Being general manager of Atlantis The Palm must have been the most stressful job in Dubai this autumn: The chaotic opening days; the traffic; the full restaurants; the burst water main; and the adverse publicity in the media about a 'rescued' shark. Yet this unfortunate first impression seems divorced from the reality of the hotel today.
"Yes we could have done the opening better," admits General Manager Amadeo Zarzosa. "We have offered a bespoke token of good will to anybody that was inconvenienced. It is a very different story now. When Sol Kerzner, came to inspect the hotel guests recognised him and offered their congratulations for a wonderful experience."
Upon graduating with a degree in culinary arts and hotel management in the UK, Spanish Zarzosa took up positions in London and Paris. This paved the way for a successful career, spanning 30 years, which has seen him work in luxury hotels across the globe including the Bahamas, Indonesia, Mexico, the United States and Australia.
Zarzosa spent four-and-a-half years running the sister hotel The Atlantis, Bahamas for Kerzner from 1998-2002 and left to oversee a chain of luxury hotels based in Bali. Then he was lured back from this 'sabbatical', as he calls it, a little over two years ago to head up the incredibly complex task of opening Dubai's latest landmark.
Occupancy is presently at 1,000 to 1,400 rooms per night, rather higher than expected. "We faced a perfect storm at the start but now we are really in very stable water with happy guests," says Zarzosa, dressed in the casual attire that is de rigueur in this huge resort hotel. "Everybody in Dubai wanted to come and visit us at the same time and we were not ready for it," he admits.
Indeed, today cruising up the highway straight to the door of the hotel could not be easier. The Aquaventure water theme park gets crowded at weekends, but anybody wanting to come to eat is not going to have any issues with parking or traffic, something residents often question before heading out.
Originally a chef himself, Zarzosa has succeeded in attracting no less than four international celebrity chefs to establish restaurants at the resort. And while the past couple of months have been extremely stressful for this father-of-four, he has actually been in Dubai for the past two years indulging his hobby and passion for fine dining.
"I have been to every restaurant in Dubai, several times," he admits. "I also travelled the world to persuade the very best chefs to join us here. I have really enjoyed this immensely and I hope our guests and the residents of Dubai will share in this pleasure.
"It was wonderful to be able to persuade the Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa to come to Dubai with his world-famous commitment, dedication and consistent cuisine.
"We also have Giorgio Locatelli (pictured above) he has a two Michelin stars restaurant in London, and Ronda Locatelli serves anything from a great pizza to flawless pasta. And two-star Michelin chef Michel Rostang has created the perfect French brasserie. His family has been serving up the finest food for hundreds of years in Paris.
"Finally we have Santi Santamaria, who is a three times Michelin star chef, he runs Ossiano and brings a unique style of food to The Atlantis. We tracked him down in a small town in the north of Spain where he has his restaurant. People fly in from all over the world to eat there, and he has added five bedrooms to accommodate them. He is really that special.
"Ossiano is a very sophisticated, up market restaurant but at the same time we have been careful to make sure that everybody feels comfortable. I know restaurants that are so formal you can cut the atmosphere with a knife. We did not want anybody to be uncomfortable, and have taken a lot of care to create the right ambience," explains Zarzosa.
If having four celebrity chefs to manage sounds like a nightmare, Zarzosa is quick to point out that he actually has a fifth celebrity chef to do that job for him.
The executive chef at the hotel is Mark Andrew Patten who heads up a staggering total of 580 chefs. "He is right up there with the best chefs in the world," he says.
When the hotel opened there were loud complaints from some residents of Dubai who found restaurant bookings restricted to guests only. However Zarzosa reassures us this was just a temporary measure to cope with overwhelming demand. He says: "At first we really had to make things work for the guests and put a break on outside guests so that nobody had a bad experience.
"We are through that period now. But this is an iconic location so you need to book well in advance. That is really no different to any other popular restaurant around the world. When I was researching Dubai restaurants I had to make reservations for the best in town. But we will not be restricting any restaurants to guests only."
In recent months Zarzosa's all-consuming interest has been the opening but he is happy living in Dubai with his wife and family.
Aside from fine dining his other passion is playing polo "even though most of the players are twenty years younger than me" and, following this love of horses, one of his two daughters is studying at a school for equestrian arts in Spain. His son is following his father's example as a chef at the Westin Hotel in Dubai.
The hotel seems to be recuperating fast from its traumatic opening night, an appropriate metaphor for this very theatrical hotel with its themed restaurants and Hollywood style interior. The giant aquarium at its heart is also rather like a stage with its reconstruction of the ruins of the lost city of Atlantis. It is flashy and fake but also enigmatic and impressive. Where else in the world could you book a hotel suite with views directly into the underwater world of an aquarium? Or swim with dolphins in the four-and-a-half hectare Dolphin Bay after breakfast?
Also concealed within the hotel are some enormously practical conference rooms and business meeting facilities, as well as 23 retail outlets. But with 700 metres of pristine beachfront and an endless supply of swimming pools and terraces this is a quintessential luxury family resort. Perhaps after the indignities of the opening, Dubai residents will feel it is worth going back.
Only on the subject of the controversial whale shark in the aquarium is the hotel keeping to a strict 'no comment', although 'Sammy' – actually 'Samantha' – the shark is still the focal point of attention in this enormous fish tank.
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