Grosvenor House is something of an institution in Dubai. Home to a collection of luxurious guest rooms and residences, restaurants from celebrity chefs Gary Rhodes and Vineet Bhatia, and the only Middle East branch of uber-trendy Buddha Bar, the property has been a major draw for visitors and locals since it opened six years ago.
Not content with the stellar line up of luxurious guest rooms, celebrity restaurants and Euro-cool nightspots, the owners decided to build another identical building just steps away.
Tower Two has been rising up from a construction site between Dubai Marina and Dubai Media City for the last three years, but the wait is finally over and the doors are now open.
From the exterior, Tower Two, is the mirror image of the original hotel – now known as Tower One – but inside a new line-up of premium guest rooms, residential apartments and some of the world’s top names in bars, spas and restaurants are already seducing guests.
Perched on the top three floors of the hotel, from 42 to 45 is Embassy Dubai, the latest incarnation of club world tycoon Mark Fuller’s celebrity lounge/club empire and sister property to London’s hedonistic Embassy Mayfair.
The exclusive nightspot-cum-supperclub promises luxurious surroundings and five-star hospitality for affluent visitors – with a fine-dining restaurant on the top floor serving European cuisine; Vodka Bar and Champagne Bar on the 44th floor, with its own fresh seafood bar serving oysters and caviar late into the night; and a lounge and terrace bar on level 43.
Doors open on October 4, but the official opening party on November 15, timed to coincide with the climax of the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, will be a star-studded affair. Rumours are already rife that Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, a qualified commercial pilot, will be flying his own aircraft loaded with 150 celebrity friends into Dubai for the event.
The wining and dining options continue at the other end of the hotel. Following his successful Dubai debut with Mexican restaurant Maya in sister property Le Royal Meridian Beach Resort and Spa, Mexican-American chef Richard Sandoval is back with new Pan Latin American restaurant/bar, Toro Toro.
The two-storey venue has downstairs dining and a comfy lounge and cocktail bar above, with food inspired by and sourced from Latin America. Two specialist bars offer extensive selections of South American beverages – the Cachaça Bar and the Rhum Bar. Like Buddha Bar opposite, it has a separate entrance from the main hotel lobby.
| Tower Two has also enlisted the services of British Celebrity Chef Gary Rhodes – whose name is already above the door on the fine-dining restaurant Rhodes Mezzanine in Tower One and Rhodes Twenty 10 in Le Royal Meridian – for The Lounge in the lobby, which will feature tradition British dishes, such as smoked haddock and home-made crumpets and scones, for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.
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