Kempinski’s latest jewel opens on the shores of the Dead Sea
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Kempinski’s latest jewel opens on the shores of the Dead Sea
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Category: Middle East
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2006-05-18
The new Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea sits on the shores of a sea in which no one will ever swim or splash.
For millennia, the high salt- and mineral content of the Dead Sea has attracted travelers in search of cures and beauty – of which a potent ingredient is floating in the sea – but never swimming. Cleopatra had caravans of camels deliver Dead Sea water to her palaces in Egypt, and Herod came to Masada to be cured by its minerals. The Dead Sea lies at the lowest point on the face of the earth, where the sun’s rays are filtered by an additional 1,800 feet of oxygen, so that the fairest skins tan but don’t burn, and chronic skin ailments are dramatically relieved.
Designed in affectionate tribute to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea is designed with local stone, tiles and glass and is set amidst gardens of olive trees and palms, dotted with lagoons, waterfalls and private pools.
The hotel’s first phase, the 114-room Ishtar Villas, opened on May 1. All rooms and suites face the Dead Sea; they are the largest, most amenity-rich and high-tech hotel rooms and suites in the region.
For the private-jet set, the 20,000-square foot Ishtar Royal Villa includes three bedrooms, a private infinity pool, a private butler and its own series of gardens and beach chalets. A variety of restaurants and bars bring a new level of creative cuisine and service to the Dead Sea; the hotel provides private limousines, a special children’s program and lounge and a boutique Anantara Spa. An additional 201 sea-facing rooms and suites will open by early 2007, as well as an entertainment center that includes a bowling alley, movie theater, meeting and sports facilities.
The keystone of the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea will be the Anantara Spa, covering an area of 2½ acres. “It is fitting that one of the world’s largest spas should be at the lowest point on earth - which was, in fact, the world’s first health resort,” says Reto Wittwer, President and CEO of Kempinski Hotels and Resorts. “While most Dead Sea spa facilities are devoted to medical cures,” Wittwer continues, “the Anantara Spa at the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea will concentrate on the 21st century concepts of ‘wellness’ and beauty,” Wittwer continued. The spa will include more than 20 treatment rooms, 28 spa suites, Jacuzzis, Asian therapies, steam rooms, saunas and a Hammam.
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