Kempinski Hotels to create Floating Palace resort in Dubai

Overwater bungalows and underwater suites may already be commonplace in the luxury hotel industry now, but European hotel brand Kempinski is pushing the idea even further with the announcement of its Floating Palace concept.

The newest Kempinski branch will offer a five-star luxury hotel constructed in the form of a floating building and designed specifically with yacht owners in mind.

The water-bound resort will comprise 156 rooms and 12 villas attached to the main building by pontoons. A key element of the experience for guests will be arriving by water to their accommodations, with the resort welcoming superyacht owners to cruise in and berth at the yacht parking deck with moorings for up to 16 guests. For those arriving by land, the hotel will provide speed boats for transportation.

Kempinski Hotels has partnered with Seagate Shipyard on the Dubai project, aiming to combine “the destination's reputation as a high-tech city with the timeless European elegance of Kempinski Hotels", according to Kempinski Group chief executive Bernold Schroeder.

Fitting right in alongside the other innovative and cutting edge designs commonplace in the futuristic city of Dubai, UAE, Kempinski’s Floating Palace will be anchored nearby to Dubai’s most exclusive beaches stretching along Jumeirah Beach Road. However, Kempinski has suggested that the resort may also have the possibility to sail to other anchorages, with the villas able to cruise gently at a speed of six nautical miles.

Embodying the contemporary and avant-garde architecture typical of the Arab city, the main building of the Floating Palace will be connected by a giant glass pyramid and is designed with a hollow centre that will allow yachts to cruise in and out of the hotel. Amenities on offer will include fine dining restaurants and bars, a spa, swimming pools, boutiques and a floating helipad.

The 12 luxury villas meanwhile – which are available both for rent and for sale – have been penned as “luxury houseboats,” spanning two floors and offering crew and staff rooms alongside accommodation for primary guests or owners. Each villa will offer panoramic windows, a rooftop terrace with an infinity pool and indoor and outdoor living rooms. The smart homes will be distinctly modern in their design, with all amenities connected through technology and solar panels for generating green energy.

“It is thrilling to see, that for the first time a brand of the calibre of Kempinski will manage a floating hotel of such magnitude, and we are confident that our hotel will soon be one of the top tourist attractions in Dubai,” said Seagate Shipyard founder and chief executive Mohamed El Bahrawy. “It will undoubtedly occupy an iconic position among floating hotels all over the world,” he added.

The Floating Palace by Kempinski is set to open in Dubai in 2023. It will be the third resort from the brand to be opened in the country, joining the branches at the Palm Jumeirah and Mall of the Emirates.