Rotana Hotels, indisputably the fastest-growing hotel chain in the Middle East, has added yet another feather in its cap: at 72 storeys and 333 metres, the Rose Rayhaan by Rotana has the distinction of being the tallest tower exclusively dedicated to a hotel, surpassing the Burj Al Arab and the incomplete 330 metre-high Ryu-Gyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea. Located on Sheikh Zayed road in Dubai close to the Financial Centre metro station, the US$180 million building is owned by the Bonyan International investment group and adds to the growing number of alcohol-free hotels in the city.

Although officially opened on December 23, 2009, work on the 428-suite hotel began in 2004, and after several design adjustments was scaled down from an originally-planned 380 metres to its current height. Zio Technologies delivered the access control systems, gate barriers and CCTV security systems for the hotel; according to Parag Vadodaria, CEO, Zio Technologies, this has been one of most interesting projects undertaken by the company.

Speaking about the implementation of the project, Mr Vadodaria says the job ultimately turned out to be far bigger than envisaged at the outset. “Dubai Police changed many of the security criteria for public areas while the building was under construction, which meant we had to install many more cameras in staircases and public areas than initially planned.” In all, the security system at Rose Rayhaan by Rotana uses 428 CCTV cameras, including 52 P/T/Z cameras.

Did wiring the tallest hotel in the world present any challenges? “The height of the hotel certainly made our job challenging because there is a technical limit to how far cameras can be from the control room. We also had to find a way around the limitations of networking each camera to the security system,” says Mr Vadodaria with a smile. “But that’s the fun of our business! I do want to thank Infinova for their support; because of their high-quality cameras and innovative solution we were able to successfully deliver on what I consider a milestone venture.”

Ultimately, to accommodate the large number of cameras and get around the networking limitations, the console in the control room had to be custom-built. An impressive array of screens covering the oval walls of the security room at Rose Rayhaan by Rotana stands witness to the fact that challenges bring out the best in those who regard hurdles as opportunities to learn and grow. “In its short history of less than a decade, Zio Technologies has had the privilege of working on several landmark projects where having our own in-house software development team has proved invaluable to finding a way around the complications that are inevitable in our business. With the Rose Rayhaan by Rotana, we have proved yet again that no challenge is insurmountable if we are determined to find a way to achieve our objective,” says a visibly satisfied Mr Vadodaria.