DUBAI’S Aviation Club, already a popular food and beverage venue, will see a spa open at the property early next year, and, if all goes well, a hotel within the next two years.

“We are working with (international chain) Sixth Senses on the spa, now at the tender stage. It should be ready to open by January,” says Aviation Club general manager Gerard Kearney. “A feasibility study on the hotel is still in progress, but we hope to be able to go ahead soon.”
The new developments are both, a response to Dubai’s almost-saturated hotel room supply market and an exploitation of the club’s unique location. “It’s quite difficult to get a room in Dubai even in the middle of summer, and our proximity to the airport would be a selling point. A tall building would also mean great views of the Creek.”
The new Dh4.5 million spa will be a new building and is being designed to cater to tourists and residents. In keeping with the Club’s F&B focus, a limited holistic menu will be available to clients.
The Club is fresh from a refurbishment of its high-profile restaurant, The Cellar, where several F&B promotion deals are on offer.
Come September and the club will be very busy. “Since Ramadan is early this year, the early Fall period will be quite a busy season for us,”  says Kearney.
In the planning are more F&B outlets over the next couple of years. “It’s extra-ordinary, but the more you have, the better you seem to do,” says Kearney, who estimates business will exceed the targeted 10 per cent increase over 2003.

By Keith J Fernandez