Armani Hotel

Coming soon, to a United Arab Emirate near you: couture paradise! The world's largest mall title will soon be in the Emirate of Dubai. The shopping in this mega-mall will be range from upscale to couture, making this a heaven for Middle Eastern shoppers, and indeed international shoppers. Part of Dubai's play to become an international hub for shopping and entertainment, the mall will only be a part of a massive complex centered around what will likely soon become the definitive landmark for the small nation: the Burj Dubai.

And on the heels of the opening of the tallest commercial and residential building in the world in 2009, Armani-lovers will have a chance to bask themselves in Armani goodness all over, when the luxury Italian brand opens up it's first ever hotel.
That's right: the Armani Hotel will be housed in the immense complex of the Burj, along with six other five-to-seven star hotels, and will be managed and constructed by Emaar Hotel and Resorts LLC. The Armani touch, however, will not be overseen by Emaar, but rather by Giorgio Armani himself. Naturally, the hotel will be abound with Armani fashion and furnishings, creating what Armani believes will be an essential part of the 'Armani lifestyle'.

And beside the hotel will be even more Armani goodness: 160 residential apartments, also designed by Giorgio himself, and furnished with special edition pieces from Armani Casa. Armani is excited about the project which has been confirmed since 2004, when he wrote a letter of intent cementing his resolve. The fashion giant has also said publically: "“This marks the beginning of a new chapter in the Armani story. In this our thirtieth anniversary year, I cannot think of a more energising prospect than bringing my philosophy of style and design to a collection of hotels and resorts. Today, more than ever before fashion has expanded to encompass our way of life, not just how we dress, but where we live, which restaurants we eat at, which car we drive, where we go on holiday and which hotels we stay in. I strongly believe that for those people who enjoy the Armani fashion and home furnishings collections, there will be a real enthusiasm for the possibility to now stay at an Armani hotel or resort.”

We agree, and predict success for the hotel. We can't see fashionistas being dissapointed by a chance to stay at an Armani hotel, unless the hotel itself was dissapointing. And dissapointing will be easy to achieve, since visitors to Dubai are no strangers to luxury; after all, the city has a Gold District, and is home to the only 7 star hotel in the world. But with a reputation on the line, and the great excitement of Giorgio, we have faith that the hotel will be a show-stopper, and can't wait to review it ourselves.

Note that this will not be the only Armani Hotel: expect locations in Milan, London, and New York following the opening of this first hotel, so residents of those cities won't have to be jealous of the Emirate for too long.


Another note: this is not the first residential design project Armani has done. Armani Casa took on this bathroom, showcasing their 20 Pine Collection.

Burj Dubai Picture via www.chrisdiclerico.com
Armani Casa picture via Businessweek. See a cool slideshow of luxurious bathrooms by Armani and other designers atBusinessweek's Website