00:00For everyone looking for luxurious lifestyle options, in Abu Dhabi, there's a new destination
00:13within a few kilometers radius of the city, Al-Mariya Island.
00:18Businesses have already started considering the commercial towers on the island a prominent
00:22address in the country.
00:24Among the four completed commercial towers, Al-Sila has been operational since the first
00:29quarter of 2012 and is 98% leased while Al-Maqam is 82% leased.
00:36The iconic Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange building, Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi and Rosewood
00:42Abu Dhabi, an ultra-luxury hotel opened in May 2013, are among many businesses that add
00:49prominence to the square.
00:50The Rosewood Abu Dhabis are the first hotel actually to open for Rosewood in Abu Dhabi
00:56or in the UAE.
00:57So we are very, very excited to open.
00:59It is a mixed-use hotel which features 189 rooms, hotel rooms and suites, as well as
01:08some furnished residence and some fully serviced residence as well.
01:12So we do offer also a great array of restaurants and facilities.
01:17So we're very excited to be here in Abu Dhabi.
01:20We have a very, very good mix of business clientele during the weekdays.
01:25So the Sunday to Thursday, we've been very successful with the corporate clients.
01:29And in the weekend, of course, we are becoming very popular because of the new energy that
01:35is coming into the island, into Almeria.
01:37We have, for example, the Galleria that just opened with us with all the shopping.
01:42And of course, we have nine restaurants and lounges, you know, with an amazing spa.
01:46So all of it makes for a wonderful weekend stay.
01:49The Galleria, a high-end retail and dining area, is the most prominent destination in
01:55Suwa Square, which attracts hundreds of visitors from across the country since open last month.
02:02We're very positive because we have undertaken to build this regional mall.
02:08I was just speaking about Suwa Central.
02:10To do that, we have to believe in the Abu Dhabi marketplace.
02:14We believe it not only because of our early success here at the Galleria, but because
02:18we work with many of the retail groups in the region.
02:21Those retail groups control many hundreds of brands.
02:24And those retailers themselves believe very much in the Abu Dhabi marketplace.
02:28They want to bring stores.
02:30And that tells you that they believe the market's there.
02:33So both us and the retailers are quite positive about the growth opportunities, not just from
02:38the local resident base, but ultimately from tourism as well.
02:42The island was designed to deliver a contemporary yet uniquely Arab development.
02:48The district is gradually becoming a thriving urban hub with an offering for everyone.
02:54Sunita Menon, Gulf News.
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