In Dezeen’s final video for this year’s AHEAD MEA programme, Anne-Cecile de Chaumont, Director of Design, Rove Hotels, discusses the success of Rove Downtown, Dubai. Taking home the New Concept of the Year and Event Space awards, Rove Hotels is a mid-market chain with hotels primarily based in Dubai, with Rove Downtown Dubai its flagship.

“For years, Dubai has been known for being a very luxury-oriented destination,” says De Chaumont. “But you can really feel that there is a strong intent across the city to appeal to a wider audience… Most of the hotels in Dubai are on the high-end scale, so it’s important to come with an offer for those guests who will not necessarily go to a high-end hotel, but will be really happy to have an unexpectedly high-end experience in a mid-market hotel.”

Boasting playful, simplistic interiors, Rove Downtown’s public spaces feature a curated selection of art with links to the locale, whilst the event spaces take a fresh approach to communal and customisable environments. Judges went on to praise the concept for its refreshing interpretation of hotel design and the lifestyle-inspired guest experience it offers.

“The response from the guests is that they really understood that we wanted to come with a different offer,” De Chaumont concludes. “I think that when you are authentic and you believe in what you do, it works and it works really nicely.”

Taking place at the W Dubai Al Habtoor City on 15 November, AHEAD MEA marked the programme’s inaugural MEA ceremony. Winners from the region will now go on to compete with winners of AHEAD programmes in the Europe, Americas and Asia regions at a global biennale in 2019 to decide overall winners in each category.

For a full rundown of the AHEAD MEA winners, see here.