Legoland’s latest hotel, designed with kids in mind, has opened in Dubai, bringing jobs to the emirate and adding to the city’s ever-evolving tourism offering.
The hotel, which holds 4.5 million Lego bricks, sits right by the entrance to the Legoland theme park, and the general manager of Legoland Dubai Resort Ramesh Ganeson told Arabian Business that footfall to the park has been incrementally increasing since it opened at the end of January. Hotel guests get free access to the theme park when they stay.
From tiny check-in counters, to a play area in the lobby, to separate sleeping areas for kids within the rooms, the Legoland Hotel is a kids’ paradise. There’s even disco-themed elevators with lights and music to move guests between floors. There are 250 rooms across four differently themed floors, where visitors can choose from a pirate, adventure, friends, Ninjago or kingdom room.
With design and activities focused on keeping kids happy, parents may be wondering what’s in it for them.
“Parents coming here, it’s a lot easier for them because they’ve realised we’re keeping the kids busy,” Ganeson said. Soon, there will be a lounge that’s a no-go zone for kids where parents can relax with a beverage.
The venue has only been open a little over a month, and, when asked about occupancy rates, Ganeson said, “I can only say that it’s building up.”
Dubai’s new hotel offering
Currently, the hotel employs around 100 staff, but will continue hiring as the phased opening of the hotel continues.
Ganeson said the hotel has also benefitted from spillover Expo 2020 Dubai traffic – the six-month event that has attracted international visitors to the UAE.
The smallest room holds five people, and the largest up to 26, which Ganeson said is typically used for extended family gatherings, but adult women friend groups will also rent out the bigger rooms.
“They always like to say our price is high. But if you look at it [the smallest room holds] five people. If you go to another hotel, you need two rooms to fit,” he said.
The year before the venue opened was marked by the coronavirus pandemic, where people began to pay greater attention to sanitisation and cleanliness than in recent history. That effect still lingers as Covid-19 continues, even though a lot of travel-related restrictions have eased.
“Every individual block should be sanitised,” the general manager said, adding that the materials chosen for furniture within the hotel are also designed to be easy to clean.
Two to 12 year olds, the targeted age group, also aren’t associated with being the cleanest demographic, so the easy-to-clean furniture makes sense even beyond its pandemic practicalities.
With millions of bricks and touchpoints throughout the hotel, cleanliness has been paramount amid increasing public concern over safety. Ganeson said that staff have had to be retrained to ensure all policies are adhered to.
Follow us on
