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Unveiling the Ultimate Luxury Experience at Emirates Luxury Sports Hotel: A Comprehensive Guide
- Roman Pantaleion
- Mar 13
- 10 min read
Updated: Mar 25
Emirates Sports Hotel and Apartments is the first ever sport-oriented hotel in the Middle East. Founded by Serbian native Vladimir Burdun who also serves as the President of the World Strongman International Union and his wife, British National and co-founder Daria Ratobylskaya also serving as the Chief Financial Officer, the hotel is both revolutionary and necessary leaving many adding the luxury hotel to their trip advisor lists. Located in Dubai’s Sports City, the entire Burdun business is the first family-run sports company. The family that is working to build a foundation to last several generations.
ABOUT THE HOTEL:
The hotel was designed to increase mental and physical strength. Professional Coaches hold daily training sessions whilst physicians along with nutritionists and chefs craft optimum menus to cater to each guest's needs. But this hotel isn’t all work and no play. It houses Dubai’s first ever sports spa, focusing on aiding in recovery, reducing pain and preventing injuries.
Each floor is represented by a different sport, demonstrating the multicultural community that is present in the United Arab Emirates. Co-living accommodation with co-working spaces offers guest financial savvy methods of living as well as networking opportunities in the sports industry.
The hotel was designed to cater to the needs of athletes, sports enthusiasts all whilst offering training courses, curated nutrition plans by top chefs and of course recovery and relaxation services designed and based on the needs of the guests' specific needs.
Emirates Sports Hotel and Apartments features 192 ultra-modern units: 144 Spacious Studio rooms with full-length panoramic windows, 40 high-end Hotel Apartments and 8 ultra-luxurious penthouses.
FEATURED SPORTS:
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PERKS I LOVE ABOUT THIS HOTEL:
All utility bills are included in apartment rentals, (electricity, water, Internet and TV services). There is also FREE PARKING, (yes I had to emphasize the free parking), 24/7 building security, weekly housekeeping that also offers In-door laundry and dry-cleaning services and what good with any luxury building be without regular maintenance service? The only downfall is that I wish I’d continued running track and had become an athlete so that I could move into this building! Did I mention they offer free parking?
SPORTS TALK:
The hotel is surrounded by several high-tech sports facilities: FitRepublik – the largest Fitness Center in Dubai, Sports park with a Rugby field, the ICC Cricket Academy, Full-size outdoor and indoor, Football fields, approved by FIFA, a Running track: 400 meters, an Olympic-size Swimming Pool, a Gymnastics Hall, Tennis courts (indoor and outdoor), Soccer schools and training fields, ISD Padel, Els Golf Club and Dubai International Cricket Stadium, with a capacity for: 25,000 making it the perfect location for athletes, sports fanatics and their loved ones. The hotel website also boasts an Events page so guest can stay up-to-date with the latest in sporting events, seminars, educational meets and more.
Open since 2024, Emirates Sports Hotel has had the pleasure of hosting a variety of esteemed international sports teams: USA Cricket National Team, New Zealand Swimming Olympic Team, Saudi Arabia Triathlon Team, National Strongman Champions, Serbian Boxing Federation, Australia national rugby sevens team. The hotel is also an official sponsor of the Dubai Basketball Team and regularly welcomes United FC, City Football Club, Al Rams FC, and Rodina Youth FC.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
World Strongman Championship- Date: March 28, 2024, Location: Emirates Sports Hotel, Dubai, UAE.
“The World Strongman Championship, where heavy athletes from around the world will demonstrate their superpower and push the limits of human potential”.
Emirates Sports Arena will feature cutting-edge screens, lighting, and sound technology for an unmatched experience with a seating capacity of 562. In addition the rink has a sauna for professional teams, a restaurant and bar, sports store and a room to dry all of your clothing.
15 min to the Beach
20 min to Atlantis, The Palm
25 min to Burj Khalifa, Downtown
30 min to the DXB airport
Q&A WITH VLADIMIR BURDUN:
(Q) Why did you decide to build a sports hotel and do you plan to keep this gem in the UAE or take it global?
(A) Basically, we were previously one of the biggest organised sports events companies. We had two big issues: venue space and hotel accommodations because both were always booked. In the end, we decided as we are growing, to own everything from A to Z. This decision was really hard. Another hard decision was to create a sports theme in the hotel. We were trying to engage with a couple of hotel operators and it was looking impossible because nobody even understood what we wanted to do and why.
There aren’t many sports hotels in the world, and there are no equivalents. Mainly there are a few very small boutique hotels worldwide that support sports or there are some hotels with venues; but still, it is not their main business. For example, if you take Roger Arena in Vancouver or the O2 Stadium in England, their main business is hockey or football.
We created something completely different. First, we opened the hotel before we opened the ice rink. The projection was a bit different because we planned to launch the ice rink first, then we thought it'd be a good thing to have a hotel next to it. That’s how we made the decision to open a hotel.
In reality it came totally different. We opened the hotel first. We are almost fully booked and now we are opening the ice arena and they’ll be serving each other. It's like one pushing the other forward, you know?
(Q) Launched in Dubai, which other countries will have a luxurious sports hotel and when, if possible to tell, can we expect them to open?
(A) We, Emirate Sports Group as a Hoteliers, plan to expand first in UAE, the Middle East. But as we are a Serbian-British Company we plan to expand to England as well. We are looking at hotels in the U.K. and we think that this will be our top luxury hotel.
It would be good to bring Middle Eastern hospitality to the United Kingdom. We know they have their own traditions of hospitality and service; there is no doubt about it. We are thinking of making the hotel a bit bigger in size with many amenities which visitors of our hotel would be able to use.
The reception staff could also be working as private coaches. Step by step, we are building that. [Additionally] any person who comes to live in our hotel or stays in our hotel will have private personal classes for free so they can have a consultation with a coach about their fitness.
They will also consultation with a chef about their food and nutrition. What do they need to do to get a better physical condition, to gain more power, to look and be more healthier- all these questions will be answered. We also have a special spa facility, which supports that whole theme.
(Q) Emirates is positioning itself as the global hub for sports and sports tourism. How does this new image fit into its current aesthetic as one of the most luxurious and yet lively travel destinations?
(A) Basically, at this point we must be aware that the whole world has been changing and if you answer the question ‘what is new luxury’, you will understand it’s not just monetary. New luxury is about being healthy.
New luxury is about having comfort in your room. We have very heavy duty mattresses, and since we are in sports, we know that to sleep on a hard mattress is healthier than to use a soft one, so that's a theme of modern luxury in the world– [prioritising health].
You really have to have to [maintain] certain standards to call yourself modern luxury. Modern luxury is sustainability. It's health, it's wealth, that’s my belief.
(Q) Can sports enthusiasts hope to see the Dubai Basketball Team playing their fav American basketball teams or other international basketball teams?
(A) Definitely basketball is one of the growing sports in the UAE and there is a huge audience in all basketball matches. It's 6 to 7 to 8000 people every [game]. A very popular sport; and definitely the Dubai basketball team will grow, so I believe next year they want to play in the European league officially.
I am sure it's just a matter of time that the NBA will organize some friendly games with the Dubai basketball team because this is a very popular sport here now. But it's not only in the UAE, it's the whole world, but UAE especially, it's a very fast growing sport.
(Q) How does a sports hotel cater to the sports player who travels with family? This seems like Disneyland for athletes and sports fanatics, but will it suit the families of the players?
(A) That's definitely a yes, because besides the studio rooms, we have one bedroom and two bedroom apartments, which are in the same complex. So that's allowed us to fill all requirements, even with the kids or wives or families or whatever.
We are even pet friendly. So if some athletes would like to travel with their pets, we are pet friendly as well. We welcome anyone.
(Q) With so many amazing events, over 650 annually to be exact, will any of these seminars consist of financial literacy or tech?
(A) In our hotel we organize one of the biggest IT conferences which is called EMERGE. Which is one of the biggest IT startup conferences in the world. They had almost 1,500 visitors and grants for a half million Euros for the first place [pitch competition]. We hosted a breakfast with Google.
Also, the mezzanine floor in one of our buildings houses one of the biggest E-Gaming clubs called “Colizeum” that runs 24/7, 365 days a year. They host the biggest online tournaments for any kind of athlete, from kids to adults- everything online.
(Q) The most astonishing piece of news I’ve heard is that Dubai is throwing a hat into the rink of winter sports and is launching an ice arena? How did this come about and do you think ice sports will be taken seriously on a global scale being that the UAE is a known desert oasis?
(A) A long time ago we had a slogan which was called, ‘the coolest game in the desert'. We strongly believe in ice sports and yes we are opening the first professional rink in the Middle East and yes it's officially called The Emirate Sports Arena.
We already have the name, so we will be one of the top places for people to go and visit. We will have lots of sporting events: we will have a figure-skating league we will have, I hope the president cup for ice hockey. We will have the Emirates Hockey League there and this is for us very, very important as we believe Dubai should grow.
There are lots of attractions which are not connected to the winter, but winter is what people are missing here in Dubai, really. Everybody loves it and the kids love it. Kids are the most important in each family and Dubai is a very family oriented place. That's one of the reasons we see the great growth potential in our arena and we strongly believe we are doing the right thing now.
(Q) Mr. Burdun met with Olympic officials in Paris in 2024 to lobby for the inclusion of Strongman in the Olympic Games. Is it possible to know the outcome of that conversation? Will fans soon be rooting for Strongman at the LA Olympics in 2028?
(A) Regarding the Olympics and the Strong Man… we have great achievements with Strong Man as a sport. It's impossible to step into the Olympics in L.A. because there's so many different kinds of sports there and it's like a line of different sports, which is way more active than Strong Man in general and way more advanced.
That's the reason it will still take time for us to go to the Olympics physically, but I would say that the biggest issue which we are trying to solve now as is being not only a man's sport, but we also include women, we already include people with special needs, people in wheelchairs. So we are doing a world championship and this is like the most important part which we need to do.
We are fully registered in WADA now and all our sportsmen are taking Wada tests, which is critically important now to be a part of the Olympics. That's one of the reasons we cannot jump into the Olympics immediately, because, first we have to prove that we are [running a] clean sport.
We already announced it– saying to all of our sports members that they have to be very careful because at any time we can have players randomly tested. So this is the biggest issue. It is very important that Strong Man is a very affordable sport for people to train.
It is way cheaper than any kind of ice hockey or any other sports because you don't need anything for it. All you need is a gym and gyms are very affordable now. Every complex has a gym, every house has a gym, anywhere in the world.
So even though you can use not only the professional gym, but you can just use anything heavy to pull, to push, to handle, and that makes sense for people to to grow.
There are so many Strong Men in the world in general, but we don't know about it. That's what we want to grow. That's what we want to explain to the whole world [is] that the real Strong Man is not the person who lifted up half a thousand kilos; because, it is impossible, physically, without doping. So we want to have clear outlets. These are the most important achievements which we've done now and we will continue doing, and this will give us [good] results very, very soon.
(Q) Lastly, what does Mr. Burdun's legacy look like?
(A) This is very funny, what does Mr. Burdun’s legacy look like. I was always joking with my daughter Viktorija Burdun, who is Chef Operation Officer at Emirates Sports Group and also very deeply involved in
the business, I used to say: You are the Paris Hilton of sports; so we want to be a Hilton, but in sports.
This is what I see in the next 15 to 20 years. We will open all over the world and all of our hotels will have the same theme. We have our own style, which people like so much because we are very friendly and we don't want to stay just a family hotel. We want to grow and we have all opportunities to do it.
CONTACT INFO:
Address:
Al Hebiah Fourth, Park-A2
Emirates Sports Hotel, Sports
Dubai Sports City
Dubai - United Arab Emirates
Phone: +971 4 572 0000
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