Latest news with #TheHeartOfEurope
Arabian Business
05-08-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
EXCLUSIVE: Dubai's Heart of Europe to see all remaining hotels under construction by end-2025, says Kleindienst
Kleindienst Group, developer of The Heart of Europe megaproject on Dubai's World Islands, aims to have all remaining hotels under construction by the end of 2025, founder and chairman Josef Kleindienst told Arabian Business in an exclusive interview. The $6 billion tourism and hospitality development spans six man-made islands and will feature 20 hotels with more than 5,000 keys, along with themed resorts, floating villas, climate-controlled streets, underwater experiences and coral regeneration zones. The Heart of Europe is the first major development to gain traction on the World Islands following years of inactivity after the 2008 financial crisis. Fifteen hotels are in various stages of construction, with a few already completed or in pre-opening. The remaining five, including the planned Buddha-Bar Hotel & Floating Villas, are scheduled to break ground before year-end. 'Fifteen are under construction [at] different stages. The remaining five will start construction this year… Our goal is for all of them to be complete by 2027,' Kleindienst told Arabian Business. Few hotels open, others nearing launch The only fully operational hotel is the voco Monaco, an adults-only boutique property that officially opened last year. It features party suites, rooftop views and direct beach access. The Nice Hotel, also part of the Côte d'Azur cluster, is completed and in its pre-opening phase, offering themed gardens, a rooftop pool, and retail along a 'raining street.' The Portofino Hotel, a five-star family-only resort, is currently under construction. It will feature 466 sea-facing suites, a kids' club, annual cultural festivals, and a lobby housing over 500 aquariums. Other partially completed or sold assets include floating Seahorse Villas on Sweden, Germany, and Honeymoon islands. Kleindienst said villas on Germany Island and the Sweden Beach Palaces are at an advanced handover stage, with interiors and landscaping nearing completion. What's next to break ground? The five hotels still to begin construction in 2025 include: Buddha-Bar Hotel & Floating Villas – a $817 million flagship wellness destination on Honeymoon Island St. Tropez Hotel – boutique French-style beachfront resort Cannes Hotel – Mediterranean-inspired with courtyards and family clubs Germany Island Resort – a second hospitality offering on Germany Island Ikaria or Marbella Hotel – construction start to be confirmed Each new property will follow a two-year construction cycle post-mobilisation, Kleindienst said, aligning completion with the group's 2027 target. 'When all of this is in place, and when all your approvals are coming in time, then you have a realistic chance to finish a hotel in two years. It's challenging, but possible,' Kleindienst said. Independent infrastructure powering construction Unlike mainland developments, the World Islands lack municipal infrastructure. Kleindienst Group has independently mobilised construction logistics, including concrete batching plants, barge unloading zones, sewage treatment, a temporary marina, and accommodation for 3,000 workers. 'The World Islands are very complex in regards of improvements, because [they're] not connected to the infrastructure and very specific in regards of environmental regulations,' he said. The entire project must comply with a zero-discharge policy — one of the strictest environmental mandates in Dubai — requiring 100 per cent recycling of water and total containment of waste output. 'Nobody in Dubai has the burden of such high-level environmental regulation like the World Islands,' Kleindienst said. Long-term, self-funded model Kleindienst said the Heart of Europe is funded through a 50:50 model — half from the group's capital and the rest from off-plan sales — with no bank financing involved. This gives the developer control over pricing and avoids pressure for fast sell-outs. 'We are not using bank loans… We invest 50 per cent of the project, and the other 50 per cent comes through off-plan selling,' Kleindienst said. 'So we don't need to satisfy a bank and we don't need queues in front of our sales centre.' 'We have a target of how much we want to sell every month, and we have a target how to increase our price. And we follow this target. We follow this strategy.' The group says investment interest remains strong, with guaranteed rental income options offered for hospitality units, fully furnished villas, and floating homes. According to project materials, some units offer a '100 per cent net ROI' for buyers, although this has not been independently verified. The Heart of Europe is the only multi-hotel development active on the World Islands — a man-made archipelago once envisioned as a billionaire's playground but mostly left undeveloped since 2008. While more than 90 per cent of the 300 islands were reclaimed over a decade ago, the lack of roads, power, water, and investor confidence kept most plots idle. Infrastructure solutions are now under discussion with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Kleindienst said, though no centralised marine transit system has been confirmed. In the meantime, the group continues to expand through standalone marine and construction systems. It announced an expanded masterplan at the end of 2024 that would increase Dubai's five-star hotel room count by 10 per cent, adding 5,000 new keys — pushing the Heart of Europe's total estimated project value to $6 billion. 'This is more than real estate. It's experiential tourism. We're building something that's never been done before — and finally delivering it,' he said.
Gulf Business
12-06-2025
- Business
- Gulf Business
‘If it doesn't exist, create it,' Josef Kleindienst on real estate innovation and AI-powered hospitality
Image: Supplied The Kleindienst Group prepares to mark 40 years in 2025. Spearheaded by a belief in building what doesn't yet exist, the company has reimagined what experiential tourism and climate-conscious living can look like through its flagship $6bn project, The Heart of Europe. In this interview, the group's founder and chairman, Josef Kleindienst, reflects on the concept of underwater living, launching AI-powered hospitality, regenerating coral ecosystems — and shaping a legacy that is enduring. As Kleindienst Group celebrates 40 years this year, how would you describe the company's evolution? We started with just two desks and one mindset: if it doesn't exist, create it. Four decades later, Kleindienst Group is Dubai's largest European real estate developer, with a team of more than 1,500 people working across hospitality, tourism, marine engineering, and real estate. From day one, our mission has been to deliver impact – through innovation, sustainability, and long-term vision. The Heart of Europe is the clearest expression of that ambition: a six-island destination built from the sea up to redefine what luxury hospitality tourism can look like. We were the first developer to successfully deliver a complex, multi-island destination on The World, Dubai – something that has never been done before. That meant solving unprecedented regulatory, engineering, and environmental challenges, often with no blueprint to follow. But we stayed the course. We engineered the seemingly impossible and brought it to life. Today, we've launched voco Monaco Dubai into a thriving destination attracting guests from around the world. We've delivered the luxurious Sweden Beach Palace and completed construction on the Nice Hotel. These aren't just milestones, they're a living expression of the Kleindienst vision: to create bold, experiential, innovative, and climate-positive communities that deliver world-class experiences. We didn't just develop a resort: we delivered a vision, and helped shape a future-forward model for experiential tourism in Dubai. The Heart of Europe is widely recognised for pioneering concepts like underwater living, climate-controlled streets, and car-free islands. How do you approach innovation, and what's next in redefining real estate and hospitality in Dubai? Innovation isn't just part of our process — it is the foundation of the process. We are driven by a single goal: to create world-class, immersive, and experiential destinations the world hasn't seen before, and make them real. That mindset has shaped The Heart of Europe into a $6bn destination defined by firsts; from underwater bedrooms to climate-controlled streets, soon to be launched Snow Plaza, and zero-car islands powered entirely by solar energy. These are not design flourishes; they are engineered experiences, built to challenge the limits of hospitality and fully immerse guests in something extraordinary. What's coming next is the region's first Buddha-Bar Hotel & Floating Villas, a flagship $817m luxury wellness destination that forms part of Honeymoon Island — a concept built around floating villas, coral-rich diving zones, and marine-inspired architecture. It's a key step in our strategy to lead the next era of restorative, experience-led tourism, aligned with Dubai's vision for innovation and sustainability. Sustainability is a core pillar of your development, from solar power to coral regeneration. How are you integrating environmental resilience into your business model, and what does sustainable premium living look like for the next decade? At But our most ambitious work is happening below the surface. Through the Coral Institute, we've restored over 100,000 coral fragments and built thriving artificial reefs around our islands — creating a self-sustaining marine ecosystem that protects biodiversity and enhances the underwater environment. These reefs are not just conservation tools — they're destinations in their own right. Guests can dive straight from their villas into living coral habitats, explore curated dive zones off Honeymoon Island, and witness marine life returning to areas that were once barren. It's a rare convergence of tourism and restoration, where guests don't just experience nature, they contribute to it. This is our model for the future: sustainable, high-performing destinations that offer unforgettable experiences while actively healing the environment. With AI rapidly transforming the real estate sector, how is the group leveraging technology to enhance operations and the customer journey – including the launch of Olivia, your AI-powered concierge? We're not just building real estate. We're building responsive, intelligent ecosystems. Olivia, our AI concierge, provides guests, brokers, media and investors with 24/7 real-time access to updates, insights, and on-demand support. But AI's role goes much deeper. Currently, it enables seamless customer engagement — ensuring every interaction is frictionless and personalised. Driven by steadfast commitment to innovation, we are advancing towards a future where AI is deeply integrated into our core processes. Moving forward, we plan to leverage AI to enhance project planning and the guest hospitality experience. What's your long-term vision for The Heart of Europe – and what advice would you offer to developers looking to balance ambition, impact, and innovation in today's market? Dubai's future is bold, and our job as developers is to help shape it. The long-term vision for The Heart of Europe is to become a destination in its own right: not just a place to stay, but the reason people travel. A hub of culture, innovation, and hospitality that brings the best of Europe to Dubai. Every phase is aligned with national strategy, including UAE Tourism Strategy 2031, Dubai's To other developers: don't build for now, build for what's next. The most successful projects won't be the biggest, but the ones that deliver legacy environmentally, economically, and culturally. If it doesn't contribute to the future, it's just construction.
