Bulgari SpA and Dubai developer Meraas Holding are reportedly combining to build a luxury resort and homes on a man-made island off Dubai. Bloomberg reports the development will include a 101-room hotel with 20 hotel villas, along with a 50-berth marina and Bulgari yacht club.
A fashion house getting into hotel development, particularly in Dubai, isn't new. There are already hotels carrying the Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace names.
“If you have a manmade island like this, there is an attraction,” Cherif Hosny, chief hospitality officer at Meraas, told Bloomberg. “We are planning to attract a niche market for this project.”
Meraas and Bulgari’s development will be built on 1.7 million square feet of land on Jumeira Bay Island. The project is set for completion in 2017.
Bulgari, bought by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA in 2011, currently operates hotels in Milan, Bali and London. The company plans to have about 20 hotels in the next five to seven years in cities including Shanghai and Beijing.