The lease agreement was signed between Jan G.F. Eijkemans, Director of MAB Development Group BV, and Gerald Lawless, Executive Chairman of Jumeirah Group in Frankfurt/Main today. The agreement will see the 219 room luxury hotel launching in mid-2010 alongside the launch of the 112,000 m² PalaisQuartier mixed use office and retail complex.

“We believe this agreement will see the establishment of a world-class, marketleading luxury hotel in Frankfurt city centre,” said Lawless. “We are delighted to be entering the German market with such a prestigious and high profile property and look forward to bringing the luxury and quality that so many German visitors to Dubai have experienced with Jumeirah right to their doorsteps.”

PalaisQuartier is located at the heart of Frankfurt at the Thurn-und-Taxis-Platz, within walking distance of the city’s financial district and stock exchange, pedestrian shopping areas and the city’s opera house. The mixed use development includes the reconstructed baroque 18th century Thurn und Taxis Palais and a 48,500 m² retail development, some 42,000 m² of premium office space and the 22,000 m², 25-floor Jumeirah Hotel Frankfurt. The retail component, called MyZeil and designed by Massimiliano Fuksas, recently opened with great success. It is fully let and attracted over 1 million visitors during the first two weeks after opening.

 “The level of hospitality and luxury the Jumeirah Group brings to their luxury hotels, fits perfectly in the PalaisQuartier project. We are delighted to welcome Jumeirah to Germany and are proud that we are able to accommodate the hotel in our project in Frankfurt,” said Eijkemans.

Guests of Jumeirah Frankfurt will enjoy a range of facilities including Jumeirah’s signature Talise spa as well as several restaurants and bars, meeting rooms and business facilities. The hotel will include a contemporary fine dining restaurant with a design commissioned from leading Japanese designer Takashi Sugimoto and his team at Super Potato, one of today’s most respected and innovative restaurant design consultancies. The overall interior design will be in responsibility of Peter Schilling & Associates and the building design has been completed by the German architects KSP Engel und Zimmermann. Both partners acknowlegded the efforts of the WingField Corporation to conclude the agreement.

“The Jumeirah Frankfurt Hotel is an important development in our company´s global expansion plan. It will serve Germany’s financial centre and one of Europe’s most important international business and travel hubs. Germany is one of the world’s largest economies and a market that has traditionally served as the third largest inbound market for Jumeirah’s properties. It’s a key market for us and we see this first move to invest in the German market as an important and sound link that cements an already strong connection,” said Lawless.

”I am immensely pleased by this further revitalisation of the Frankfurt hotel sector” enthused Petra Roth, Lord Mayor of the city of Frankfurt. “The Jumeirah Group’s decision to select Frankfurt, especially in the current economic climate, is a particular indication of their trust in our city and its future viability and sustainability. Hotel operators invest in Frankfurt because of its international character, its prosperity and its innovational energy.“ Frankfurt is very interested in strengthening its relationship with the Gulf States. With this new five-star hotel, from a company in our partner city Dubai, we will strengthen the potential contact to other partners in this region“.

About Jumeirah

Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts are regarded as among the most luxurious and innovative in the world and have won numerous international travel and tourism awards. The Dubai-based luxury international hotel management group encompasses the world renowned Burj Al Arab, the world’s most luxurious hotel and recognised as the symbol of Dubai, the multi-award winning Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Madinat Jumeirah and Jumeirah Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa in Dubai, the Jumeirah Carlton Tower and Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in London and the Jumeirah Essex House in New York.

The Group’s activities are, however, not restricted to hotel and resort management. The Jumeirah Group portfolio also includes Jumeirah Living, the Group’s luxury brand of serviced residences offering effortless living in luxurious surroundings; global spa brand Talise; The Taste Department, the company’s dedicated restaurant division; Wild Wadi water park; The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, the region’s only fully accredited third-level academic institution delivering specialised degree programmes in hospitality management; and Jumeirah Retail, with its 15 stores and dedicated luxury online store www.jumeirahcollection.com. Sirius, Jumeirah’s Recognition and Rewards programme, offers members the ability to earn Sirius Points every time they stay, dine or shop with Jumeirah. 

Building on this success, Jumeirah Group became a member of Dubai Holding in 2004, a collection of leading Dubai based businesses and projects, initiating a new phase of growth and development for the group.

Jumeirah has extensive expansion plans to grow its portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts into key gateway or letterhead cities and aspirational resort destinations worldwide. Currently, the Group has several luxury five-star properties under development in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Bali, Thailand, China, Argentina, Spain, England, Scotland and the US Virgin Islands. In 2009, the Group is eagerly anticipating the grand opening of Jumeirah HanTang Xintiandi in Shanghai, Jumeirah’s first hotel in the Asia Pacific region.

About PalaisQuartier

The PalaisQuartier, comprising the shopping centre MyZeil, the neighbouring office tower, the Jumeirah Frankfurt hotel and the faithfully restored Thurn and Taxis Palais, is one of the most important city centre projects in Europe. PalaisQuartier is a mutual development of MAB Development Group B.V. and Meyer Bergmann Ltd. and is being realised via PalaisQuartier GmbH & Co. KG in the function of the project management division of MAB Development Deutschland GmbH». (CS della Società).