The Hyatt Capital Gate hotel, which offers 189 five-star rooms, will finally open its doors December 21 in Abu Dhabi.

The hotel leans a record-breaking 18 degrees — more than four times that of Italy’s famed Leaning Tower of Pisa, which is angled at just under four degrees.

The striking style of the building earned it a place among Guinness World Records last year, despite a two-year delay in the handover.

Abu Dhabi’s ADM Shipyards has just launched the 462.5 ft. megayacht Yas, which now ranks as the world’s 6th largest.

The yacht, whose design was adapted from a UAE Navy frigate, is rumored to have been commissioned by a member of an Arabic royal family.

The vessel features luxurious accommodations for up to 60 guests along with 56 crew and is capable of an impressive 26 knots maximum speed thanks to her military pedigree. Yas’ cruising speed is 20 knots with a transoceanic range.

A fall in Abu Dhabi‘s hotel prices has prompted a record year for the Emirate so far, according to figures released July 27.

The first six months of 2011 showed the best hotel results in the history of the country, with the number of visitors climbing 11 percent to just over one million.

Authorities hope to break the two million visitor target for the first time this year.

Abu Dhabi is to construct a new sailing village to boost the Emirate’s appeal to watersports fans, the country’s tourism authorities announced June 13.

The new “Destination Village” will be completed in time for the abu dhabi Volvo Ocean Race’s stop in the Emirate, which is currently scheduled for January 1, 2012.

While the Volvo Ocean Race is in town, the 55,000 square meter village will be the home of the flotilla and a place for members of the public to visit and see the yachts, which will be taking a break on the third stop of their round-the-world competition.

Gulf tourism authorities are lobbying for a new visa which could significantly reduce the cost of cruises in the Middle East, a cruise tourism hotspot which is rapidly growing in popularity.

At the moment, some passengers aboard gulf cruises are forced to apply for a visa for every port stop they wish to take, at a cost of up to $50 per stop.

For tourists from places such as Russia and China, this can add as much as $600 onto the cost of a cruise for a family of four, participants at this week’s Cruise Seminar at the Arabian Travel Market calculated.

Legendary Hollywood hotel brand Biltmore is to open an outpost in the Middle East.

Millennium & Copthorne, which owns the Biltmore brand, said at the Arabian Travel Market that it would open a spinoff of the Los Angeles property in Abu Dhabi by 2013.

The Biltmore Hotel in Hollywood is one of America’s most iconic hotels — it has hosted countless movie stars and is something of a screen legend itself, having been featured in films such as Ghostbusters, Independence Day and Chinatown.