ACCOMMODATION

Emaar Property’s first project in 2013, The Address Residence Fountain Views, on Saturday witnessed an overwhelming response, selling out all the units released on the first day of the launch, according to sources. The strong response to Emaar’s prime property indicates robust demand for premium developments in Downtown Dubai, which was one of the most sought-after communities for residential sales and leasing last year.

One of the first new serviced hotels in Dubai to complete will be Burjside Boulevard in the Burj Area with enviable views over the world's tallest tower and world's largest mall. Developed by DAMAC Properties, the region's largest luxury private developer, the 50-storey tower is set to begin handover later this year.

The Address Downtown Dubai, the flagship hotel of The Address Hotels + Resorts, the hotel brand owned by Emaar Hospitality Group, has been chosen as the 'Best Hotel in the World' at the Global Traveler Annual Reader Survey Awards for the second consecutive year. Global Traveler is a monthly magazine for business and luxury travellers, and in this year's annual reader survey, more than 28,000 people - mostly frequent premium travellers - took part to determine the best in some 70 travel-related categories.

Emaar Properties will open sales within The Address The BLVD, the newly launched hotel and serviced residences in Downtown Dubai. The Address The BLVD Sky Collection is an exclusive portfolio of residences, duplexes, and penthouses, set within the upper-most levels of Emaar’s latest Address hotel, located on the Emaar Boulevard, near Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall.

"Giorgio Armani dresses us for life," said Jay Phillips, explaining why he and husband Steven Hare held their recent nuptial celebration at the Armani Hotel in Milan. "So we decided to live inside his world with our dearest friends for one perfect weekend." For two San Franciscans, hosting a destination wedding in Italy was "ridiculous, fabulous, and the most amazing thing we could have imagined. And we have good imaginations."

Demand for apartments in Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower in Dubai, is fast rising, reflecting the rise of positive sentiment for the sector at the very top end of the market. According to information available with Emirates 24|7, there have been 61 Burj Khalifa sales transactions in the first nine months of 2012.

Dubai’s buoyant hotel industry sustained its upturn in the first six months of 2012 with a 10 per cent surge in hotel guests compared to the corresponding period in 2011. Dubai’s hotels and hotel apartments played hosts to 5,027,223 guests in the first half of this year, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in Dubai has said.

Dubai hotels and hotel apartments recorded Dh9.8 billion in revenue in the first half of 2012, marking a 22 per cent over the same period last year, according to the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). Guest numbers in the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments, meanwhile, posted a 10 per cent increase to 5.027 million guests in the January-June period over the corresponding period a year earlier, the tourism body said in a statement on Monday.

The world’s tallest hotel, JW Marriott Marquis, is expected to open its doors to guests in December this year. Dubai is home to the world’s top three tallest structures — the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa; the world’s tallest residential building, Princes Tower; and, soon, the world’s tallest hotel, JW Marriott Marquis.

High-end fashion is moving from the runway to popular holiday destinations, with a number of key fashion designers turning their talents to luxury hotels and resorts around the world. From Oscar de la Renta in The Dominican Republic to Armani in Dubai, fashion-conscious travellers and lovers of luxury can experience haute-couture like never before with Hotels.com’s top ten hotels designed by fashion icons.