screens lend a lavish feel, but it’s the little extras that make the di erence. Traditional Thai sweets are left on the pillow each evening, a statue of a sleeping lady is left out to be used as a fun do not disturb, and on a day trip to a local elephant sanctuary, my Ton Hung Habib brings an insect repellent that’s free of harsh chemicals.

FOOD AND DRINK Phulay Bay’s culinary credentials are truly outstanding, with five restaurants and bars to choose from. On the seafront, Chomtawan is the perfect spot for sundowners, where local artisans are often on-hand to lead crafting sessions. All-day dining is instantly elevated by lush surroundings and stretching views at Jampoon, where flavours of East-meets-West fuse Mediterranean dishes with southern Thai classics. Then there are casual eats at poolside Plai Fah, a 22-seater restaurant by the sea, Lae Lay, where an elegant afternoon tea is served, and fine dining Thai restaurant Sri Tang completes the culinary lineup.

MEETINGS Indoor and outdoor meeting spaces include a 426 sq ft meeting room, a traditionally designed conference room for formal business get-togethers, as well as an array of outdoor venues backdropped by Krabi’s spectacular scenery.

LEISURE The resort’s infinity pool benefits from some seriously show-stealing views, stretching to Hong Island and across the calm Andaman Sea. While it would be easy to simply soak it all in from a plush poolside cabana, Bay’s myriad activities encourage adventure. A Muay Thai class led by a professional fighter, sunrise hikes, and a long-tail boat trip to Hong Island are all unmissable parts of the Phulay Bay bucket list. Then, there are more low-tempo pursuits, like an afternoon in the instantly relaxing spa, adorned in dark woods and bathed in natural light.

VERDICT The above-and-beyond ethos radiates through this property, from its detailed design to the thoughtful service that ensures every guest’s stay is entirely bespoke.

Alice Holtham

The above-and-beyond ethos radiates through this property from its design to the service

mirrors (very useful after a hot shower) make all the di erence.

Hotel des Horlogers, Le Brassus

BACKGROUND This property was formerly the Hotel de France, established in 1857. Back in the 19th century, the post o ice was located on the premises and so independent watchmakers would assemble here regularly to drop their components which they would work on during the winters for it to be posted to the assemblers who were mainly based in Geneva. The hotel changed names and owners over several decades. It was acquired by Audemars Piguet in 2003, when the name was changed to Hotel des Horlogers. A few years ago, AP enlisted Bjarke Ingels Group

as well – instead, here the focus is on a design inspired by nature. The lobby’s ceiling features recycled trunks with roots, and the ribbed reception desk is a nod to ammonite fossils which can still be found on the grounds in front of the hotel where a glacier formerly existed. The property is a Minergie-Eco certified building and is an energypositive structure.

(the same group which worked on the design of the AP museum which is located only a few metres away) to redesign the hotel, which then reopened in 2020.

WHERE IS IT? Located in the village of Le Brassus in the Vallée de Joux, it’s a few minutes from the French border, and is about an hour’s drive from the airport in Geneva. Apart from AP, there are a number of other watchmakers based in the Vallée de Joux and this hotel is convenient for any of their visiting guests.

WHAT’S IT LIKE? Audemars Piguet

is keen that this isn’t positioned as an AP property – hence in the lobby, you’ll find books about other watchmakers including Longines and Rolex. There aren’t any overt watchmaking references to this hotel

BEST FOR Stunning views of the Risoud forest

DON’T MISS

ROOMS The four-star boutique hotel comprises of 50 rooms built along a zig-zag layout. Each room has views looking out into the valley and the Risoud forest. I stayed in the Valley Guest room. The overhead light fixtures resemble oyster shells, and there are muted shades of colour in the decor. Interestingly, the safe in the room is at table level, which means that you’re unlikely to forget anything left in the back corner of it. In the bathroom, details such as the light around the magnifying mirror that comes on automatically as you approach it or the automatic defogging mechanism on the

FOOD AND DRINK

The hotel has three restaurants, overseen by chef Emmanuel Renaut. Breakfast is served at Le Gogant and has an excellent selection of Swiss cheese and locally-sourced meats. An à la carte menu is made available for lunch and dinner too at Le Gogant. The Bar des Horlogers located behind the reception desks in the lobby o ers a selection of cocktails, wines and spirits. The third restaurant, La Table des Horlogers, can seat 12 guests and is a gourmet restaurant with a tasting menu.

Breakfast at Le Gogant – the fare is typically Swiss and delicious

PRICE

Internet rates for a Valley Guest Room in mid-March start from CHF354

CONTACT

8 Route de France, 1348 Vallée de Joux, Switzerland; +41 21 845 08 45; hoteldeshorlogers.com

MEETINGS

The hotel has two meeting rooms, Salle Clous de Paris and Salle Côtes de Genève – the latter is a large space that opens out onto a terrace. The boardroom can seat around 12 people.

LEISURE

The spa is stocked with Swiss brand Alepor whose products are made using local natural ingredients. The gym is on the same level as the spa, and since this hotel prioritises being ecofriendly, a conscious decision was made not to include a swimming pool. If you want to engage in activities outside the hotel, ask the sta to assist in organising hiking tours or ski trips as well as tours of watchmaking facilities in the vicinity during your stay.

VERDICT

The ultra-modern hotel is a great place to stay. Its focus on being an eco-conscious property is admirable, and Audemars Piguet has an outstanding hotel as a case study should it choose to grow its hospitality portfolio. Varun Godinho

There are no overt references to watchmaking (or its owner, Audemars Piguet) throughout the hotel

The Okura Tokyo

BACKGROUND The Okura Tokyo opened in 1962 and closed in 2015 for a reconstruction by architect Yoshio Taniguchi. The new structures remain faithful to the original design and include a recreation of the former lobby.

The hotel reopened in September 2019 and the site (known as Okura Square) houses the Okura Museum of Art (free for guests) and two perpendicular buildings – the 17-storey Heritage Wing, for more private stays, and the 41-storey high-rise Prestige Tower, home to guest rooms, dining and leisure facilities and o ices. A covered walkway on the ground floor connects the two buildings.

WHERE IS IT? In the city’s Toranomon business district. The main entrance is opposite the US embassy.

WHAT’S IT LIKE? While it has had a modern makeover, The Okura retains its old-school glamour and nods to the past with Japanese artworks and materials. The glistening buildings rise up from a granite

square, with a peaceful willow tree and water feature opposite.

The Heritage Wing is understated and designed to resemble a hanare, a Japanese dwelling that is separate from the main building. The tranquil reception space on the ground floor (5F) has just two desks and a bellhop area, with a wisteria flowershaped chandelier cascading down the staircase to the lower ground level (4F).

The Prestige Tower is livelier, with a vast open-plan lobby with more check-in desks, a mezzanine space and a geometric lounge area with repaired and re-lacquered tables from the original building. These have been laid out to resemble a plum blossom, with reupholstered chairs arranged to represent the petals. Pentagon-shaped lanterns cloak the space in a warm, golden hue.

ROOMS There are 508 rooms – 140 rooms in the Heritage Wing and 368 in the Prestige Tower. Heritage Wing rooms and those on floors 37-40 of the Prestige Tower get access to the club lounge on the 37th floor.

The Heritage Wing o ers a friendly in-room check-in experience over a tea and snacks. Keycards are required to enter the lift lobby, and your floor is automatically selected when you scan it in the lift – a smart touch.

Bathrooms provide a private spa-like experience, with a jet bath o ering views of the cityscape, an adjacent steam room and a separate Toto toilet.

Automatic sheer blinds and blackout blinds can be powered by switches or via the tablet on the bedside table.

Guests are treated to a complimentary minibar, five pressing items, a daily newspaper delivered via the Butler box, and toiletries from Three and Bamford.

FOOD AND DRINK The Heritage Wing has French cuisine at Nouvelle Epoque and traditional Japanese cuisine at the lowerground Yamazato. The Prestige Tower has all-day venue Orchid on the ground floor, Chinese cuisine at Toh Ka Lin on the sixth floor, and teppanyaki restaurant Sazanka and Starlight bar and lounge on floor 41. The club lounge o ers a bu et thrice a day.

MEETINGS There are 12 meeting rooms, five function rooms and two banquet rooms.

LEISURE The Prestige Tower has a fitness centre on the 26th floor and a spa on the 27th.

VERDICT This is a thoughtful restoration of the original landmark. It has retained a vintage feel while adding updated amenities to o er luxury stays in the modern era.

Hannah Brandler

The 60 sqm rooms are beautifully designed and echo the peaceful ethos of the Wing, with a spacious and minimalist open-plan living and sleeping area that features wooden-panelled interiors and large windows. The soothing design is conducive to a healthy mindspace after a busy schedule.

Rooms have a wooden desk, with a plug socket nearby, a plug sockets hub, as well as a flatscreen TV.

Evening drinks and snacks in the Club Lounge, overlooking the luminescent Tokyo Tower

PRICE

Internet rates for a Heritage Room Twin including breakfast and club lounge access in March start from US$730 CONTACT

Chateau Denmark, London

BACKGROUND This newly built boutique hotel opened in April 2022 and is part of the huge redevelopment around Tottenham Court Road Station, now being called ‘Outernet London’, a new entertainment district.

Other buildings include ‘Here’, a live music venue for up to 2,000 guests, and the revamped Lower Third club. The hotel complex has 14 rooms and ten apartments spanning 16 Grade-II listed townhouses, mansion buildings and a maisonette on and around Denmark Street (Tin Pan Alley).

WHERE IS IT? A five-minute walk from Tottenham Court Tube station. From Denmark Street, enter via the Now Arcade, a digital light installation tunnel that leads you to the hotel entrance.

WHAT’S IT LIKE? Accommodation options include apartments in historic Victorian townhouses that are separate from the hotel and located along Denmark Street. Some of the blue plaque buildings house apartments where music giants like The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Lou Reed wrote, lived and partied. The properties are all richly decorated in black, gold and jewel colours, trimmed and tasselled at every opportunity, while leather and rubber floors contrast with luxurious, papered walls, golden ceilings and velvet curtains. The whole e ect is opulent and sumptuous, married with a bit of anarchy.

This hotel is all about the area’s music heritage and gives you a chance to experience a rock and roll lifestyle. Sta wear purple brocade jackets embellished with

the hotel’s emblem embroidered in gold. You meet your personal butler in the small unassuming lobby, and check-in is done in the room.

ROOMS The 14 rooms – called session rooms – are in three categories: Superior, Luxury and Deluxe, varying in size from 21-51 sqm, with the rooms named rather than numbered. We stayed in a Deluxe room (‘Naughty Starter’) on the second floor. All rooms have high-spec 65-inch TVs, ‘Maxi bars’, and purple and gold bathrobes and slippers. With no communal areas in the hotel your butler is key to organising your stay, from booking restaurants and theatre tickets to bringing you your breakfast. Our butler, Meg, was a treasure, and even helped us to navigate the room’s complex touchscreen

The bathroom had marble floors with underfloor heating and a dark green tiled walk-in rain shower featuring full-sized Soapsmith shower gels and shampoos.

Thankfully, considering almost everything was black, there was lots of natural light and every room has a small balcony and outside space. There is a good-sized desk, free wifi, plenty of power points and a recharging hub with cables for Android and Apple devices.

lighting, heating and aircon controls. Amenities include a tap that produces boiling, cold and sparkling water, a Nespresso machine, an ice-making device and secret snack drawer plus the extensive Maxi bar. No miniatures here, all rooms have full-sized bottles of spirits, a wine fridge, bottles of red at room temperature and a fridge full of beers, juices and mixers plus all the bar kit needed for cocktails. Once a bottle is opened you will be charged for the whole bottle, with some that cost over £1,000. The room is certainly equipped for a serious party. The Void and Artcoustic speakers, standard in all rooms, give excellent sound quality and there is plenty of space for a few dance moves.

Reflecting the street’s history, each room is themed. Our room had black walls, black rubber floors and a black leather chaise longue. The super king-size bed was crowned with a golden velvet headboard and flanked with adjustable mirrors. There was lots of storage with large wardrobes and shelving, a hairdryer and clothes steamer, plus the amusingly labelled ‘Filthy’ laundry bag.

FOOD AND DRINK There is no restaurant, but food can be ordered through your butler. Chinese restaurant Tattu on the sixth floor can be accessed directly from the hotel.

MEETINGS There are no meetings facilities.

LEISURE Currently, there is no gym.

VERDICT Super stylish, ultra-modern and a very distinctive hotel experience. Celebrating its musical and theatrical roots with flair, humour and excellent service. Annie Harris

BEST FOR

Immersing yourself in music history and sampling a bit of the rock and roll lifestyle

DON’T MISS

Exploring the new Outernet district and the amazing wraparound digital installations

PRICE

Internet rates for a flexible midweek stay in March start from £510 for a Superior Session room

CONTACT

The Now building, Denmark Place, Outernet, London WC2H 0LA, UK; +44(0)20 3656 1000; chateaudenmark.com

Adorning the walls were gold padlocks, whips, handcu s and leather collars

OAnjo, Dubai

BACKGROUND As far as food concepts go, it’s easy to roll your eyes the moment you hear the word “fusion”. But OAnjo gives you a reason to pause and reconsider the word – this restaurant blends Japanese and Portuguese cuisine. If you’re confused about the thinking behind fusing these two very diverse cuisines, remember that the Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach Japan as far back as 1543. For more proof that the two countries – and their cuisines – are congruent, we are told that the concept of deep frying was introduced by the Portuguese to the Japanese, and that’s how the latter developed the idea of tempuras.

WHAT’S IT LIKE? The Sheraton Mall of the Emirates opened a decade ago, and its easy access to the mall is one of its biggest strengths. To get to OAnjo, which opened only a few weeks ago, take the elevator of the hotel to the fifth floor and switch elevators to then go all the way to the 24th floor of the hotel. Make your way past Shine Spa and the hotel’s fitness centre, and head towards the terrace. A path, flanked on either side by two swimming pools, leads straight to OAnjo.

THE VENUE It’s an intimate venue with only around a dozen tables. The arches along the walls frame di erent bits of the city that you can take in through the

270-degree views. One arch perfectly frames the Burj Al Arab, while another that we sat next to framed Sheikh Zayed Road and the downtown Dubai skyline. The red sofas contrast with the otherwise muted colours of the walls and floors, while

HOURS

Tuesdays-Sundays 12.30pm-3pm; 7pm-11pm

LOCATION

24th floor, Sheraton Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

CONTACT

+971 4 377 2007; oanjo.com

a Forever Rose is placed on every table. There’s an open kitchen through which you can watch Portuguese chef Sergio Cruz prepare your meal.

FOOD AND DRINK For starters, we asked for the Octopus which was slowcooked over 12 hours before being finished in a Josper oven for that outer crunch. It was presented artfully in a pool of black garlic sauce and olive oil. That starter was great, but for an absolute masterpiece, ask for the 21-piece chef’s selection platter of sashimi, nigiri and maki rolls. By far, one of the freshest seafood platters we’ve had, it had a selection of scallops and tuna sashimi, acevichado rolls, and a musttry of wagyu nigiri. For mains, we opted for the Portuguese Seafood Rice served with white fish, scallops and with yuzu foam – it’s fusion done right. The portions are generous and can be easily shared by two. The Bachlau à Brás, another typical Portuguese creation, is a great option as well and is made using black cod, potato and egg. For desserts, the Japanese Mochi ice cream and the sweet miso cheesecake are perfect picks.

SERVICE Completely unobtrusive, the sta aren’t in a hurry to take your order, clear your plates or rush you onto the next course. They allow you to soak in the experience – and it certainly is a memorable one given the views as well as the live music being played through the evening courtesy of a saxophonist.

VERDICT Two cultures, two stark contexts in the approach to food – and yet OAnjo does a brilliant job of finding common ground between them and merging the two seamlessly. You’ll find similarities between Portugal and Japan as you make your way through the menu –but begin with the name of the restaurant itself. OAnjo means “angel” both in Portuguese and Japanese. Varun Godinho

The Portuguese were the rst Europeans to reach Japan

Our guide to…

What is the ETIAS?

The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is a visa waiver for travellers from ‘third countries’ wanting to enter Europe’s Schengen Area from late 2023. This will apply to non-EU nationals from visa-exempt countries travelling to the EU for short-term stays. It will be a mandatory condition for entry to the Schengen states via air, sea or overland.

HOW WILL IT WORK?

The ETIAS is an electronic authorisation system, similar to the United States’ ESTA and Canada’s eTA systems. It will be checked alongside travel documents by border guards when crossing the EU border. Unless exempt, citizens will be refused entry at the border if they do not have an ETIAS once in operation.

It does not apply to those with a residence permit or residence card for EU countries. Family members of EU citizens or of nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland are also exempt.

Additionally, you will not need an ETIAS if you enter and exit Europe with a passport of the member EU country (if you have dual nationality, for instance).

HOW DO YOU APPLY?

Applications are set to open later this year. Travellers will need to fill in an online application form via the o icial ETIAS website or the mobile app. The EU Commission states that “most applications are processed within minutes”, but can take up to four days. If further checks are needed beyond that, the issuing of the authorisation may take up to 30 days.

You will need to have a travel document, such as a passport, and payment card at hand when applying. The travel document should not expire in less than three months and should not be older than 10 years. You will be asked to provide:

■ Personal information including name, address, date and place of birth, nationality, parents’ first names, email address and phone number

■ Travel document details

■ Education and occupation details

■ Intended travel and stay details

■ Details of criminal convictions, past travels to war or conflict zones and whether you have been required to leave the territory of any country.

Once submitted, you will receive a confirmation email which will include your ETIAS application number. Once processed, you will receive another email informing you of its outcome. You will not need a print copy as the airline’s check-in sta and border guards can access it within the system.

The ETIAS will be linked to your travel document, so make sure you enter the correct passport details and are carrying the same document when travelling. Note that you will need to apply for a new ETIAS if you change your passport for any reason.

If your application is refused, you will receive reasons for the decision and the right to appeal.

HOW LONG IS IT VALID FOR?

The ETIAS will be valid for three years or until the passport expires. It permits entry into any of the 30 countries as many times as you wish for short-term stays (90 days in any 180-day period).

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

There will be a one-o fee of €7 for those aged between 18 and 70.

DO YOU NEED AN ETIAS IF TRANSITING THROUGH A EUROPEAN AIRPORT?

Only if you exit the international transit area and enter any of the countries listed below.

WHICH COUNTRIES REQUIRE THE ETIAS?

Czech

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Aerial taxis to begin operating in Dubai by 2026

If you thought that flying taxis were only wishful thinking, Dubai is making sure that it becomes a reality instead. Starting 2026, the first aerial taxis are expected to start whizzing across the emirate. Recently, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the aerial taxi vertiports models which will be developed by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and serve as critical infrastructure for this initiative. The vertiport network will initially connect four areas: Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah and Dubai International airport. Each electric aerial taxi can accommodate up to four passengers, besides the pilot, and will have a range of over 240km along with a top speed of 300kph. Hello, future.

A LANDMARK, REJUVENATED

At Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre, each stay is taken to new heights with our re-imagined and inspiring new rooms and suites. Situated 30 stories above the vibrant city, the rejuvenated interiors takes cues from traditional Saudi architecture and craftsmanship, complemented by bespoke artisanal accessories. Whether for business or pleasure, we invite you to indulge in our exquisite environments, relax in refinement and enjoy an inimitable Four Seasons experience.