Mall of the Emirates Dubai  

Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, UAE, tel +971-4-4099000

Mall of the Emirates opening times and hours

• Ramadan 2010 timings/hours are daily 1000-0100 next morning including Carrefour supermarket. Most restaurants, cafes and other food and drink outlets are closed until Iftar - the time of day when fasting ends (between 1700 and 1900 depending on the time of year that Ramadan occurs).

Mall of the Emirates information

Mall of the Emirates (MOTE or MOE - but don't confuse that with the Ministry of Education) claims to be the largest shopping mall outside North America - as of mid-2006. This would be correct if China was in North America. South China Mall (opened 2005) is 9.6 million sq ft, Golden Resources Shopping Mall (opened in 2004, also in China) is 7.3 million sq ft, Mall of the Emirates comes in third with 6.5 million square feet. West Edmonton Mall in Canada is 5.4 million sq ft. Those are total areas, not retail area or leasable areas. Anyway, The Dubai Mall and Mall of Arabia will open in 2008 or 2009 and fight over the number one spot, along with a couple more in China.

In addition to all the normal facilities - shops, coffee shops, cinemas, supermarket, it has a large walk-in freezer at the western end where you can go from desert sunshine and 40+ degrees Celcius to skiing and snowboarding on real man-made snow in sub-zero temperatures at Ski Dubai. The Snow Park is if you don't have a snowboard or skis but still want to cool off. Large windows separate the mall from the skifield so you can enjoy the winter scenery while wearing summer clothes.

• Mall of the Emirates is owned by Majid Al Futtaim group (MAF CEO is Francois de Montaudouin). Other shopping malls in MAF Holding are Deira City Centre, Sharjah City Center, and Ajman City Center along with a couple more outside the UAE in Egypt - Cairo and Alexandria.
• Sometimes called The Emirates Mall (but that's not really correct).
• Cost of the Mall of the Emirates was 800+ million dhs.
• Shops started opening around September/October 2005 and official opening was November 2005.
• Awarded with the title of The World's Leading New Shopping Mall in November 2005 at the World Travel Awards in London. This was shortly before it rained in Dubai and the Mall of the Emirates' roof leaked.
• Area of 6.5 million square feet with 460+ retail shops, 14 cinemas including Dubai's only Cinemax theater (not the same as the iMax at Ibn Battuta Shopping Mall), the Black Hole of weirdness in the Magic Planet entertainment area, and not enough car parks on a Thursday or Friday night (don't park on the pavement - tickets are being handed out).
• Kempinski Hotel at Mall of the Emirates has 5 stars, 900 rooms and opened in 2006. For now, it has enough car parks. Apres is a bar in the hotel Kempinski overlooking the ski slopes at Ski Dubai where you can get that genuine authentic apres ski feeling just as if you were in ze French Alps oui?

St Moritz Ice Cafe

• If you're feeling hot and bothered after all the shopping, you can cool down at the St Moritz Ice Cafe (open August 2009) in Ski Dubai, without having to pay the Ski Dubai entry fee. Jackets and seat warmers provided so your bare flesh doesn't stick to the ice-chairs. Apparently.

Mall of the Emirates car park charges

MOTE announced that weekend parking would be free after the Dubai Metro starts, irrespective of number of hours. Details below need updating.

As MOTE has a Dubai Metro station connected to it, many commuters will be tempted to use the MOTE car park. To avoid that, MOTE car parking fees start after the Dubai Metro launch date (09 September 2009). Car parking fees were first mentioned in June 2009 as possibly applying to customers who stay more than 4 hours in the shopping mall (Dubai Eye radio interview June 2009). Car park charges announced on 22 July 2009 are:

• free for first 3 (or maybe 4) hours on weekdays, first 4 hours all day on weekends (Friday and Saturdays) and public holidays
• additional hour free for those attending the cinema (keep your ticket)
• car parking charges are 20 dhs per additional hour on weekdays, 40 dhs or 60 dhs per hour on weekends, rising to 100-150 dhs for 6-8 hours
• information in table below based on MOTE information and Gulf News report 30 August 2009, not confirmed.
• a lost or damaged ticket will cost AED 150 (unknown how lost ticket claims will be dealt with if customer parked for time period worth in excess of AED 150).

Mall of the Emirates numbers (August 2009 Emirates Business report)

• Daily footfall 70,000-80,000 weekdays, 100,000-110,000 weekends.
• Annual visitor numbers 23m in 2006, 27m in 2007, 30m in 2008, expected to be 30m in 2009.

Mall of the Emirates expansion 2008-2010 - The Fashion Dome

Majid Al Futtaim Group (MAF) announced 28 September 2008 that they would invest AED 500 million on expansion of shopping, eating, and parking facilities at Mall of the Emirates. Anyone who has tried to find a carpark on a Thursday night will be delighted to hear that. The bad news for car parkers though is that the 750 space car park extension is part of phase II (or perhaps phase I after all - a press release 07 March 2010 said the mall planned to add 750 new car parks as part of the extension due to open in Q3 2010). Phase I is extending the shopping facilities.

• Expansion expected to be completed by early 2010 (cynics will say that's Dubaispeak for late 2010). Update: press release 06 January 2010 says the new extension "is expected to be complete in Q3 of 2010". Update 31 May 2010: Arabian Business reports that Fuad Sharaf, vice president at Mall of the Emirates said the Fashion Dome extension will open on 01 September 2010.
• Total expansion area of about 10,500 sq m with about 40 new shops, and including a 3,400 sq meter ground floor plaza with restaurants.
• Fancy bathrooms are a feature of the new extension apparently. Fuad Sharaf, Vice President of Mall of the Emirates said in a report in The National 26 July 2010 "These are five-star toilets but I keep calling them seven star." An interesting attraction to highlight. Happy flushing shoppers.
• Valet parking available from ground and first floor entrances to The Fashion Dome.
• Phase II also includes a link to the Dubai Metro. Expected completion of phase II was September 2009 - same time as the Metro started. Metro Link opened then but the Fashion Dome opened a year later on 01 September 2010.

The Fashion Dome list of shops, cafes, and restaurants

• Six new restaurants will open including Al Halabi (Middle Eastern & kebabs), Asha's (Indian), Biella (Italian - moving from 1st floor location), Fauchon (French), More Café, PF Chang's (Chinese from USA), Tribe/Tribes (African).
• Shops include Audemars Piguet, Bottega Veneta (opening announced 11 October 2010), Boutique 1, Brioni, Canali, Cartier, Christian Dior, Christian Louboutin, D&G, Diane Von Furstenburg, Dior Homme, Gucci, John Galliano, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Missoni, Mulberry, Paul & Joe, See by Chloe, Urban Male Lounge, Versace, Y-3, (Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto).
• Facilities and services include valet parking and a fountain.

Mall of the Emirates new stores in 2012

• 22 Jul 2012 (press release) - BurgerFuel (Burger Fuel), a NZ hamburger joint (watch out for the beetroot). In the level one food court next to the cinema complex.
• 20 May 2012 (press release) - Sisters Beauty Lounge announced the opening of their store, near the Fashion Dome. Services include All Sisters Beauty Lounge signature nail treatments, Essie polishes, Kerastase and Redken hair treatments, Inoa Amonia free hair colour, Lycon precision waxing, Lash Perfect Eyelash Extensions. Tel +971-4-3792992.
• 06 May 2012 (press release) - 20 new stores open (or coming soon - opening dates in brackets if known), including Aeropostale, Bombay Chowpatty, Burger Fuel, Coach, GAP, IHOP (International House of Pancakes), Just Falafel, Kate Spade (late 2012), La Perla, London Fish & Chips, Longchamps, Prada (Jun 2012), Sister’s Beauty Lounge (mid-2012), Swarovski (mid-2012), The Cheesecake Factory, Top Shop, Victoria’s Secret (mid-2012), Villebrequin. Update 19 May 2012 - some media reports said the mall was undergoing a massive expansion of 93,000 sq meters but that appears to be a misreported figure from the expansion of The Dubai Mall announced in February 2012.

Mall of the Emirates new stores 2010-2011

As of September 2010, MOE has 477 stores plus another 42 in the newly opened Fashion Dome, for a total of 519 outlets.

• Apple shop (not an Apple store - apparently there is a difference) - opening date Wednesday 16 March 2011 at 1700 (5pm) by Virgin Megastores, the first Apple shop in the UAE according to their press release (10 March 2011). Discount of 10% on opening day. Note that it is a computer shop selling the MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, and Apple software (or some of those things); not a very specialised fruit shop.
• Crate & Barrel - a US furniture and homeware store, opening in 2010.
• Gina luxury fashion, bags, shoes, and footwear or something - opening announced 20 March 2011. Press release said "Stepping through the amber mirrored and sophisticated silver Gina motif entrance, one is instantly transported to a world of luxurious accessory seduction and inspiration. ... the subtle juxtaposition of black gloss displays, and amber tinted mirrors against mink and oyster hued suede and velvet surfaces, delights and invites you into a uniquely engaging retail environment." Ah. They might not sell wellies then.
• La Martina - polo and other fashion clothing, opening date October 2010 (10 October 2010 press release).
• Louis Vuitton - reopened (03 April 2011 press release).
• Marks and Spencers - opening date 07 July 2011. Special offer for first 500 customers spending more than AED 100 -they get a free gift bag of beauty products.
• Superdry - youth fashion store, open December 2011

Mall of the Emirates Dubai Metro station and shops

From 09 September 2009, the Dubai Metro will be in operation, and have a stop at Mall of the Emirates. New shops opening in the connection link between the metro station and the main MOTE building include Better Life¹, Borders Express, Cold Stone Creamery, ECity, EMax, Home Sweet Home, Jacky's Electronics¹, Nokia Evo, Paperchase (Express), UAE Exchange (UAExchange).

1. Better Life and Jacky's will be moving from current locations in MOTE.

Mall of the Emirates awards that you probably don't really care about

• 'Best Shopping Mall' title at the Best in Dubai Awards 2008 - beating 9 other shopping malls in a voting contest by residents of Dubai.
• 'World's Best Retail Destination of the Year' at the 2008 Retail City Awards
• 'Best Mall Award' at Grazia Middle East Style Awards 2008
• 'Brand of the Year' Award at Superbrands 2008
• Won the 'Best Design and Innovation' award at the ICSC International Design and Development Awards 2007. ICSC is the International Council of Shopping Centers, a global trade organisation representing shopping centers around the world, founded in 1957.

Last update Saturday 18-Aug-2012

Related pages

• Dubai Film Festival - annual film festival in Dubai (December) with most screenings at MOTE
• Home Center Dubai - list of Home Centre locations
• Mirdiff City Center - another MAF shopping mall, similar in shape and size as MOE / MOTE
• Shopping malls in Dubai - list of other Dubai Malls and shopping malls in other emirates
• Ski Dubai
• Things to do in Dubai
• Tourist guide to Dubai

Related websites (new window)

• www.malloftheemirates.com - official Mall of the Emirates (MOTE) website
• Dubai directory - add your link free

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