His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), which manages Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry, today unveiled the five-star classification sign on The Yas Hotel, the signature property on the emirate’s Yas Island entertainment destination.
Sheikh Sultan then toured the property which is readying to welcome its first guests for this coming weekend’s 2009 Formula 1™ Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The fabulous property, due to open to the public on 3 November, the day after the final race of this year’s Formula 1 season, is owned and operated by Aldar Hotels and Hospitality and according to Sheikh Sultan, will be seen as new Abu Dhabi, and international, global hospitality landmark.
“Being the first hotel in the world to span a race track, this magnificent property has already entered the global hospitality record books,” said Sheikh Sultan. “It is a huge asset to an emirate which values the delivery of extraordinary levels of hospitality and one which I am sure will deliver a truly memorable experience to its guests.”
The extraordinary 5000 LED panel Grid-Shell structure of The Yas Hotel will light up Yas Island, which is expected to be thronged by around 50,000 spectators over this weekend’s race fixture.
The hotel has two towers linked by a bridge, under which the race track runs, giving unparalleled views of action below. The hotel’s main building offers some of the best circuit, marina and Yas Island views.
ADTA has now completed the classification of the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments under a best-of-breed system which is aimed at delivering enhanced destination integrity and credibility on the international tourism scene.
Meanwhile, ADTA’s Tourism Standards Director, Nasser Al Reyami has revealed that the classification scheme, which took two years to design and a year to implement, will undergo further enhancements in the coming year to allow for improved classification of exceptional properties where facilities and services go well beyond five-star expectations.
“Properties such as The Yas Hotel and Emirates Palace are currently classified five-star but obviously go well beyond the requirements of that particular ranking. We are working on enhancing the scheme to allow for a classification category which will denote properties which offer truly outstanding facilities and levels of service,” he said.
Caption: Left to right: Mohammed Al Mubarak, Chief Commercial Officer, ALDAR; Jean-Francois Laurent, General Manager, The Yas Hotel; HE Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman, ALDAR; HE Sheikh Sultan; HE Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General, ADTA and Nasser Al Reyami.