User:RobSingleton/InterContinental Dubai Festival City

InterContinental Dubai Festival City is a luxury five star hotel located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates managed by the InterContinental Hotels Group and owned by the Al Futtaim Group. InterContinental Dubai Festival City is the largest of three hotels operated by IHG within Dubai Festival City. The hotel offers 498 luxurious guestrooms including 121 suites, 4 restaurants, 2 bars, Club InterContinental level 26th, Spa InterContinental with 10 treatment rooms, 24h gymnasium, 24h business centre, and 24h room service.

Location
InterContinental Dubai Festival is an integral part of the mixed use development Dubai Festival City.

Dubai Festival City is a world class waterfront lifestyle resort that has been designed to capture the ground-breaking 21st century spirit of Dubai. It offers a rich and vibrant living experience that encompasses the finest, easily accessible shopping, dining, entertainment, homes, schools, hotels, offices and leisure in one place. Spread across 1300 acres of prime waterfront land extending along three kilometres of historic Dubai Creek, it is formed of three expansive districts – Marsa Al Khor, Festival Centre and Al Badia – linked together by an impressive internal road system and a wide creek-side corniche that spans the full length of the project. Eventually some 20,000 homes of diverse design will be leased forming an integral part of a city where, when completed, more than 100,000 people will live, work and play. With easy access from the new Garhoud and Business Bay bridges, and only 2km from Dubai International Airport, Dubai Festival City’s unique waterfront setting delivers vibrancy and a ‘sense of place’ to Dubai’s suburban landscape.

Restaurants & Bars
Anise is the all-day dining restaurant of InterContinental Dubai Festival City, located on the lobby level and serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper in an a la carte or buffet style from live cooking stations. The restaurant is the first in the Middle East to be designed by Super Potato, the design firm from Tokyo. There is a seating capacity of 244, including 40 on the terrace. Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire is an award winning, fine dining restaurant from the 3 Michelin star chef, Pierre Gagnaire. The restaurant is located via a private elevator from the hotel lobby, and has a seating capacity of 90. The restaurant was named Best European Contemporary Restaurant in Dubai, Best New Restaurant in Dubai and Best Restaurant Overall in the 2009 Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards, and Best French Restaurant in Dubai at the 2010 Time Out Dubai Awards. The restaurant also features in the San Pellegrino Top 100 Restaurants in the World. Al Sultan Brahim Beirut is an authentic Lebanese seafood restaurant from a family chain in Beirut. The first Al Sultan Brahim restaurant was established in 1968 in Lebanon. The restaurant located on the waterfront level of InterContinental Dubai Festival City is the first Al Sultan Brahim restaurant to open outside of Lebanon. Seating Capacity is 214 including 112 on the terrace, which serves Shisha and has a live Oud musician in the evenings. Bistro Madeleine is an authentic Parisian themed café, also on the waterfront level of the hotel. Seating Capacity is 252 including 136 on the terrace, and the menu includes traditional French delicacies and casual favourites. Vista lobby lounge & bar is on the lobby level of InterContinental Dubai Festival City, and seats 100 in the lounge, bar and terrace. A bar surrounded by water to give it the appearance of floating has a waterfall from the terrace to the promenade below. The bar serves funky cocktails and martinis by evening, with a live pianist playing most nights. Eclipse champagne bar is located on level 26, and has one of the best views for a bar in Dubai, overlooking the Dubai Creek and city skyline, including impressive views of the world's tallest tower, the [Burj Khalifa]. Seating capacity of the bar is 60.

Construction
The architect for the project was Mazaraki-FBK. The Mazaraki-FBK consortium includes: architectural services from JJ NewlinMazaraki, the Kann Finch Group and Fitzgerald Bennett; structural and façade engineering from Meinhardt Consulting as well as MEP engineering services from Waterman AHW. The construction of the hotel began in 2003 and was completed in late 2007. Over 60,000m3 of concrete and well over 1000km of cable have been sourced to complete the project. The construction of the hotel took up almost three million man hours, use over 100,000 litres of water and required more than 40,000 light bulbs!

Design
InterContinental Hotels Group and Al Futtaim Group worked with some of the best interior design firms in the world for this project. - Terry McGinnity from GA Design out of London, UK designed the guestrooms. Other project of GA Design include the Crowne Plaza Blackfriar. - Daniel Leong of Lim Teo + Wilkes Design Works from Singapore designed the public areas. Other projects by Lim Teo Wilkes include the InterContinental Financial Street in Beijing, the InterContinental Pudong in Shanghai, the InterContinental Marine Drive Mumbai and the refurbishment of the InterContinental Hong Kong - Super Potato, the internationally acclaimed firm based in Tokyo was selected to design Anise restaurant at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City. - The famous Lebanese restaurant Al Sultan Brahim Beirut has been designed by Gregory Gatserelia of Gatserelia Design. - The French restaurant Bistro Madeleine is the work of David B. Tokiwa & Associates of Singapore. Their work can also be seen at the InterContinental Phoenicia in Lebanon and at the Crowne Plaza Dubai on Sheikh Zayed Road. - Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire was designed by the renowned French designer Christian Ghion.