Monday, December 22, 2008

Dubai Marina Mall opened today

Dubai Marina Mall opened earlier today, the first part of the complex that will include Gourmet Tower, a hotel, an office/residential block. The others aren't ready, so as usual in Dubai it's a bit of a construction site all around.

However, the mall building itself seems to be pretty much complete even though most of the shops are still doing their fit-out.




It's circular and here's the basic shape from the guide:



Plenty of uniformed staff all over it to guide visitors around, including staff at the car park and taxi entrances waving traffic in. They also seem to have all the signage in place and there are information panels with a store guide and floor plan plus the little pocket size versions to take away. These simple things all too often aren't done in time, so well done Emaar.

The main entrance is on the road with no name which runs round the Sheikh Zayed Road side of Dubai Marina, and the main circular part looks like this:



And looking back towards the entrance:



The food court is on the top level (only Cinnabon is open at the moment) which has an outside balcony area overlooking the marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence. Very importantly, Baskin Robbins will have an outlet so we'll be able to sit on the balcony enjoying the view and a scoop or three of ice cream.



More than half the outlets are not ready yet, including what will be a cinema complex and a kids entertainment area, both of which will be on the top level alongside the food court.



The majority of outlets have signs like this:



There's a worryingly high number without a store name though, just the generic 'store opening'...

...and with the current downturn maybe they'll stay boarded up for a while.

There will be a Waitrose supermarket, otherwise the names are the usual suspects, the brands we see in every mall. A random sample from the directory: Al Jabar, Areej, Mothercare, Sharaf DG, Arabian Oud, Rivoli, Billabong, Monsoon, Tommy Bahama, Reebok. And inevitably, Starbucks, KFC, TGI Friday etc etc.

8 comments:

Em said...

oooh - i wonder how waitrose would be - expensive as usual.

moryarti said...

it seems Mr. Alabbar landed the waitrose franchise...

Seabee said...

Mars, yes more expensive but when we've been in the UK we've always found they were far better quality so we shop there because they're value for money.

Moryarti, I seem to remember Spinneys announcing that they were bringing Waitrose to Dubai. Who's Spinneys local partner I wonder...

Unknown said...

Could someone post a list of what stores are open inside Marina Mall? Saves me a trip all the way down to find a handful of shops that are no use to me hehe!

Anonymous said...

Will the gourmet tower be licensed?

Seabee said...

Joel, I'd suggest it's a bit early to be visiting. Only a few clothing shops, an optician and some jewellery shops are currently open and only Cinnabon in the food court. I was in there today because I was seeing where the new roads off SZR went - one goes directly in to the mall car park via a tunnel. There are signs everywhere showing that parking will be charged for in future - today there was no charge but I don't know how long that will last.

Anon, good question. Gourmet Tower isn't finished yet so it'll be a while before we find out.

Anonymous said...

oh its pictures are really beautiful.
looks great.

Anonymous said...

I don't mind if it has all the 'usual' suspects in it (what would expect from a Dubai-based mall?) - I live in the Marina, so if it saves me from having to bother about in Mall of Emirates - its worth it! I'm checking it out this afternoon anyway!