Life on the road can be a lonely existence. After an exhausting day of meetings, many travellers simply go back to the hotel, order room service and dine in solitude in their room. Alternatively, others brave the restaurant alone. “Either way, dining with oneself isn’t always as much fun as with others,” says Sharon Garrett, director of communications at the Shangri-La hotel in Dubai. As a consequence, the hotel has launched ‘Interactions’, aimed specifically at individual business travellers looking for conversation and company over dinner. The Interactions dinners are available to in-house guests only, both male and female, but as Ms Garrett is quick to point out "…this is not a dating service. It is merely putting individual travellers in touch with other people in the same situation, for some light-hearted conversation. Some people would see it as a more relaxed form of networking, accompanied by a local expatriate resident to add some insights into the culture and vibes of Dubai," she adds. Each night a different restaurant in the hotel is featured, ranging from French Vietnamese to Chinese, and Moroccan to seafood. Guests can join for the entire meal or simply part of it, selecting from a set menu and drinks list, including wine by the glass. Each receives their own bill at the end of the meal or simply signs the charges to their room account. The meal costs AED150 (US$40) per person and is available Saturday to Thursday nights from 20.00 and is restricted to in-house guests.
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