In stark contrast to many of Dubai’s five-star hotels, the new Hotel JAL Tower Dubai revels in its own simplicity. The 471-room hotel is housed in one of the two buildings that make up the new JAL Towers mixed-use complex-a slick addition to Sheikh Zayed Roads multi-faceted skyline.
JAL Hotel, a Japanese hospitality brand that was launched in 1970 as a subsidiary of Japan Airlines, was already present in the UAE with the Hotel JAL Fujairah Resort & Spa. However, as its first venture in Dubai, the company was keen to ensure that the Hotel JAL Tower captured its brand ethos and spoke proudly of its Japanese heritage.
Dubai-based design firm Draw Link Group was initially called to design the hotel’s food and beverage outlets, but this scope of work was soon expanded to also include the hotel’s lobby, convention centre, executive lounge, business centre, spa, gym and 32 suites. Most of the hotel, in fact, apart from the standard rooms.
According to Daousser Chennoufi, CEO and key architect at Drawlink Group, the intention was to create an interior design scheme that was striking in its simplicity. In keeping with the origins of the brand, the aim was to embrace the minimalist undertones of Japanese styling. “The concept was to make it as simple as possible.” The idea was to introduce fewer things., with greater impact. That is why the types of materials used in the various spaces has been kept to a minimum,” Chennoufi said.
Because the brand is Japanese, they wanted that Japanese styling. But simple doesn’t mean not innovative, or not creative,” he stressed. In fact, minimalist design schemes are more complicated to get right than interiors that are overly decorative, Chennoufi maintained. “A design with lots of things in it is easier to create than a design that is done in a very minimalistic way,” he insisted.
And the benefits of a minimalist design go beyond the mere aesthetic, Chennoufi suggested. “For the owner, as an investor, a more simple design is also a good way of managing the budget. Most other projects in Dubai use a lot of materials and design elements. This costs the investor more, takes longer to build, and is harder to maintain.”
Furthermore, in a city that has long valued overly elaborate design schemes, minimalist interiors still present a fair amount of novelty value. So, the extreme simplicity of the Hotel JAL Tower’s entrance area may initially feel quite foreign to those that are used to Dubai’s more dense design style, but it is highly refreshing nonetheless. This is our approach. The owner could have gone to any number of bigger companies to get their design, but the mentality of most firms in Dubai right now is to over-design five-star hotels. Our approach is to be very simple.” To keep the design as straightforward as possible, Draw Link worked with a limited but rich palette of materials, and played with texture and lighting to introduce richness and depth. “Lighting is very important in all our concepts. Effective lighting helps to add value to certain materials,” said Chennoufi.
In Indothai, the hotel’s 100-seat Asian restaurant and bar, original, handcrafted items from all over Asia combine to create an authentic ambiance that also manages to retain sense of modernity. The restaurant is brimming with traditional statues, intricate pieces of art carved from wood and stone, and dramatic, dried out trees that have been sprayed-painted in white. “It creates an authentic ambiance, but at the same time its not rustic or old-fashioned,” said Chennoufi. “It is not that traditional Asian aesthetic that you see everywhere else. The restaurant is open but we created sub-spaces, without really dividing them up. Spaces are divided by the works of art, which are semi transparent.”
The property is also home to Benkay, a unique Japanese outlet located on the top three levels of the hotel. Each level of the restaurant specializes in a different type of cuisine: authentic Japanese, sushi and Teppan Grill. The restaurant is home to the largest ever space dedicated entirely to Teppan Grill tables.
With its panoramic views of Sheikh Zayed Road, and lofty location on the 49th, 50th and 51st floors, Benkay is another of the Hotel JAL Tower Dubai’s signature elements-and like the rest of the design, is a reminder that JAL is a Japanese company, and proud of it.
Composition: 471 Rooms, 32 Suites, Lobby, Convention Center, Executive Lounge, Spa, Asian Restaurant, All Day Dining.
