It’s looking increasingly likely that Dubai could be adding a moon-shaped resort to its skyline. News of the proposed property by Moon World Resorts swirled back in September, and now, the company has said it’s considering Dubai Pearl as the ideal location for building it.
“At this time, we are still considering potential regional licensees and land options around MENA,” Moon World Resorts’ co-founder Michael Henderson told Arabian Business. “We believe the Dubai Peal would be a perfect location for Moon Dubai; indeed it would be absolutely stunning.”
First unveiled in 2002, Dubai Pearl is an on-again, off-again mega-project involving four towers based around a large podium. It was planned to house 1,490 apartments, seven five-star hotels, over 60 restaurants and a 1,600-seat theatre, according to Hotelier.
Henderson told CNN Travel, the Moon World Resort would be “a very luxurious and contemporary, fully integrated destination resort, with a lot of components inside that one would already know”. These include a convention centre, restaurants and a spa — all with a lunar twist.
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The resort would be expected to welcome 2.5 million guests annually, and would focus on leading-edge architecture, engineering, design and tech. It would also house a training platform for various space agencies and their astronauts.
“Climate change is the greatest challenge to our world. Moon’s mission is to act as the educational bridge, demonstrating how reduction in carbon emissions can protect humans, animals, and nature,” Moon World Resorts‘ co-founder Sandra Matthews told Arabian Business.
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Long-term, the company hopes to build four Moon resorts: one in North America, one in Europe, one in the Middle East and Northern Africa and one in Asia. Dubai has been said to be a “front running” for the opening of the first Moon World resort due to its popularity among tourists, though Henderson told CNN Travel, the company is considering other options.
“Obviously people like to see the renderings of what’s happening on the inside,” Henderson told CNN Travel. “But I think a lot of people are going to be excited when you look up at the world’s largest sphere — I think that’s going to be the mind blower.”
Back in August, it was reported that Dubai’s Burj Khali, the tallest building in the world, could be getting a ring-like building around it. The proposed concept was a sustainable, ringed vertical city. Called Downtown Circle, it would fully encircle the famous Dubai skyscraper and be held up with five vertical support beams.
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