Last night, Sir Richard Branson hosted the inaugural I ♥ DXB awards at Bussola, at the new Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina to celebrate the very best of the city as voted for by Virgin Atlantic passengers travelling on the London to Dubai route.
The awards celebrated a successful year of Virgin Atlantic’s route-dedicated inflight magazine, DXB. This is the world’s first ever city-specific magazine, produced by HOT Media Publishing, who set out to revolutionise inflight media with the travel-sized guide to Dubai, which has proved an invaluable resource for tourists.
Awards were given in 8 categories based on visitor experiences which DXB-reading Virgin Atlantic passengers voted on, ranging from dining at the finest restaurants and enjoying al fresco entertainment, through to the things that make Dubai such a unique city - everything from architectural wonders to outstanding shopping.
The winners were
Loving the Shopping - Mall of the Emirates
Loving the Romance - Zheng He's @ Madinat Jumeirah
Loving the Nightlife - 360 @ Jumeirah Beach Hotel
Loving the Weather - Barasti @ Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Resort and Marina
Loving the Fun - Wild Wadi @ Jumeirah Beach Hotel
Loving the Future - The Palm Jumeirah
Loving the Food - Verre @ The Hilton Dubai Creek
Only in Dubai - Ski Dubai @ Mall of The Emirates
Sir Richard Branson, President of Virgin Atlantic Airways said:
‘Dubai is one of the world’s fastest growing holiday destinations and our inflight magazine is a great resource for our passengers, which is why we felt it was important to give them the opportunity to vote on their experiences. The winners are a testament to Dubai’s success in making this such a popular holiday destination’
Victoria Hazell, Commercial Director of Hot Media, commented:
'We’re naturally delighted with the success of DXB, which is the first of many magazines we plan to launch for Virgin Atlantic Airways. Each will offer passengers targeted, useful information about their holiday destination instead of the usual generic lifestyle features you find in other airlines’ inflight magazines, and we look forward to producing the next title in this series early next year.'
Michael Scully, Complex General Manager of The Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina added:
“We are thrilled to have been part of this event, it has provided an excellent opportunity to show case the new Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina which will be opening in March 2008. The Westin Dubai will combine excellent location, stunning design and above all a personal guest experience and therefore we felt provided the perfect venue to host this inaugural awards evening.”
The One and Only Royal Mirage Rooftop received a highly commended certificate in the Loving the Romance category. Also receiving highly commended certificates were The Budhar Bar at Grosvenor House for Loving the Food, Dubailand for Loving the Future and Madinat Jumeirah Al Qasr Brunch and the Burj Al Arab, who both received the highly commended honour for the category Only in Dubai.