W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island, Hotel on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island is a hotel on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, built directly over the Yas Marina Circuit race track. Two towers are connected by a curved, LED-lit shell that spans the track, giving the building a shape unlike most hotels.
Yas Island was developed in the 2000s as a leisure destination, with a Formula 1 race as its central attraction. The hotel opened in 2009 alongside the circuit, in time for the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix held that year.
The hotel's name has changed twice: it opened as the Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi, became the Yas Viceroy, and has been run by W Hotels since 2019. Its 217-metre Grid Shell of 5,389 glass elements was made with lighting designer Rogier van der Heide of Arup Lighting, and the lighting won an IES Lumen citation in New York in 2010.
The hotel is a short drive from Abu Dhabi International Airport, making it convenient for early arrivals or late departures. On the island, shuttle services and taxis connect the hotel to nearby theme parks, a marina, and a shopping mall.
The curved shell connecting the two towers contains more than 5,000 individual LED panels that display programmed light shows after dark. The colors and patterns change depending on what event is taking place on the island that night.
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