Minor Hotels has signed a management agreement with UAE-based master developer Nakheel for a new AVANI hotel in Dubai.

The 372-key AVANI Ibn Battuta Dubai Hotel will be developed by Nakheel and will be located adjacent to the recently-opened Ibn Battuta Metro Link, which is directly connected to Ibn Battuta Mall.

The new-build 18-storey hotel will feature a pool, a spa, a gym, an all-day dining restaurant, a coffee shop and car parking.

Ibn Battuta is located in a strategic and rapidly-developing area of Dubai.

The mall currently has 400 shops, restaurants and entertainment outlets across 1.5 million square feet of retail space. The new hotel will be part of the ongoing mall expansion and is scheduled to open in 2019.

Launched by Minor Hotels in 2011, AVANI Hotels & Resorts is an upscale, contemporary brand appealing to millennial minded travellers who appreciate quality and value.

AVANI currently has 17 properties in operation in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Seychelles, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia and the UAE and MH has plans to grow the brand across its global footprint.

At the signing in Bangkok, William E. Heinecke, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Minor International PCL, said, “We are very pleased to be partnering with Nakheel for the new AVANI hotel at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai. Having launched our upscale AVANI brand in the region last year, we are delighted to continue the brand’s expansion in the UAE with this new hotel and we are confident that the brand will prove successful in this key market.”

Nakheel Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah added: “Today marks yet another key milestone in our commitment to enhancing and diversifying Dubai’s hotel offering by bringing new, reputable international hospitality brands to the emirate in line with the Government’s vision. We are delighted to welcome Minor and the AVANI brand to Ibn Battuta Mall, which, with over 20 million visitors a year, is one of Dubai’s leading tourist destinations.”

Minor Hotels currently operates 14 properties in the Middle East across four of its brands – Anantara, AVANI, Oaks and PER AQUUM and has a further strong pipeline in the region with new properties under development in the United Arab Emirates (in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah), Bahrain, Morocco and Tunisia.