Premier Inn gets set for first Dubai launch

Whitbread-owned budget hotel chain Premier Inn has revealed exclusive pictures of its first Middle Eastern hotel.

The flagship Premier Inn hotel, which opens on 30 March, is located in Dubai Investments Park and has 308 air-conditioned bedrooms and a swimming pool.

It is the first of five hotels planned for the region and is similar in design to UK Premier Inns, bar a few minor differences - such as an in-room fridge rather than minibar.

Hotel staff have mainly been recruited from four places: Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Egypt.

Darroch Crawford, managing director of Premier Inn Hotels in Dubai, said: "Dubai is very expensive so an affordable alternative is being welcomed with open arms. The amount of interest we have had is unprecedented: we're at 100% capacity in our first week, which is tremendously exciting but also quite nerve-wracking."

The group also plans to roll out 80 hotels in India by 2017 in partnership with Emaar-MGF.

Last year EasyHotel announced plans to launch in Dubai and India; budget hotel rival Travelodge has no such plans at present.

• Whitbread confirmed last week that takeover talks with Travelodge had been abandoned.
  
  Sources close to the deal suggested Travelodge's £900m sale price was a major stumbling block.

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By Gemma Sharkey

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