ALDAR Properties has signed an agreement with the Banyan Tree Group to operate and manage the exclusive Al Gurm Resort and Spa in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.

The agreement represents the East Asian resort group’s first resort venture into the UAE and marks Aldar’s expansion into the luxury hotel business.
Al Gurm Resort is scheduled to open in the last quarter of 2007. The resort is an exclusive tropical island and spa complex, fringed by emerald green mangrove forests which sustain over 60 species of bird life in an area of breathtaking beauty off the western rim of Abu Dhabi island. The focal point of the resort will be 71 private suites centered round a lagoon and 90 exclusive island chalets. It will include a health and fitness club, boutiques and restaurants offering fine cuisine with a signature seafood restaurant accessible only by boat.
In keeping with a strict ‘wildlife first’ policy, the development will feature low-rise accommodation only so that neither the wildlife nor the natural flora will be disturbed.