QE2’s future as luxury floating hotel sails a little closer to reality
The opening of the Queen Elizabeth 2 as a luxury floating hotel and museum has moved a step closer.
“Coming soon,” runs the tagline on a the website qe2.com, which went live this month. It promises a “new take” on hospitality and a “royal experience” for Dubai.
There is no official launch date or definite mention of a hotel on the website, but work on the renowned ocean liner is at an advanced stage at Port Rashid where it has been docked since 2008.
The QE2 celebrated the 50th anniversary of its launch last September and a story in The National revealed the former Cunard Line flagship had undergone a major facelift.
Signs stating “Queen Elizabeth 2, hotel main entrance” had been erected, while an army of workers cleaned the vessel as the outdoor swimming pool was decked over to host events. The lifeboats were removed and placed around the complex as a form of advertising.
Work has continued since. Staff are being recruited, cruise terminal 1 has been turned into a maritime museum featuring old artworks from the ship, while a new gangway has been built. It is thought guests will first visit the museum before heading to the ship.
Rob Lightbody runs The QE2 Story website, which looks to preserve memories of the ship.
“With the decks fully lit at night, the new website appearing last week and new signage at the ship, it does look like there might finally be an end in sight to our long 10-year wait for QE2 to open,” he said. “However, we will wait for her to actually open before we believe it.”
It is still unclear how much a night will cost but an announcement is expected in the next few months.
The website says the ship is the responsibility of the Dubai Government’s Port, Customs and Free Zone Corporation.
Port Rashid is operated by DP World and a transformation of the port complex with a new marina, shops, restaurants and the cruise terminals is under way. It is expected that the QE2 will be the centrepiece of this development.
As an ocean liner, the QE2 was the epitome of class, and its name conjures up images of a golden era of travel. Built in the shipyards of John Brown in Clydebank, Scotland, it was
launched on September 20, 1967, by Queen Elizabeth II.
It completed more than 800 Atlantic crossings and had carried 2.5 million passengers when it was sold to Dubai in 2007. The recession scuppered plans at that time to turn her into a hotel on the Palm Jumeirah.
It had five restaurants, three pools and a 481-seat cinema. The QE2 is eclipsed in fame only by the Titanic and has attracted celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Buzz Aldrin.
John Podaras, a hospitality expert in Dubai, believes a QE2 hotel can offer a different experience but there are many challenges.
“It’s not enough to anchor a ship and turn it into a hotel. It needs something that is a great deal more compelling,” said Mr Podaras, a partner at Hotel Development Resources in Dubai.
“The obvious value of the QE2 has to be its real estate value – selling off units that can be used as second homes or put back into a leasing pool acting as a hotel.
“It cost a lot of money to buy and cost a lot of money to refurbish. Selling off real estate may achieve better returns in the short term, but if you’re saying I’ll write off all my investments to date, then of course your return profile is different and a hotel might make sense.
“But you’re opening another hotel in a saturated market and competing with Bulgari and the Four Seasons.”
One concept that Mr Podaras mentions is The World, a high-end community cruise ship that sails the high seas. Apartment owners have shares in the company rather than title deeds. Could the QE2 become something similar, sailing to events such as the Rio Carnival and the Olympics?
“This is probably not for the QE2,” Mr Podaras said. “The costs to refurbish and upgrade her propulsion systems, let alone the operational costs, would be prohibitive.”
For now, everyone is waiting for a firm announcement from the QE2’s operators. DP World and the ports corporation did not respond in time to requests for comment, but there is no question that a reborn ship would be eagerly anticipated.
“It’s great to have an intact QE2 still with us over 50 years after her launch, and for that we thank Dubai and wish them luck,” Mr Lightbody said.
“Many of our members are very keen to step aboard once more and stay for a few nights, and many will visit Dubai who otherwise wouldn’t.”