- 🏨 The project · The Hoxton Dubai Media City · 230 rooms · the brand’s first hotel in the Middle East, located in the former Radisson Blu in Media City.
- 📅 The opening · Scheduled for 2027, following a complete transformation of the building by AIME Studios, Ennismore’s in-house design studio.
- 🤝 The key players · Ennismore, owner of The Hoxton (Accor group), and Emirati developer Select Group.
- 🧖 The first · The world’s first The Hoxton wellness club: gym, studios, treatment rooms, contrast therapies, members-only lounge, Beaum café.
- 🍽️ The dining · Entrusted to Paris Society: Onaka, Moïse Sfez’s Japanese handroll bar · Bleachers, sports bar · Il Bambini Club, trattoria · Tope, rooftop.
The Hoxton was born in 2006 in Shoreditch, East London, with a simple idea: a hotel where the ground floor belongs as much to the neighbourhood as it does to the guests. Twenty years and some fifteen addresses later, from Amsterdam to Los Angeles, Ennismore’s brand had never yet ventured into the Middle East. That is set to change with The Hoxton Dubai Media City, featuring 230 rooms expected in 2027 in the former Radisson Blu in the media district, a project carried out in partnership with Emirati developer Select Group.
An existing Radisson Blu transformed rather than a brand-new tower
This is a contrarian approach in Dubai, where brands typically favour newly built towers. Here, Ennismore and Select Group have chosen an existing building, the former Radisson Blu in Dubai Media City, which will undergo a multi-million-dirham transformation. Interior design is entrusted to AIME Studios, Ennismore’s in-house studio, which designed the most recent Hoxton properties and will need to strike the brand’s usual balance: neighbourhood references, raw materials, vintage furniture and a quality of light very different from London’s. Media City, situated between Palm Jumeirah and the Marina, concentrates the headquarters of media and tech groups, alongside a creative and expatriate population that aligns with the brand’s target audience.
The Hoxton’s first wellness club in the world
The standout feature of the project is its wellness club, a first for the brand. It will bring together a gym, movement studios, treatment rooms, hot and cold contrast therapy facilities, and a members-only lounge, complete with a dedicated, nutrition-focused café named Beaum. The idea is to create a space that is as much a social hub as it is a fitness destination, open to Media City residents by subscription, in a city where high-end fitness clubs have become destinations in their own right.
Paris Society to design the restaurants
For dining, Ennismore has called upon Paris Society, the French group already established in Dubai with Mimi Kakushi, Gigi Rigolatto and Maison Revka. Four concepts have been announced: Onaka, a Japanese handroll bar led by French restorer Moïse Sfez; Bleachers, a sports bar; Il Bambini Club, a trattoria; and Tope, a rooftop. This marks the first time a Hoxton has entrusted all of its dining outlets to an external operator of this scale, reflecting its positioning: a hotel designed just as much for Dubai locals in the evening as for overnight guests.
| Rooms | 230 |
| Announced opening | 2027 |
| Building | former Radisson Blu Dubai Media City |
| Design | AIME Studios (Ennismore) |
| Restaurants and bars | 4, by Paris Society |
| Wellness club | brand’s first |
What the partners have to say
“Bringing this same philosophy to our hotel portfolio through The Hoxton, Dubai Media City, is a natural progression,” explains Israr Liaqat, managing director of Select Group, a developer renowned for its residences in the Marina and Business Bay. On behalf of Ennismore, Louis Abboud, chief operating officer for the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific, states that he is “incredibly proud that Dubai is welcoming the brand’s first hotel in the Emirates and across the entire Middle East.” Discover hotel news in the Emirates on La Revue des Hôtels.
Our perspective
Dubai is saturated with luxury palaces yet still lacks neighbourhood hotels in the true sense intended by The Hoxton; 25hours at One Central and Mama Shelter in Business Bay have already demonstrated that a strong clientele exists for this concept. The challenge in Media City is twofold: to prove that a pre-owned building can successfully house a lifestyle brand, and to operate a wellness club that competes with well-established local venues. Opening is scheduled for 2027, without a specific month; with projects of this scale, timelines often shift by a few months. We will update this article once the exact date, rates and first room imagery are released.
Practical information
- Location · Dubai Media City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Opening · scheduled for 2027 · bookings not yet open
- Nearby · Palm Jumeirah (10 mins), Dubai Marina and JBR (10 mins), Mall of the Emirates (15 mins)
- Official website · thehoxton.com
