Jumeirah Unveils Chinese Expansion

Jumeirah Group has announced three new management agreements in China.

The Jumeirah Haikou Resort, set in an exclusive golf community on a private island in Hainan; the Jumeirah Wuhan, occupying a prime city centre location near to Hankou; and Jumeirah Nanjing, which will be located in the Hexi new business district. All three are part of mixed-use developments.

Jumeirah Nanjing (pictured) is expected to open first in 2016. Designed by architect Zaha Hadid, the 250-room hotel will include 32 suites, an all-day dining and Chinese specialty restaurant, café, lobby lounge, tea lounge, bar, junior ballroom, executive club lounge, business centre, fitness centre, Talise Spa and an indoor pool.

Located approximately 40 minutes’ drive from the airport and a one-hour train ride from Shanghai, it is located in the Hexi new business district and close to offices, a four-star hotel and conference centre.

The Haikou resort, located within a golf community on a 136-acre private island, is expected to open in 2018. The development will comprise a golf course designed by Tom Doak, 60 luxury residential villas and a luxury hotel comprising 140 rooms including 26 suites.

Food and beverage outlets will feature an all-day dining and Chinese specialty restaurant, lobby lounge, bar, function space, recreational facilities such as a premier leisure club lounge, kids’ club, fitness centre and Talise Spa. Denniston International has been appointed as the project architect.

Jumeirah Wuhan is set in a prime city centre location near to the existing Hankou business district and aims to open by 2020. Designed by Foster and Partners, it will feature 200 guest rooms including 23 suites, an all-day dining and Chinese specialty restaurant, lobby lounge, bar, function space, executive club lounge and business centre. Recreational facilities will comprise a fitness centre, Talise Spa and indoor swimming pool.

Both properties in Wuhan and Haikou are owned by subsidiaries of Yuexiu Group, a Guangzhou-based property development company.

Although Jumeirah’s Chinese portfolio has been limited to the Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel in Shanghai, the group has identified the country as a key growth market and this trio take its pipeline to eight hotels. Other projects are coming up in Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Sanya, Macau and Qiandaohu.