There’s nowhere in the world for hospitality like Dubai and this year is no exception!
Britain’s famed Queen Elizabeth II cruise ship will finally open as a floating luxury hotel moored off Dubai, nearly a decade after completing its last ocean voyage.
The ship's renovation has been a long time coming. After 39 years of service, the Queen Elizabeth II took her last journey from Southhampton, England, to Port Rashid, Dubai, in 2008—and has been there ever since, unused. Initially, there were plans to immediately begin remodeling the QEII into a floating luxury hotel. However, the global recession quickly put a damper on the project, reports Lonely Planet, and the ship's engine was turned off in 2013, prompting the structure to suffer damage in the hot climate. Thankfully, the restoration gained momentum again this past February, and now, rooms are already available to book online for the April opening.
"It’s like walking into a time capsule — this is the ship in 1969. It’s a hotel and a museum," said Hamza Mustafa, the CEO of Dubai’s Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corp.’s investment arm. "We’ve put in 2.7 million man hours working on her.. making sure that she can really shine."
"She’s going to live on for many more years now in her final home in Dubai," he added.
By October, Mustafa said "the hotel hopes to have a grand opening with 600 to 800 rooms ready". The ship also will feature shops run by Dubai Duty Free, the government-run conglomerate.
In addition to the previously mentioned updates, the hotel's official site also lists a spa and pool deck, an interactive exhibition/museum on the QE2’s history, 25 conference rooms, restaurants, and a "chic shopping arcade" as part of the relaunch.
The 70,000-tonne vessel celebrated its 50th anniversary last year and has been touted the "world’s greatest ship" by a TV documentary because of how influential it has been to maritime design.
18th of April 2018 is announced as the ship's soft opening date, with October 2018 as the full "grand"
opening.
"If you want to come and have a sense of how it was during the ocean liner era but at the same time being a doorstep away from Dubai, this is the place you want to be, we’re not a theme.
We’re not a concept. This is what this ship was." Hamza Mustafa