The Hoxton signs first Middle East hotel with Dubai Media City opening
The property brings a wellness club, a Japanese handroll bar and a rooftop Mexican concept to a brand that has never operated in the region before.
Ennismore has signed The Hoxton, Dubai Media City with Select Group, one of the region's leading developers, marking the lifestyle hotel brand's first venture into the United Arab Emirates. The signing brings The Hoxton's community-driven format, built in London's Shoreditch, into the Middle East for the first time.
The food and beverage programme is curated by Paris Society, the collective behind several of Dubai's established dining and nightlife venues. It centres on two entirely new concepts built for the property, alongside three formats Paris Society and The Hoxton already run elsewhere.
What is inside the property
French restaurateur Moïse Sfez will bring Onaka, a Japanese handroll bar, to the hotel as a bespoke debut for the Dubai project. Alongside it is Bleachers, a social sports bar built around gameday culture, also created specifically for this opening.
Two further concepts travel from The Hoxton and Paris Society's existing portfolio. Il Bambini Club, the trattoria format with sites in London, Paris and Cape Town, joins the lineup, as does Tope, The Hoxton's rooftop concept already running in Barcelona, Portland and Brussels, serving Mexican-inspired food and cocktails.
The hotel will also carry the brand's signature lobby, described as a space for both guests and locals, hosting comforting classics alongside cultural programming such as local collaborations, pop-ups and creative activations. That format has become a recognisable feature of The Hoxton's 19 existing properties across the UK, Europe and the US.
Central to the Dubai signing is The Hoxton's first-ever wellness club, described as a defining pillar of the property and a social hub in its own right. It is built around community rather than a conventional gym model, and Ennismore says it will not compromise on equipment or facilities.
The club will include a large gym floor, movement studios, spa treatment rooms and contrast therapy facilities, plus a members' lounge finished in what Ennismore calls the brand's signature residential style. Beaum, a healthy café concept, extends the wellness offering for guests and the surrounding neighbourhood.
Why Dubai Media City
Dubai Media City is within what the developer's material calls Dubai's innovation corridor, home to media companies, production studios and digital businesses. Ennismore frames the location as a natural fit for a brand built on community, with the district positioned near Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah and Jumeirah Lake Towers.
The Hoxton was founded in Shoreditch and rebuilt into a globally recognised lifestyle brand under Sharan Pasricha, who has led its international expansion. Nineteen properties currently operate across the UK, Europe and the US, with further openings planned for Melbourne, Oslo, Nashville, Mexico City and Bengaluru.
Dubai now becomes the brand's next frontier, and its first outside those established markets. The signing gives The Hoxton a foothold in a region where its Ennismore stablemates already operate at scale, rather than building a presence from nothing in an unfamiliar market.
Ennismore describes the Middle East as one of its fastest-growing regions and says it continues to strengthen its presence there across hotels, restaurants, bars and branded residences. The group now operates more than 70 hotels and resorts across the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa, representing over 23,000 rooms.
Its flagship properties in the region include Delano Dubai, Our Habitas AlUla, Mondrian Doha, Rixos Tersane Istanbul, Aliée Istanbul, 25hours One Central Dubai, SLS The Red Sea, SO/ Ras Al Khaimah, Rixos Abu Dhabi Saadiyat Island and Mama Shelter Dubai, spanning multiple brands under one operator.
Ennismore's regional pipeline extends further still, with Mondrian Abu Dhabi, Rixos Dubai Islands, SLS Jeddah and Mama Shelter Cape Town all in development. The Hoxton's Dubai signing adds a distinct, more design-led lifestyle brand to a roster that already leans heavily on Rixos, SLS and Mondrian.
What the entry signals
A single signing rarely proves a strategy, but the terms here are notable. Select Group is described as one of the region's leading developers, and pairing a lifestyle brand's regional debut with that scale of partner is a familiar pattern for entering the Gulf hospitality market.
No opening date, room count or investment figure has been disclosed for The Hoxton, Dubai Media City, and neither party has said when construction or a debut is expected. Those details, along with how the brand positions itself against Ennismore's existing Middle East portfolio, remain to be confirmed.
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