Dubai's new floating hotel: Luxury liner Queen Elizabeth 2 reopens as floating hotel in Dubai

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Dubai's new floating hotel: Luxury liner Queen Elizabeth 2 reopens as floating hotel in Dubai

Updated
One of the world's most famous ships, the QE2 reopens as floating hotel in Dubai.

One of the world's most famous ships, the QE2 reopens as floating hotel in Dubai.Credit: PCFC Hotels

The Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) ocean liner has been given a new lease of life as a floating hotel in Dubai, 10 years after the Gulf Arab emirate bought it for $US100 million ($A128 million).

State-owned Dubai World bought the QE2 from Cunard Line in 2007, but the 2008 financial crisis delayed any plans for the 40-year-old vessel, one of the world's most famous ships.

Now the QE2, permanently moored at Mina Rashid port, has been refurbished based on the original design, from its carpets to the theatre and even restaurant menus featuring dishes served in the liner's heyday.

The bar area on the QE2 hotel.

The bar area on the QE2 hotel.Credit: PCFC Hotels

A reception housed in a boat-shaped structure at the quay welcomed guests to Wednesday's official opening.

Large portraits of United Arab Emirates rulers hang opposite portraits of a young Queen Elizabeth II and Samuel Cunard, founder of the company that built the ship.

"There is a huge following around the world for the QE2 because of how famous she is and what she stands for," said Hamza Mustafa, chief executive of PCFC Hotels, the Dubai World subsidiary that owns the ship.

A room on the QE2 floating hotel.

A room on the QE2 floating hotel.Credit: PCFC Hotels

The QE2 first entered service in 1969 and has sailed around the world 25 times, carrying more than 2.5 million passengers, the company said.

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In its new incarnation, it has 1300 rooms, with rates ranging from less than $US200 to as much as $US15,000 for a suite. It also has a museum and 13 restaurants and bars.

Dubai hopes the QE2 will boost tourism in the most visited city in the Middle East, which welcomed over 15 million tourists in 2017. Officials say they are targeting 20 million by 2020.

PCFC Hotels spent an additional $US100 million renovating the liner and has plans to convert Mina Rashid into a complex of luxury residences and a yachting marina.

"Although we kept everything as it was in 1969, you also have the most advanced technology in the tourism industry in Dubai," said Kenneth Todd, director of sales at PCFC Hotels.

"For example, you can control everything with your phone, including check-in, room key, lights and TV," he said while showing reporters a duplex suite.

Cunard's Queen Mary 2, the world's largest ocean liner, was also docked at Mina Rashid on Wednesday and sounded its horns to mark the occasion.

Reuters

See also: A million-star experience on a floating hotel

See also: The world's best floating hideaways

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