Azizi Hospitality's Meydan Five-Star Hotel on Track for Mid-2028 Opening
Foundations are in the ground at Azizi Riviera and a life-size guest room is taking shape before the main build begins
Azizi Hospitality, a key unit of UAE developer Azizi Developments, says work on its five-star hotel in Azizi Riviera, Meydan is moving at a steady pace. The property remains on track to open in mid-2028. It is the first five-star hotel in the developer's AED 75 billion, 151-hotel rollout.
Foundations Laid for Meydan's Next Hospitality Landmark
Site work has begun with excavation and foundation works. The company says the main structural construction, facade installation and interior fit-out will follow. With the opening still around two years away, the project is at the stage where the groundwork for everything above it is being completed.
Inside the Hotel: Dining, Wellness and Family Facilities
The hotel is planned to include:
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Guest accommodation
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Italian and Asian restaurants
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Wellness facilities
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A children's club
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A gym
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Landscaped surroundings
Together these point to a resort-style property aimed at both leisure travellers and families.
The Full-Scale Mock-Up: Testing Every Detail Before It's Built
Azizi Hospitality is building a life-size mock-up of a guest room, corridor and lift lobby. The space can be experienced exactly as a future guest would experience it. The team can then refine the layout, materials, flow and overall feel before those choices are carried through the hotel.
Designing the Experience, Not Just the Building
Behind the construction programme, the company is shaping the elements that will bring the hotel to life. These include:
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The guest journey and operating model
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Food and beverage concepts
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The wellness offering
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Technology and service standards
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Procurement and pre-opening preparations
Running these workstreams alongside the build means operations are planned well before opening day.
Leadership Vision: Hospitality Measured by Return Visits
Group CEO Farhad Azizi said that "great hospitality isn't measured in room counts." He explained that the real test is whether guests leave wanting to return. He said this standard extends to the details most guests feel but never consciously notice, such as how a space flows, how light falls and how it feels on entering. The group intends to apply it to every property it builds, each with its own character.
Azizi Hospitality CEO Saurabh Bakshi said a hotel is made long before the first guest arrives, in decisions most people never see. He said the mock-up lets the team step into the guest experience early, test what works and refine it well before the final stages.
The Road to Opening Day
The coming phases focus on:
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The main structural build and the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems
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Interior fit-out
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Furniture and fittings
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The equipment that keeps the hotel running day to day
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Readying the property for operation
The Setting: Life in Azizi Riviera
The hotel is part of Azizi Riviera, a master-planned waterfront community in Meydan One, Mohammed Bin Rashid City. This French Riviera-inspired community with a swimmable crystal lagoon and a retail boulevard at its heart. It is adjacent to Meydan Racecourse, host of the Dubai World Cup and a short drive from Downtown Dubai.
The Bigger Picture: Azizi's 151-Hotel Ambition
The Meydan hotel is part of Azizi Hospitality’s planned rollout across the UAE. The company plans to spend AED 75 billion ($20.4 billion) on 151 hotels, mostly in Dubai. The plan is for 100 four-star and 50 five-star hotels with more than 90 percent of the portfolio in Dubai. The planned Burj Azizi tower on Sheikh Zayed Road will also be built with a seven-star hotel. The portfolio is expected to consist of about 60,000 rooms and will create more than 75,000 jobs. Azizi also aims to set up a hospitality academy to train future professionals.
Dubai's Hotel Market: Record 2025, Steady Recovery in 2026
Dubai welcomed a record 19.59 million international overnight visitors in 2025, finishing the year with 154,264 hotel rooms and an average occupancy rate of 80.7%. The first half of 2026 was impacted by regional conflicts and disruptions in air travel, which resulted in lower occupancy. Now a recovery is under way. Dubai welcomed 6.97 million international visitors in the first eight months of 2026. Hotel occupancy in August was 66% or about 89% of the level a year ago, up from 36% in March.
Sources: TradeArabia News Service (via Zawya); Gulf News and Gulf Daily News reports on Azizi's hospitality plans; Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism data as reported by Gulf Business and Dubai Eye.
