Fairmont Palm Jumeirah set for Q3 2012 opening

Fairmont Palm Jumeirah Hotel, the delayed luxury resort on Dubai’s iconic palm island, will not open its doors to the public until third quarter of 2012, Arabian Business has learnt. Operators Fairmont Raffles International said in May the hotel would have a soft opening in July and a full opening for September.However, a Dubai-based spokesperson from Fairmont Hotels & Resorts this week confirmed the hotel will be delayed further and will not open its doors to the public until at least the third quarter of 2011.The news comes as it was announced that hospitality veteran Martin van Kan has been appointed General Manager of the hotel. "Martin joins us at a pivotal time as we accelerate opening preparations for the hugely anticipated Fairmont property on the Palm Jumeirah," said Henning A Fries, Regional Vice President, UAE and General Manager, Fairmont Bab Al Bahr. "Van Kan's appointment marks another milestone toward bringing the hotel online,” added Joe Sita, president of IFA Hotel Investments, developers of the property. The hotel, which has 380 guest rooms, was originally scheduled to open in 2010, but faced delays as Kuwaiti backers IFA Hotels & Resorts struggled to secure funding. The company secured a $115m finance deal in December, marking the first major real estate loan made by a bank following the collapse of Dubai’s property markets in 2009. The Fairmont opening will provide a boost to the Palm, where several operators have delayed plans to build hotels on the man-made island. Of the larger hotels planned, only the Atlantis – which opened in 2008 – the One&Only Palm Jumeirah and the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray have so far opened. Kempinski confirmed in March this year that it was mothballing its 253-room Emerald Palace project on the Palm until at least 2013, citing oversupply in the market. State-backed Jumeirah Group said earlier this year that it was suspending its planned hotel on the Palm. Question marks have also been raised over the $2.9bn Trump International Hotel and Tower, which was due to be located on the Palm’s trunk. In February this year, a spokesperson for the Trump Organisation refused to deny or confirm whether the project would go ahead.