“Yeah, at this rate, we' ll be getting Valentino finishing schools, Christian Dior plastic surgery clinics, and YSL restaurants!  oh, and Comme des Garcons think tanks! ”

“But what about creating something that’s both contemporary and indigenous without sticking a foreign name on it?
 
The danger of attaching oneself to any particular designer is that, like their clothes, there is a risk that they may eventually fall out of fashion and lose their luster. Where as the most successful hotels in the world have developed a heritage and been around for decades. Look at the Ritz and George V in Paris.
 
I think one of the most interesting boutique hotels in Dubai at the moment is XVA Guest House. It not only boasts an art gallery and small design store, but is one of the few examples of adaptive-reuse in the city. Instead of building something from scratch, they took an existing old house, with its traditional Gulf architecture and created rooms around a lush courtyard with the latest amenities and sleek fixtures mixed in with traditional furnishings. For Dubai at least, it’s the closest thing to the sophisticated boutique hotels found in the old medina of Marrakech.  ”

“

i think this is also a phenomenon with the whole luxury sector - bulgari opened a hotel in Milan (and partnered with Marriot to open more), Versace opened a hotel on the Gold Coast in Australia - this shows the "globalisation" and "uber-branding" of brands, local charm and creativity is undermined for international glitz.

XVA definitely has that charm. La Maison d'Hotes is another option in a city where names and brands are linked to everything.

anyway, that's my two dirhams worth!

”

“...and its not just luxury fashion brands that are doing it, celebrities also fall into that category. Believe it or not, Pamela Anderson is putting her name to an eco-friendly hotel in....no, not Dubai but her classy, older sister Abu Dhabi. If you dont quite believe me, check out her interview with David Letterman on You Tube.”