Armani hotel opens in Dubai's Khalifa tower

DUBAI: A hotel crafted by designer Giorgio Armani is opening to guests as the first landmark tenant in the world's tallest skyscraper.

The 160-room Armani Hotel Dubai is a welcome bit of good news for Dubai's leaders after the troubled debut of the more than half-mile (828-meter) Burj Khalifa in January. An elevator malfunction forced a two-month closure of the observation deck, which reopened earlier this month.

The Italian designer was on hand for the hotel's opening ceremony Tuesday which was delayed a week because of travel chaos from the Icelandic volcano.

Armani was joined by officials from Burj Khalifa developer Emaar Properties, which has a partnership to open more Armani-branded hotels.