WS Atkins & Partners leads design of first St. Regis polo resort in Dubai

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide signed the first-ever St. Regis polo resort, The St. Regis Dubai Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club, in partnership with Al Habtoor Group. Scheduled to open early 2017, the 136-room hotel will be the centerpiece of a six-million-square-foot equestrian sports complex in Dubai.

The St. Regis Dubai Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club will 136 luxury guestrooms, 24 luxury St. Regis branded bungalows and various culinary venues. In addition, there will be a further 138 residential villas within the resort, alongside a polo club, a polo academy and a riding school with 10 stables. Guests will also have access to the polo academy, which will offer a range of programs, including dressage, riding and show jumping for riders of all ages. The resort will also be home to four polo fields.

The development, costing AED1 billion, will open in stages: End 2015, mid 2016 and early 2017.

Led by British architectural firm WS Atkins & Partners, the design of the resort will be inspired by Andalusian architecture. The St. Regis Dubai Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club will be part of Dubailand, a landmark project on Emirates Road just 25 minutes from Dubai International Airport. Dubailand will offer various sports, leisure, entertainment and shopping attractions.

Starwood operates nearly 50 hotels and resorts across the Middle East under eight of the company's nine lifestyle brands, including The Luxury Collection, St. Regis, Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, Le Méridien, Four Points by Sheraton and Aloft. The company has plans to further expand its portfolio in the region with a pipeline of over 35 hotels due to open by 2017.

Dubai is the company's second largest market after New York City, with 15 operating hotels and seven properties in the pipeline. In addition to The St. Regis Dubai Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club, Starwood is also working with the Al Habtoor Group to open three new hotels across its St. Regis, W and Westin brands in Dubai. Al Habtoor Group is also the owner of Le Méridien Budapest in Hungary.

The Al Habtoor Group is a UAE-based conglomerate.