DUBAI: Dubai’s most luxurious hotel stays have just scaled to a new level with the launch of the Sir Winston Churchill suite at St Regis Dubai.
At Dh75,000 a night, the 913 square metre penthouse suite with a dedicated lift was inaugurated by the former British prime minister’s great grandson Randolph Churchill on Wednesday.
“I was just two days old when my great grandfather died,” the visiting Churchill told Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, chairman of the Habtoor Group, who led him through the sprawling two-storey suite in the presence of the media.
“I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be here,” he said, adding that the grandiose suite was a fitting tribute to his ancestor and had “transported a Churchill on a magic carpet today”.
The Sir Winston Churchill suite is the largest of the hotel’s 52 suites and features a living room, a 12-seater dining table, a sprawling master bedroom, two additional rooms, a study and a majlis. A grand spiral staircase takes guests into the central dome of the hotel, where a rooftop plunge pool provides stunning views of the landscaped garden bellow.
Rare art
But it isn’t just the structure that makes the suite special. The rooms house a collection of 15 rare paintings and art pieces from the Churchill archives. They include photographs and portraits of the inspirational statesman, his own paintings and a well-maintained Cuban cigar belonging to him from 1949.
Housed in a La Espana box, the cigar, complete with a Colorado claro wrapper and a special label bearing Churchill’s name, is a personal donation to the hotel by Al Habtoor, who is great admirer of the legendary leader.
“I purchased the cigar for my private collection last year. Churchill was rarely seen without a cigar in his hand. It was his signature piece,” said Al Habtoor. A tour of the suite gives visitors glimpses into Churchill’s life and times with plaques providing an insight to the various displays.
Few perhaps know that Churchill, who produced 500 canvases in his life, discovered his talent for painting only at the age of 40; or that he rode a camel to the pyramids in Cairo to paint them in the sunset.
