Ritz-Carlton in the UAE: the Abu Dhabi hotel and three projects in the pipeline

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company opened its first Abu Dhabi hotel in 2013, and the projects it has announced in the UAE since then are mainly residences. This article sets out what the sources say about each, and where the brand came from.

How the modern company began

The first Ritz-Carlton opened in New York in 1911. The current company dates from August 1983, when William B. Johnson, a Waffle House franchisee, bought The Ritz-Carlton Boston and the US trademark; The Newbury Boston’s Wikipedia entry puts the price at $75.5 million. Johnson assembled a four-person development team in Atlanta led by the hotelier Horst Schulze, who joined as vice president of operations, became executive vice president in 1987 and president and chief operating officer in 1988. The company won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 1992 and 1999.

Johnson obtained worldwide rights to the name in 1988, with a few exceptions. Marriott International bought 49% in 1995 and raised its holding to 99% in April 1998 for $290 million. Wikipedia counts about 108 hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories; its infobox lists 119 locations in 2023. Marriott does not report Ritz-Carlton revenue on its own.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Canal hotel

The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal opened on 12 March 2013, after a delay from an original 2011 target. Gulf News reported that it began as a JW Marriott project before moving to the Ritz-Carlton brand in 2011. It has 532 rooms: 447 guest rooms and suites and 85 private one- and two-bedroom villas, set in ten Renaissance- and Venice-inspired buildings arranged in a crescent with the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque behind. Facilities include a 1,600 square metre outdoor pool, a health club, a kids club and a 1,550 square metre ballroom for up to 900 guests. At the time it was the ninth Ritz-Carlton in the Middle East and the first in Abu Dhabi; two of the region’s hotels were in Dubai.

What has been announced since

• Ritz-Carlton Residences, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi. SAAS Properties launched the project at LIVEX 2026 in October. It has 165 private homes, interiors by the British designer Tara Bernerd, construction under way and handover expected in the second quarter of 2030.
• Ritz-Carlton Residences, World Islands, Dubai. AVENEW Development announced the project in July 2026, in the Hawaii Islands cluster of The World Islands, with sales due to begin in 2027.
• Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Ramhan Island, Abu Dhabi. Marriott and Eagle Hills signed an agreement for the UAE’s first Reserve resort, with 50 private villas of one to four bedrooms and an expected opening in 2029. This deal is about two years old.

None of the reviewed sources reports a new Ritz-Carlton hotel opening in the UAE in 2026.

Leadership and ownership

Schulze later formed his own hospitality companies. One biography says he founded and chairs the Capella Hotel Group; others name the West Paces Hotel Group, so the exact vehicle is unclear. Wikipedia lists Simon Cooper as president and COO from 2001 and Herve Humler from August 2010, and does not name a current chief executive. The company’s headquarters is listed in Bethesda, Maryland, the Marriott address.

The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal is advertising a housekeeping vacancy and a Dubai Ritz-Carlton a food and beverage guest relations role. Both are listed on this site.