IHG Hotels and Resorts is collaborating with UAE developer Aldar on a major project to convert six hotels on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island into a single integrated property under the Vignette Collection brand.
The conversion will transform the Yas Plaza Hotels, which currently consists of various brands, into the Straylight Yas, featuring 1,389 rooms and becoming the largest property in the Vignette Collection to date.
Scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2025, the resort will include direct private beach access via an underground tunnel, along with new retail and dining options, villas, a beach club, and leisure facilities.
This partnership will also reposition the Tilal Liwa hotel in Al Dhafra as part of the Vignette Collection, highlighting IHG’s commitment to enhancing Abu Dhabi’s status as a premier family tourism destination while expanding its portfolio to 100 Vignette properties worldwide in the next decade.
Haitham Mattar, managing director, India, Middle East and Africa, IHG, shared: “Through this landmark franchise agreement, we are demonstrating our commitment to support Abu Dhabi’s efforts to further enhance its leading position as a world-class family tourism destination. Being selected to upgrade the existing Yas Plaza hotels and Aldar’s desert resort in the Al Dhafra region under the Vignette Collection brand underscores IHG’s unique ability to provide exceptional hospitality that meets the diverse needs of today’s travellers, while supporting our partners’ wider tourism sector ambitions to stimulate broader economic growth.”
