Royal Towers Hotel, Atlantis Resort, The Palm, Dubai , United Arab Emirates

The Atlantis Resort is one of the newest and most luxurious hotel complexes currently under constructed in Dubai at the apex of The Palm Jumeirah (developed by Nakheel LLC).

Atlantis Resort began construction in December 2005 and is scheduled to be completed by December 2008.

It will consist of the two-tower Royal Towers Hotel (39-acre site) with a 28-storey (east tower) 876-room tower and an 18-storey (west tower) 663-room tower, a 42-acre 'waterscape adventure' water park, a two-storey conference centre, 20,000ft² of retail space and an archaeological exhibition called 'the dig' (a maze of underwater passageways displaying an ancient Atlantis theme, which will have 18 exhibits).

The resort takes the lost city of Atlantis as its main theme but will also incorporate traditional Arab designs as well. It is being developed as a 50/50 joint venture between Kerzner International and the government-owned Istithimar PSJC. The resort, occupying a 112.5-acre site on 1.5 miles of beachfront, is costing an estimated $1.5bn (the crescent on which the resort is sited is 11.5km long).

ROYAL TOWERS HOTEL FACILITIES

Amenities at the hotel will include four signature restaurants including a 'Nobu', a nightclub, the retail and entertainment village (80,000ft²) with 30 retail outlets, a 5,600m² conference wing including The Royal Palm ballroom, Palm Terrace and a spa and fitness centre. The two towers of the hotel will be linked by the 'bridge suite' on the upper levels.

Transport around the resort can either be by the monorail which is being constructed around the Palm Jumeirah or else there is an excellent road infrastructure with a six-lane underground vehicle tunnel connecting the two sides of the resort and also running to the mainland.

WATER PARK

The water park will incorporate several features such as: the 'Ziggurat Temple' where all the water rides will be based, 'the dig' archaeological experience, a snorkel trail, swimming with dolphins and seven water slides including the 'Leap of Faith' where customers are catapulted through an acrylic tunnel through a lagoon with 25 sharks.

The experience is heightened by the fact that the ride is made from thick acrylic panels bonded together, which cannot be seen unless the customer is close to. The water park will also feature the Ambassador Lagoon, a 13,500ft² marine habitat which will be home to 65,000 marine creatures. The marine life at the resort will be monitored by a full-time marine biologist.

CONTRACTORS

The design process for the resort took 18 months and was started in October 2003. The designers and architects include: Archavision International Olio Inc, Wilson Associates and Wimberley, Alison, Tong and Goo.

The construction work on the hotel and resort is being carried out by Al Naboodah Laing O'Rourke; ANLOR were responsible for concrete frames, precast external façade and bathroom pods for the Royal Towers; BK-Gulf Rotary carried out MEP for the Aquaventure park; Emirates Exteriors worked on the concrete frame for Aquaventure; LCL MiceKraftwork are working on the guest rooms fit-out and corridors in the Royal Towers; Septech Simon Hartley are carrying out process and mechanical work; Al Futtaim Engineering were responsible for elevators and permanent hoists; Al Futtaim Bodycote provided testing services; and Galadari Engineering Works are responsible for structural steelworks.

CONSTRUCTION

The 'Bridge Suite' required the installation of two 75t trusses extending over 42m between the two towers. The Bridge Suite completed the steel structure of The Royal Towers in May 2007 with the building beginning to take its final form.

The construction has made a lot of use of prefabricated precast wall panels and modules in its construction. An example of this are the bathroom pods weighing 3.5 tonnes and including a marble sink, bath tube, shower, lavatory, bidet, taps and tiling and installed by crane onto the required floor and slid into place.

The project required 2,000 piles to prepare the site for the construction of the hotel which has been constructed around four elevator cores. The construction work force contains over 7,400 employees.

The façade of the hotel was completed by late 2007, and the internal fit-out is well advanced. The opening date of December 2008 may well be brought forward.