When it comes to themed entertainment the two big names in the industry are Disney and Universal. Both of them not only have numerous theme parks around the world but they have even more resort hotels designed to make your stay a 24 hour experience. Now, Warner Bros is getting ready to enter the space with its first themed hotel, and if you’re a fan of anything from Looney Tunes to Westworld, you may want to book a stay.
Warner Bros. World in Abu Dhabi is the world’s largest indoor theme park and today it was announced that The WB Abu Dhabi hotel on Yas Island, located adjacent to the park, will open to guests beginning November 11. The park contains world’s dedicated to DC Comics and animated characters like the Flintstones and Scooby-Doo among others, the new hotel will add to that with some slightly more grown up considerations, but also fun stuff for kids.
The fun starts before you even enter the new hotel itself as the fountain from the opening title sequence of Friends will be found outside the building. Inside the building, there’s a lot more.
Guest rooms are designed in one of three different themes, called “From Script to Screen,” “Artist Confidential,” and “The Vault.” Each one showcases different elements of the movie-making process and shows off unique, and in some cases rarely seen, art work and documentation from the studio’s 98 years of movie making.
Guests will be able to enjoy music from the Westworld piano while enjoying a dining experience at one of the hotel's five dining locations. No word if the servers will take on the role of “hosts” from the series. For an even more adult experience, there’s The Overlook, which, despite the name, is not themed after a hotel where Jack Nicholson went crazy, but is rather a lounge with a 360-degree view of Yas Island, including views of the theme park and the sea.
Kids won’t be left out, of course. They will be able to order an experience from room service that will be delivered by Bugs Bunny himself. There’s also a Kid’s Club space specifically for younger guests where they’ll be able to do various activities with Looney Tunes characters.
The one major item missing from the hotel is probably WB’s biggest franchise, Harry Potter. It’s likely that the deal made with Universal Parks and Resorts to put the Wizarding World there limits what WB can do in its own themed entertainment space.
The WB hotel will have many standard amenities found in most luxury hotels, like a pool, fitness center, and spa. There will also be meeting and ballroom facilities.
While most of us probably aren’t planning a trip to the United Arab Emirates any time soon, this sounds like just the place any fan of movies or television would want to stay if they were there.
For some planning a theme park vacation, a hotel is simply a place to keep your stuff while you enjoys the parks, but for many the hotel itself is part of that experience. And a hotel like this one, that keeps that experience going, even when you’re not in the parks, is going to be worth checking out.
