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 $100 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 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 $100 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
During its time as a passenger vessel, QE2 crossed the Atlantic more than 800 times
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 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
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.
In its new incarnation, it has 1,300 rooms, with rates ranging from less than $200 to as much as $15,000 for a suite. It also has a musueum 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.
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
In its new incarnation, the QE2 has 1,300 rooms, with rates ranging from less than $200 to as much as $15,000 for a suite. It also has a musueum and 13 restaurants and bars
In the deluxe rooms on board the floating hotel, the original porthole windows remind guests of the ship’s seafaring days
Despite extensively preserving her authentic elements, the QE2 has also been fully equipped with all the latest technology
The rooms on board range in size from 17 square metres for a standard room, pictured, to 76 square metres for a royal suite
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 $100 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.
Hamza Mustafa, CEO of PCFC Hotels says the opening of the restored QE2 is one of Dubai’s most highly anticipated hotel openings
More than 2.7million man-hours have been put into the transformation of the QE2 from crumbling cruise liner to five star hotel
PCFC Hotels spent an additional $100 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
The grand launch of the restored QE2 will take place in October. It was originally registered in Southampton and operated from 1967 to 2008
THE QE2: A FLAGSHIP VESSEL KNOWN FOR ITS GLAMOUR (AND EVEN A STINT AT WAR)
The QE2 was initially designed as a transatlantic service between her home port of Southampton and New York and was built at at John Brown’s shipyard, Clydebank.
Operated by Cunard, she began an almost 40-year career in 1969 and served as the flagship of the line until succeeded by RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004.
During her years of service, the QE2 undertook regular world cruises and was known as being the height of glamour.
The QE2 under construction at the John Brown shipyard on the Clyde in 1967. She was launched a few months later by the Queen
Originally featuring three classes of service, the ship appealed to stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and also captured the imagination of the less affluent, who were blocked by stairways and elevators from entering first-class spaces even for a peek.
Passengers dressed for dinner in formal gowns and tuxedos and top-name showbiz stars entertained.
In May 1982 she even took part in the Falklands War, carrying 3,000 troops and 650 volunteer crews.
This involved her being refitted with three helicopter pads, dormitories and fuel pipes to allow for refuelling at sea.
Incredibly, more than 650 Cunard crew members volunteered for the voyage to transport the members of the Fifth Infantry Brigade.
The vessel returned to the UK in June 1982 and was greeted in Southampton by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.