Executive Life
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EXEC LIFE 4/5/05 11:37 AM Page 62 EXECUTIVE LIFE Desert Luxury A burgeoning oasis, Dubai is the new “in” place for the vacationing CEO. BY REBECCA FANNIN ew York City entrepreneur Grace Gallo is three per-night Burj Al hotel, a sail-like shaped landmark on the years away from turning 50, but she’s already Arabian coast. It gets seven stars for its all-duplex suites, 24- emailing friends and family to save the date for hour butler service, roof-top helicopter pad, underwater bar a big birthday bash abroad. The location? A and Rolls Royce fleet. Nplace unthinkable just five years ago: Dubai. “I managed to get 50 people to come to Vienna and stay She briefly considered Egypt but selected the bustling at the Danieli (Hotel) for a Venetian ball on my 40th birth- Middle Eastern outpost with its over-the-top hotels, restau- day, so I think I can do this,” says Gallo, an Italian-born, Aus- rants and nightclubs for her early September celebration— tralian native who runs export marketing consultancy even though she knows Dubai will be blaringly hot then. Gallaco from an office in Rockefeller Center. She’s planning to blow out her birthday candles at the $666- Dubai is inspiring more global-minded execs like Gallo, EXEC LIFE 4/5/05 11:37 AM Page 63 who has worked in China and traveled world- Nearby Doha and Qatar may vie for the title, IF YOU GO wide, to sample Arabia in this safe cosmopolitan oa- but Dubai is becoming the region’s hub for busi- sis of more than 1.2 million people. ness. Tourism is one of the growth engines and the Dubai Business-class passengers arriving in Dubai number of hotel guests swelled in 2003 by 5 per- after an overnight flight on Emirates Airways cent to 5 million, many of them are Brits and Ger- feel fairly refreshed, thanks to such comforts as mans who came to soak up the bright sunshine at self-adjusting, vibrating seats that recline to be- the numerous luxury resorts lining the shores of come bed hideaways, wireless in-flight email, the Arabian Gulf. Travel from the U.S. is picking personalized video on demand and French up, too, after a dip following the Sept. 11 terrorist champagne. Met by a representative of Emi- attacks; the number of U.S. visitors increased to rates, they are whisked through immigration 126,000 in 2003 from 94,000 the year before. courtesy of a no-fee visa instantly granted at the Helping boost the numbers is a new, 12-hour di- airport and escorted to a curbside Mercedes for rect flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy air- Top Hotels and a 10-minute ride into the city. Along the wide port to Dubai by Emirates Airways with free Resorts Sheikh Zayed boule- stopovers and bargain Al Maha Desert vard cutting north- hotel rates for passen- Resort & Spa south through the gers en route to Asia P.O. Box 7631 city, neon signs and or Africa. Dubai, United Arab gleaming skyscrapers Attracted by strong Emirates 971-4-832-9900 set against a desert economic growth, www.al-maha.com landscape remind entrepreneurs have one of Las Vegas. poured in from near- Burj Al Arab Though Arabic is by countries. Some (pictured above) P.O. Box 74147 the official language 80 percent of Dubai, United Arab here, English is wide- Dubai’s citizens hail Emirates ly spoken and one from other regions of 971-4-301-7777 could almost forget the world, many of www.burj-al-arab.com that one is in the Mid- them from India. Lo- Madinat Jumeirah dle East if not for the cal Indian entrepre- P.O. Box 75157 large number of neur Kulwant Singh Dubai, United Arab ARABIAN PASTIME Emirates mosques in the city, Falconry and camel runs Lama Desert 971-4-330-0111 the occasional palace racing are traditional Tours & Cruises, the www.madinat and the traditional sports that remain city’s first privately popular. jumeirah.com Arab clothing of the owned tour operator. locals. First-time visi- Lama offers spine- One & Only Royal Mirage Jumeirah Beach tors quickly discover that Dubai’s shops and mu- tingling, jeep caravan rides into the desert, roller P.O. Box 37252 seums are closed on Thursdays and Fridays but coaster riding over the dunes. His company’s all- Dubai, United Arab reopen on Saturday morning and that alcohol is teak traditional dhow or cabin cruiser takes visi- Emirates not served in hotels during Islamic religious hol- tors on dinner cruises along Dubai Creek for a 971-4-399-9900 idays and not in restaurants outside the hotels at quick overview of the city. www.oneandonlyroyal mirage.com any time. Grandiose, Dubai is. Ads proclaim nearly Although a recent terrorist attack in nearby every hotel, restaurant, nightclub, shows, shop- Emirates Towers Hotel Bahrain gave pause to some international busi- ping mall or real estate developments as the P.O. Box 72127 ness travelers, Dubai has so far avoided the polit- largest, priciest or most luxurious of them all. Dubai, United Arab Emirates ical conflicts of the Middle East. A small coastal One of the most popular resorts is referred to 971-4-330-0000 village in the 1830s, but today one of seven mak- even by locals only by its full name, The One www.emiratestowers ing up the United Arab Emirates, Dubai is and Only Royal Mirage. Just north of the Mi- hotel.com emerging as an “in” destination. rage, on landfill in the shape of a palm tree, CEO Magazine May 2005 63 EXEC LIFE 4/5/05 11:37 AM Page 64 EXECUTIVE LIFE some 2,000 villas, hotels, shopping centers events is packed in all but the hottest sum- spice souks or the high-fashion boutiques and cinemas are rising. mer months with the Dubai Marathon, and electronic shops in any one of Dubai’s The project is already sold out and the the Tennis Open, the Desert Classic, the 30 and growing shopping malls. The air- developer, Nakheel, is planning two, larg- World Cup, the Duty Free Grand Prix port itself is a gigantic duty-free shopping er island developments—one with 300 raw and so on. For golfers, the city has six zone. Raffles are held regularly and win- islands in the shape of a globe. Investors championship courses. ners drive away in a brand-new Porsche or can buy part or all of a “country,” and one Jaguar. One lucky London advertising ex- investor wound up buying all the islands Plenty to buy in Dubai ecutive brags that he won two of the cars; that make up the shape of Australia, ac- ired of sports? Try shopping. How he sold one and had the other shipped cording to Jacqui Josephson, a nonstop about the month-long Dubai home. marketing exec (what’s a “nonstop market- T Shopping Festival starting in mid- For the adventuresome, the desert beck- ing exec?) for The Palm project. She says January? It attracts more than 5 million ons. Try an overnight safari in the desert to it’s up to investors to decide how to use the visitors who come for the retail pavilions see isolated villages, camel farms and the property—private island, golf resort, exec- and carnivals and also the chance to win Hajar mountains in the distance [ßok?]. utive retreat or whatever. daily raffle prizes, ranging from 1 kilo of Experience sand skiing down the dunes; There’s no shortage of things to do in gold to Lexus cars to villas. And don’t for- imaginably a lot like surfing. After the sun Dubai. For sports fans, the calendar of get the well-stocked and crowded gold and goes down, try a traditional Arabian barbe- UNDER THE LIGHTS Night golf at the Nad Al Sheba Club, the only fully lit golf course in the Middle East. 64 www.chiefexecutive.net May 2005 EXEC LIFE 4/5/05 11:37 AM Page 65 cue of spiced lamb while sitting under the stars and afterwards, take in a belly dance WHEELS performance. A highly romantic experience can be had at the Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa, with 41 Bedouin-style suites outfitted with private plunge pools overlooking a vast desert conservation reserve. Camel rides, horse back riding, falconry displays and archery are but a few of the amusements here. Back in the city, the choice of hotels comes down to city or beachfront proper- ties. In the city, the Emirates Towers looks eerily like the Twin Towers but has been named one of the best business hotels in the world for its many must-haves: fitness facilities, executive lounge, rooftop restau- rants and bars, conference facilities and quick access to corporate offices. At the beach, there’s the usual assort- Cars for ment of Ritz-Carlton hotels, and the like, plus a newly opened high-end Arabian re- sort called Madinat Jumeirah, owned by Connoisseurs the same group that operates the close-by Burj Al Arab. A re-recreation of an ancient Arabian village, the extra-large property, Pricey wheels combine top style, features two hotels (one like a palace; the other like a citadel) and 29 traditional with performance to match courtyard summer houses with private pools. The resort also has a full-scale souk, BY HERB SHULDINER tennis courts, a spa and its best feature: a wraparound lagoon with numerous canals t won’t do to have the chief executive Rolls-Royce Phantom at his dealership and waterways for travel by water taxi any- of a major public company to drive last year.