Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Deira Creek Celebrates 50 Years as Dubai’s Hospitality Pioneer

Dubai, 15 March 2025 - On the 15th of March 1975, the late His Highness Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had the great honour of inaugurating Dubai’s very first five-star hotel with a distinguished ribbon-cutting ceremony. Constructed at a cost of AED 70 million and designed by the renowned Neal Prince A.S.I.D., this iconic property set a new benchmark for luxury and hospitality in the region.

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Deira Creek—formerly known as the InterContinental Dubai—remains a proud symbol of the city’s pioneering spirit in hospitality, standing as a testament to Dubai’s visionary ambition in establishing world-class mixed-use hospitality spaces.

As home to 12 original food and beverage outlets, with some restaurants passing the 40-year operation landmark, including the legendary premium Persian eatery, Shabestan and The Pub, the property is also home to the renowned Fish Market, which enjoys unprecedented views across the creek and the Dhow Wharfage. The property opened with just three outlets, including Al Nakuda, a coffee shop, where you could get a cup of coffee or tea for just AED5.

Mixing it up

With the opening of the Plaza Building in 1980 the property realised space to expand the food and beverage offering, as well as creating some of Dubai’s earliest meeting and conference spaces, which have held everything from automotive launches, fashion shows, and theatre productions in the Plaza Ballroom which was the largest in town for the time. With its elevated position, the ballroom provides limitless views across the Dubai skyline only adding to the ambience.

Additional space for retail, made the hotel the first truly mixed-use development for its time, and innovations were clear and present in 1985, when IBM Computers won the contract to install the first computers for the front office team, enabling them to complete check-in and check-out procedures more efficiently. Milestones continued in the 90s when during its 20^th anniversary year the hotel launched the city’s first 24-hour health club and introduced the concept of Friday brunch to the city in 1998.

Dubai’s original centre of everything

The Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Deira Creek has played host to royalty, presidents, prime ministers, musical artists, sporting legends, actors and designers over the years, most notably, HM Queen Elizabeth II, who stayed at the hotel during her state visit in 1979. Former USSR President, Mikhail Gorbachev, the King & Queen of Nepal, former Polish President Aleksander Kwosniewski and former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmed Badawi have also been guests at the hotel.

Additional luminaries have included Bryan Adams, Karim Abdul Jabbar, Paloma Picasso, Aishwarya Rai, Imran Khan and actress Liz Hurley, who made her first theatre appearance in the hotel. In 1979, the hotel played host to the British Dinner Theatre, the origins of Dubai cultural diversity offering.

With its location close to Dubai International Airport, it became popular for use by airlines for their crew and signed British Airways as its first client in 1976.

Over the next 12 months, the Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Deira Creek will play host to an array of activities and celebrations designed to recognise their role in the nascent stages of Dubai’s tourism growth, their commitment to staff who’ve completed decades of service to guests, and to the wider community who have been coming to the hotel over the years, to the point where multi-generational families now host special occasions at the hotel.

Lahsen Saadaoui, Hotel Manager, said on the occasion: “It’s an honour to be able to celebrate this historic hotel, and recognise all that it has achieved over the past five decades. We hope that the wider Dubai community will come and visit us, to get a better understanding of the city’s past, and our role in that, while helping to celebrate this significant milestone.”

ABOUT RADISSON BLU

Radisson Blu is an upper upscale hotel brand that delivers positive and personalized service in stylish spaces. Characterized by attention to small details and the Yes I Can! service philosophy, Radisson Blu hotels are designed to make a big difference and inspire unforgettable experiences with every stay. Through personalized service and local nuances, each stay at a Radisson Blu hotel becomes a true meaningful and memorable experience. Radisson Blu hotels can be found in major cities, key airport gateways, and leisure destinations. Guests and professional business partners can enhance their experience with Radisson Blu by participating in Radisson Rewards, an international loyalty program offering exceptional benefits and rewards.

Radisson Blu is part of the Radisson family of brands, which also includes Radisson Collection, art’otel Radisson, Radisson RED, Radisson Individuals, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, and prizeotel brought together under one commercial umbrella brand Radisson Hotels.

For reservations and more information, visit our website. Or connect with Radisson Blu on:

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RADISSON HOTEL GROUP

Radisson Hotel Group is an international hotel group, operating in EMEA and APAC with over 1,320 hotels in operation and under develop.m.ent in +95 countries. The international hotel group is rapidly expanding with a plan to significantly grow the portfolio. The Group’s overarching brand promise is Every Moment Matters with a signature Yes I Can! service ethos.

The Radisson family of brands portfolio includes Radisson Collection, art’otel, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Radisson Individuals, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, and prizeotel brought together under one commercial umbrella brand Radisson Hotels.

Radisson Rewards is Radisson Hotel Group’s loyalty program, which delivers an elevated experience that makes Every Moment Matter. As the most streamlined program in the sector, members enjoy exceptional advantages and can access their benefits from day one across a wide range of hotels in Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

Radisson Meetings provides tailored solutions for any event or meeting, including hybrid solutions placing guests and their needs at the heart of its offer. Radisson Meetings is built around three strong service commitments: Personal, Professional and Memorable, while delivering on the brilliant basics and being uniquely 100% Carbon Neutral.

At Radisson Hotel Group we care for people, communities and planet and aim to be Net Zero by 2050 based on the approved near-term Science Based Targets. With unique solutions such as 100% carbon neutral Radisson Meetings, we make sustainable hotel stays easy. To facilitate sustainable travel choices, all our hotels are becoming verified on Hotel Sustainability Basics.

The health and safety of guests and team members remain a top priority for Radisson Hotel Group. All properties across the Group’s portfolio are subject to health and safety requirements, ensuring we always care for our guests and team members.

For more information, visit our corporate website. Or connect with Radisson Hotels on:

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About Valor Hospitality Partners  

Valor Hospitality Partners is a globally recognised and fully Integrated Hotel Management Operation Services, headquartered in Atlanta, GA, USA. With 90+ hotels in its portfolio across The Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa  Valor is now rapidly expanding further within the Middle East, Central + East Asia regions. Working closely with owners and international hotel brands’ partners, Valor creates value through shared operating platforms within key markets, cutting edge value creation, market leading commercial performance and support services such as site selection, brand selection, conceptual design, asset management, procurement, technical services and more. For more information, visit valorhospitality.com or connect with Valor on Facebook and LinkedIn.