After the Villa Kennedy, another five-star hotel in Frankfurt will be given up in the form of the Jumeirah in the so-called Palais Quartier behind the Zeil.

The Jumeirah Frankfurt, with 218 rooms and suites in a silver, 99 meter high tower, was opened in 2011 as the first establishment of the Arabic chain of the same name on the European mainland.

With a 20-year lease, as it was called back then.

Jacqueline Vogt

Department head of the Rhein-Main editorial team of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

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Unlike the case of Villa Kennedy, which has yet to be confirmed as a retirement home, the Jumeirah's future is clear for now.

The house remains a hotel, from April 1st it will be run as the JW Marriott.

Munich-based MHP Hotel AG, an independent hotel operator, has signed a lease agreement with the tower's owners and a franchise agreement with Marriott International.

The property in the Palais Quartier has been held by DWS for several institutional funds since 2014.

The Frankfurt consulting company Hotour was involved in the mediation.

The hotel, which currently has access from the My Zeil shopping center, will be the first of the luxury Marriott brand "JW" in Germany.

Before entering the market, the house is to be renovated.

Jörg Frehse, Managing Partner at MHP Hotels, told the FAZ that this would happen during ongoing operations. First the rooms would be redesigned, then the public areas.

Frehse named twelve months as the renovation period.   

Jumeirah is withdrawing from the Frankfurt market at a time when it is characterized by imponderables.

The municipality has lost important trade fairs, most recently Fashion Week.

Tourism, once above a record ten million visitors a year, is at a fraction of that level due to the pandemic.

"We believe in the hotel location in Frankfurt," said Frehse, which was one of the strongest in Germany before the coronavirus crisis.      

The Jumeirah hotel chain is owned by Dubai's ruling family and its portfolio includes some of the world's most famous luxury hotels, such as the Burj el Arab in Dubai.

As the only large Frankfurt hotel, the Jumeirah has been managed exclusively by women since it opened;

The first general manager was Dagmar Woodward, currently Daniele Fetta-Rakoswki, who once came from the Rocco Forte Villa Kennedy company, is in charge of the house.