AT THE recent World Green Tourism conference and exhibition, HH Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), announced that ADTA is, in collaboration with Estidama, upgrading its hotel classification system to reflect and respond to the emirate’s unique environment. The updated version will be announced during the second quarter of 2011.
The first property to be assessed based on the mandatory Estidama Pearl Rating System is the Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort (AWPR), a multi-faceted development designed around wildlife to create an outstanding sustainable leisure and learning destination for people who want to be in touch with nature. The resort hotel of AWPR will be the first green hotel of the Abu Dhabi emirate and is expected to achieve four pearls in Estidama’s system, the minimum requirement for compliance with the guidelines is one pearl.
Preparatory work for the five-star resort is ongoing and the tendering process for the development of the main hotel is underway. When completed, the 50,000-sq-m, world-class property will have 200 rooms and provide state-of-the-art business facilities including a ballroom with capacity for 1,500 people, conference rooms and a high-tech business centre. Leisure facilities will include a kids’ club, swimming pools and top-class dining venues such as a restaurant on the rooftop offering sweeping views of the wildlife in the safari park as well as an upper level pool dining restaurant overlooking the entire pool complex.
Green hotels are environmental-friendly properties which implement practices and programmes that save water and energy and reduce solid waste to help protect the earth. The aim of the Green Hotel Building Guidelines is to reduce the environmental impact of buildings and other supporting systems, without sacrificing comfort and health or aesthetics. To be more sustainable, green buildings use primarily available, renewable, reused or recycled materials. The use of rapidly renewable materials is the main focus in the process of building. In addition to relying on natural building materials, the emphasis on the architectural design is heightened. The orientation of a building, the utilisation of local climate and site conditions and the emphasis on natural ventilation through design considerably reduce operational costs and positively impact the environment. The guidelines’ main objectives are minimising the ecological footprint, on-site handling of energy acquisition, on-site water capture, alternate sewage treatment and water reuse.
The Pearl Rating System for Estidama is Abu Dhabi’s mandatory framework for sustainable design, construction and operation of communities, buildings and villas, and is organised into five categories that emphasise liveability, water preservation and energy consumption.