- 📍 Where · Dubai Pearl, in Al Sufouh, at the foot of Palm Jumeirah, between Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City
- 🤝 The key players · Accor and its lifestyle subsidiary Ennismore, alongside Dubai Holding, the landowner
- 🗓️ Timeline · an agreement hoped for by the end of 2026 or early 2027, nothing signed to date
- 📐 The project · a new master plan twice the size of the original Dubai Pearl, spanning the equivalent of 23 football pitches
- 🏨 Potential brands · Mondrian, Delano, The Hoxton or Banyan Tree on the Ennismore side, Raffles, Fairmont or Sofitel on the luxury side
- 🧭 The precedent · Bluewaters, where the former Caesars Palace became Banyan Tree Dubai and Delano Dubai with the same partners
Twenty-four years after its initial announcement, Dubai Pearl is finally set to rise from the ground, and Accor wants to be part of it. The group is negotiating with Dubai Holding for one or more hotels on this Al Sufouh site, with an agreement targeted for the end of the year, according to its regional boss. Nothing is signed, but discussions are underway for one of the most coveted plots of land in the emirate.
Contents
A cursed plot since 2002
Dubai Pearl is one of the great phantoms of Dubai real estate. Unveiled in 2002 by Qatari developer Omnix, it was meant to cover nearly 1.9 million square metres, featuring a 73-storey tower, over 60 restaurants and a 1,600-seat theatre, along with up to seven five-star hotels, including iterations of the MGM Grand and Bellagio from Las Vegas. Construction ground to a halt in 2006.
Abu Dhabi’s Al Fahim group took over the file in 2007, the 2008 crisis drove investors away, and a Hong Kong consortium led by Chow Tai Fook promised nearly two billion dollars in 2014 for a 2017 delivery that never materialised. A 2016 audit put losses at 2.5 billion dirhams, against 6.2 billion in liabilities. At the end of 2022, deconstruction began; in January 2023, explosives brought down the shell; by early 2024, the site was clear.
| First announcement, Omnix | 2002 |
| Construction halted | 2006 |
| Taken over by Al Fahim | 2007 |
| Chow Tai Fook consortium | 2014, nearly 2 billion dollars |
| Loss audit | 2016, 2.5 billion dirhams |
| Demolition | December 2022 to January 2023 |
| New master plan | twice the initial surface area |
| Targeted Accor agreement | late 2026 or early 2027 |
Dubai Holding doubles down
The land now belongs to Dubai Holding, the investment arm of the Ruler of Dubai, which has made it one of its priority mega-projects. The new master plan is twice as large as the original project, occupying a plot equivalent to 23 football pitches, according to urban planning data from the Dubai Development Authority.
Duncan O’Rourke, who heads Accor for Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific in the luxury segment, draws a simple conclusion: such a location, at the foot of Palm Jumeirah, calls for an emblematic property. Just as Atlantis anchors the Palm, Dubai Pearl will need its icon. Accor does not claim to be the sole operator of the site, but aims to place a selection of its brands there.
Ennismore at the forefront
Discussions are primarily focused on the brands of Ennismore, the lifestyle subsidiary in which Accor is the majority shareholder: Mondrian, Delano, The Hoxton and Banyan Tree are on the table, and historic luxury brands, Raffles, Fairmont and Sofitel, are also being considered. The exact mix will depend on the final programme, including residences.
The choice is significant. Dubai already boasts every major luxury brand; what the market lacks are lifestyle addresses capable of attracting a younger clientele. Ennismore recently announced The Hoxton Dubai Media City for 2027, just a few hundred metres from the site, and Accor sees this as a natural continuation.
Bluewaters, the dry run
Accor and Dubai Holding have worked together before, and the result is visible from the observation wheel. The former Caesars Palace on Bluewaters Island was split into two hotels, Banyan Tree Dubai, which opened in November 2023 with 179 keys, and Delano Dubai, which opened in October 2024 with 251 rooms including 84 suites. The partnership was signed on 13 September 2023 by Sébastien Bazin and Amit Kaushal, head of Dubai Holding, as “the first of many projects”.
Three years later, Dubai Pearl would be the second, and by far the largest. The trust established between the teams at Ennismore and Dubai Holding is Accor’s main argument against its competitors, Marriott, Hilton and IHG, all lying in wait for the same site.
Our perspective
Dubai Pearl ruined everyone who attempted it, and the memory of the abandoned construction site, visible for fifteen years from Jumeirah Road, remains vivid. The difference this time lies in the owner: Dubai Holding depends neither on a private developer nor on foreign investors, and its master plan will be financed as a state project.
For Accor, the stakes go beyond a management contract. The group is staking its ability to impose its lifestyle brands on the region’s most prominent sites, where its rivals line up their classic luxury brands. If the agreement is signed by winter, Dubai Pearl will become the largest project in Ennismore’s history. If it drags on, it will join the site’s long list of unfulfilled promises.
Practical information
- Dubai Pearl, Al Sufouh, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at the foot of Palm Jumeirah
- No opening date: Dubai Holding’s master plan has not been made public
- Delano Dubai and Banyan Tree Dubai, Bluewaters, open and taking reservations
Photo credit Accor · Ennismore
