The National

The company already manages more than 50 restaurants inside its hotels, including The Address and Armani hotel, but has branched out into independent restaurants to tap into what it believes is a growing market, said Marc Dardenne, the chief executive of Emaar Hospitality Group.

Emaar Properties, the country’s largest developer, has started to send letters to owners of units in the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, warning that they will lose their apartments and 40 per cent of the property’s value if they fail to pay their overdue instalments within two weeks.

The company also operates Armani Hotels and Resorts, which launched its first property last week, in the Burj Khalifa. It aims to have 10 hotels. “It is the perfect time to open because it adds one more attraction to the Downtown area,” Mr Dardenne said. “We have bookings from guests who have really chosen to come to stay at the Armani hotel and it happens to be in Dubai, so they had no plans previously to come to Dubai.”

The Armani Hotel Dubai in the Burj Khalifa will occupy the levels between the concourse and the eighth floor and levels 38 and 39 of the tower. Its opening was delayed because the Burj Khalifa’s opening was pushed back and more recently as the property received the finishing touches.

Nevertheless, the folk at Emaar Properties in Dubai are doing their best to improve the Burj Khalifa's energy diet. Today, they announced that the building's hot-water system had gone solar.

With branches in 7 cities — including Mexico City, Tokyo, Jakarta, Lisbon and Koshien — KidZania’s latest outlet, which opened in the Dubai Mall on January 10, is the first in the Middle East, and helps children acquire financial skills in an interactive world. Walking down its make-believe streets, Will Edwards, the governor of KidZania Dubai, marvels at the excitement of this land’s “new citizens”.

Workers have installed the first road signs bearing the new name of the world’s tallest tower, Burj Khalifa. Two signs, one on Sheikh Zayed Road and the other between Al Wasl Road and the Defence Interchange, were installed overnight on Saturday, apparently the first to point the way to Burj Khalifa after its name was changed from Burj Dubai at its January 4 inauguration.

For the less adventurous members of society, a trip up the Burj Khalifa would take around two minutes in the comfort of a high-speed lift. Not for Spider-man, however. Having already scaled landmark skyscrapers in Chicago and Paris without support cables, safety harnesses or nets, France’s nimble-footed “urban free solo climber” Alain Robert is now campaigning to conquer the 828-metre-high tower.

The Burj Khalifa has a towering fascination with the number 8. Not only does it rise 828 metres high, but it was also officially inaugurated at 8pm on Jan 4, 2010. When the date is viewed as 01/04/2010, the digits add up to 8. Even the original sales prices ended with 888.

High-flying businessmen will be able to host their board meetings on the uppermost floors of the Burj Khalifa when the commercial space opens this year. Emaar Properties has reserved 10 per cent of the space in the tower for its own use, including three floors at the top that it will rent out for events and meetings, the chairman Mohamed Alabbar said last week.