Catch the action for some of the biggest sporting events in the world, at Barasti Beach. The Tri Nations can be enjoyed in airconditioned luxury, viewed on 2 flat screens and one large 4x4 projection screen with live commentary. There will be great Food specials for each match with a snack buffet available for dhs 20 per person, and for the morning matches, an open breakfast buffet for dhs 20 per person. In addition the Americas Cup will also be shown, from June to July in our upstairs bar, just in time for Sunset Cocktails, where you can try out our new frozen margaritas and strawberry daiquiris.

Tri Nations Rugby Lunch

30.06.07 : 14.00        Wallabies vs All Blacks, Melbourne
07.07.07 : 14.00        Wallabies vs Springboks, Sydney

Food special: open Bar &  snacks buffet from 14.00-16.00 for Dhs 20

Tri Nations Rugby Breakfast

14.07.07 :  9.30        All Blacks vs  Springboks, Christchurch
21.07.07 :  9.30        All Blacks vs Wallabies, Auckland

Food special: open breakfast buffet from 9.00-11.00 for Dhs 20

Americas Cup

24.06.07 :  Race 2 : 4.30pm
26.06.07 :  Race 3 : 4.30pm
27.06.07 :  Race 4 : 4.30pm
29.06.07 :  Race 5 : 4.30pm
30.06.07 :  Race 6 : 4.30pm (If Required)
01.07.07 :  Race 7 : 4.30pm (If Required)
03.07.07 :  Race 8 : 4.30pm (If Required)
04.07.07 :  Race 9 : 4.30pm (If Required)

Posted by Mina Effect Team at 12:13 PM | Permalink

Inspired by the authentic flavours and traditional recipes of Mediterranean countries, we invite you to experience our lavish summer menu with over 45 new dishes!

Valid June - July 2007, from 1900hrs to 2230hrs. Wednesday, *Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday. Price Dhs 145 inclusive of unlimited house drinks. *Thursday Mediterranean Summer Grill - Dhs 145 Food only. For more information call +971 4 3181309

Posted by Mina Effect Team at 08:06 PM | Permalink

If you're looking forward to an active summer this year, then the special off-peak summer rates at the Club Mina (Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina) may be just the thing to get you going! Contact Club Mina at +971 4 3181420 for more details.

Posted by Mina Effect Team at 10:54 AM | Permalink

Guests staying at the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina can now put on their running shoes and enjoy an active workout! Our active instructor at the Club Mina will conduct the "Mina Run" every saturday, monday and friday. Guest can enquire about the run at the Club Mina and meet for a warm-up and a 5km run around the property at these times:

Saturday: 1800 - 1900hrs
Monday: 1800 - 1900hrs
Friday: 0800 - 0900hrs

Posted by Mina Effect Team at 10:46 AM | Permalink

We interview our new Westin Hotel Manager and a Complex Manager for Finance & Systems.

What was your last position before you joined us? I was Complex Director of Finance Westin-Sheraton Real de Faula Golf Resort & Spa – Costa Blanca Spain.

Why did you move to Dubai? Dubai is showing an enormous growth in the hospitality industry. There are numerous interesting hotel developments here. The level of service, the facilities, the innovations and the business growth make Dubai a fantastic area for hoteliers. Also the fact that Dubai is a good place for young families, made the choice easy.

What challenges face you as the GM of a new hotel in Dubai?
Recruitment has become a serious issue. Finding the right people is only step one. Afterwards we have to make them familiar with the Westin Standards and level of service we are looking for. Training will be of the utmost importance. Introduction of a new brand with all its specific standards is challenging.

Why do you think Westin will be welcomed to Dubai?
Westin is a new brand name to Dubai. It will draw a lot of attention and will provide increased exposure for Dubai, so we can all benefit. Westin will offer the traditional superb service levels and facilities, but with the typical Westin twist. Much attention will be given to the core values: personal, instinctive and renewal. Guests will experience the typical Westin style Heavenly Bed, and, with the focus on unwinding, relaxation and elevating your senses, the guests will have a unsurpassed experience. On top of that, the Westin Dubai will offer a state-of- the art conference centre to accommodate the Dubai corporate world.

What are the fundamental differences that draw apart Le Meridien and Westin?
Westin is a very innovative brand. Think of Heavenly Bed, Heavenly Crib, Westin Unwind, Sensory welcome. LeMeridien is a very sophisticated, almost more European brand, with a larger diversity in their hotels. 

Is it unusual to have 2 hotel brands in the same geographical location?
It sounds a bit unusual to have two hotels on one resort, but in the case of Mina Seyahi Resort the two hotels will complement each other. Combined the two hotels will have 1200 meter of private beach with the largest swimming pool in Dubai. A large variety of restaurants and bars will be at the disposal of the guests. I think LeMeridien and Westin will benefit from each other. 

When do you expect to open?
We are aiming to open around December 15, 2007.

What are the current levels of interest int terms of leisure and corporate bookings?
At this point of time, we are only accepting group bookings. There is, however, a strong interest from the tour operators for this exciting new hotel. MICE business will certainly be targeted and we expect a large number of corporate bookings, especially driven by the conference centre.

Are your family with you.How do you like Dubai?
My family has moved with me to Dubai. I have two young children,Max of 4 years and Lauren of 3 years old.  We find Dubai a very exciting place to live.  It is busy, vibrant and the level of energy the place has is enormous.

Posted by Mina Effect Team at 09:49 PM | Permalink

GM Mike Scully travelled to Las Vegas … and returned with the newest, high technology cocktail  dispensing machines in the world!  Barasti Beach is now able to serve it's customers quicker, with great new chilled cocktails that are free of preservatives, fresh, and 100% natural……..delicious Margaritas and Strawberry Daiquiris are available- by the glass or the pitcher!!!

Posted by Mina Effect Team at 11:30 AM | Permalink

CLASS 1 REVS UP FOR ENTHRALLING SEASON… Dubai:  If the last two seasons have seen nerve-tingling, edge-of-the-seat climaxes to the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship –  in 2007, Class 1 looks set for one of its strongest seasons to date; a competitive fleet with new teams and line-ups, three new venues: Athens (Greece), Constanta (Romania) and El Alamein (Egypt), plus the return of Oslo (Norway) along with Arendal (Norway), Doha (Qatar) and Dubai (UAE) making up an impressive calendar, and a raft of new marketing initiatives adding to the mix for what promises to be a year to enthral and captivate.

Eleven boats will line up for the season-opener in Palaio Faliro-Athens, Greece on Sunday, 10 June; five are proven race-winners, seven have won a pole position and eight have also grabbed podium finishes.  And with new technical rulings and a new format to the EDOX Pole Position, all of which are designed to make the racing and competition closer, the outcome of the Greek Grand Prix, let alone the 2007 title race, is impossible to predict.

If a favourite or winner is hard to pick, the team to beat is not.  Spirit of Norway has over the last five seasons made the title their own, but know that they will face a fierce onslaught from their rivals, all of whom are desperate to end their reign.  Gjelsten and Curtis, who, with 30 wins from 74 starts, seem happy with their set-up, hint at having made one or two ‘adjustments’ but stay with their trusty V12 engine package, and both will look at the list of new pairings with great interest.

Victory 77, who has pushed Spirit to the brink for the last two years, start with newcomer Arif Saif Al Zafeen taking over the wheel from Mohammed Al Marri to team up with Jean-Marc Sanchez.  Qatar 95, who grabbed their first win and finished third in the title race last season have also made a switch, with Luca Nicolini taking over as throttleman to join Al-Sulaiti. And whilst Spirit’s arch-rivals Qatar 96 maintain their line-up of Sheikh Hassan Al-Thani alongside Matteo Nicolini, they have switched from the V8 back to the SKEMA V12.

Jotun, who also grabbed their first win in 2006 and enjoyed their best season to date finishing fourth, maintain the all-Norwegian pairing of Tandberg and Zaborowski, but switch back to the MTI and stay with the Mercury Class 1 V8.  Chris Parsonage takes on his fourth partner in as many seasons, with the 2005 Class 1 World Champion, Bard Eker, stepping into the drivers’ seat in Negotiator with Parsonage opting to run Sterling V8s. 

Montavoci and Cirilli, another outfit to go well last season taking their first Pole Position win and two podiums, remain unchanged in Foresti&Suardi, as does Victory 7, with Nadir Bin Hendi and Ahmed Al-Suwaidi lining up for their second season together; Nicola Giorgi is still to name his driver in SeveneleveN, but confirms he will start the season in the Cougar.

Two new teams entered this year sees an all-Italian line-up with Maurizio Ceschin returning to racing alongside Class 1 debutant, Enrico Ceriale in Overwave  and 19 year-old Tom Barry-Cotter becoming the youngest competitor in Class 1 for over a decade, teaming up with Norwegian Pal Virik Nilsen in Spirit of Norway 20 to form this season’s youngest partnership.

WPPA
The new governing body formed late last year is all set to prove its formation. With veteran Saeed Hareb at the helm and the support of professionally enthusiastic racers WPPA is sure to be a force to reckon with. Prior to leaving Dubai for Greece to attend and oversee the preparations for the first round, Saeed Hareb said, “It has been a tumultuous past two seasons and we leave it all behind and go forth full throttle. The support of IOTA, the team owners and National Authorities have given WPPA the impetus to just forge ahead and make the season one to remember fondly.

I am personally looking forward to the new venues that we have this year as well as the continued commitment from our hosts of the past. We start off in the beautiful city of Greece and move on to our all time favourite Norway after which we traverse forward to Romania and the dynamic city of Egypt only to culminate the season in Qatar and grand finale of the season in my hometown of Dubai.

I am hopeful that the teams will put their best forward to make it an exciting and enthralling experience. I am convinced that this season will have the best to offer in terms of competition and sportsmanship. I envisage some more stunning action and may we be witness to a season of safe and exhilarated racing. My sincere wishes go out to all the teams.”

TEAMS

VICTORY TEAM (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
# 7 Victory
Ahmed Al Suwaidi (D) UAE / Nadir Bin Hendi (T) UAE 
# 77 Victory
Arif Saif Al Zafeen (D) UAE / Jean-Marc Sanchez (T) France

VENETA MARINA – DUEMME BROKER (Italy)
# 8 Foresti & Suardi   
Domenico Cirilli (D) Spain / Giampaolo Montavoci (T) Italy

SPIRIT OF NORWAY RACING (Norway)
# 10 Spirit of Norway
Bjorn Rune Gjelsten (D) Norway / Steve Curtis MBE (T) England
# 20 Spirit of Norway
Tom Barry-Cotter (D) Australia / Pal Virik Nilsen (T) Norway

OVERWAVE RACING (Italy)
# 11 Overwave
Enrico Ceriale (D) Italy / Maurizio Ceschin (T) Italy

GIORGIOFFSHORE (Italy)
# 18 SeveneleveN   
TBC (D)  / Nicola Giorgi (T) Italy

CHRIS PARSONAGE RACING (England)
# 50 Negotiator
Bard Eker (D) Norway / Chris Parsonage (T) England

UGLAND OFFSHORE RACING (Norway)
# 90 Jotun
Christian Zaborowski (D) Norway / Jorn Tandberg (T) Norway

QATAR TEAM (Qatar)
# 95 Qatar
Abdulla Al-Sulaiti (D) Qatar / Luca Nicolini (T) Italy
# 96 Qatar
HE Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani (D) Qatar / Matteo Nicolini (T) Italy

Posted by Mina Effect Team at 11:13 AM | Permalink

A picture from the Dine Foresight Dinner at the Dhow on the 4th of June, 2007. Learn more by reading our earlier note on the charity event: You can help find a cure for blindness - simply by dining on Monday 4th June 2007 at the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi

Posted by Mina Effect Team at 11:23 AM | Permalink

To better understand the true essence of the "Mina Effect", you also have to understand the wonderful people that make up the Mina Family...in an effort to bring our associates and guests closer together, the Mina Effect Blog will regularly feature snapshots of these special people.

Tell us a little about yourself? How did your career in hotels begin and how has it progressed?
My name is Abdul Hameed Panjath, a native of Kerala, India.  I started my hotel career in the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Ramada Hotel, where I worked in the Accounts Department. I then came to Dubai in 1996 and started working at the Dubai International Marine Club (a.k.a. DIMC) as a cashier in Barasti. After three years, when DIMC found the need to build its own hotel for the boat racing crowd, I was transferred to its very own Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, as a Kiosk receptionist in 1999. I was one of the first 40 staff employed by the hotel. Later on, I became a member of the staff committee, to represent my colleagues in the department.  Due to my very active nature, the management must have noticed me and I was given a chance to go for the ‘Train the Trainer’ course and later on assigned as a departmental trainer.

You've been with the Mina for a long time...tell us about an unforgettable experience you had at the hotel?
One unforgettable experience I had at the Mina and perhaps, in my lifetime, happened in the summer of 2002. While making my morning rounds in the beach, I spotted a brown bag stuck by the rock. Opening it revealed a Club Mina membership card. Thinking that the owner must have been worried looking for this, I immediately went and informed our General Manager, Mr. Michael Scully and the Security.  Who would ever imagine that the bag contained AED 10,000 and important documents? Seeing this, Mr. Scully told me to call the club member right away who rushed to the hotel and collected his belongings. He was so happy to find it as he was searching for the bag for the last 3 days already. He went to his company (an Italian company), who sent an honesty certificate to me.

Any other hightlights you'd like to share during your time with the Mina? 
With the support of management and staff, I was promoted as a Health Club Receptionist in 2003.
I got the ‘employee of the month’ award in the years 2002 and 2004 and was selected ‘employee of the year’ in 2005. Wow! And what a surprise I received from the management and staff at the Mina…I went to Paris to celebrate and collect my award with all the other Meridien employees of the year. I enjoyed my 4 day trip with about a 100 other associates from Le Meridien worldwide…… an experience of a lifetime! And what could be more surprising than to find out upon my return from Paris…I had been promoted to Senior Health Club Receptionist! Have I left my heart in Paris? No, I’m afraid not.  Because the whole time I was there, it was the Mina Team that was in my mind and in my heart…I am just certain of one thing, it’s what the ‘Mina Effect’ is all about.  At present I am enjoying my work at the Club Mina with Bojan, Nathalie, Jiji and the health club associates. Moreover, our club members make us all feel like part of their families. Once more, I would like to express my thanks to the management and staff of the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina and welcome you to be part of the experience too.

For careers with the Mina, visit www.minacareers.com

Posted by Mina Effect Team at 04:40 PM | Permalink

We've just added over 200 new photos to our online Photo Gallery! These include over a 100 photos from the launch of the Chill @ Barasti on Saturday, 19th May 2007 as well as Sports events like the Aquathon, Mina Mile, Surf Skiing and Dragon Boating! Visit www.minaeffect.com/gallery ...happy viewing!

Posted by Mina Effect Team at 11:43 AM | Permalink