Hollywood stars Stiller and Sarandon and Duchess of York give thumbs up to Grand Millennium Business Bay

The Grand Millennium Business Bay, the newest property by the Millennium Hotels & Resorts was home to the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson and top Hollywood celebrities Ben Stiller, Susan Sarandon and Madeleine Stowe.

The stars have given their seal of approval to the 5-star property during their 3-day stay and praised its excellent service and luxurious facilities. The celebrities attended the Bover 1822 “Brilliant is Beautiful” gala which raised funds for both Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) and Dubai Cares.

“The wonderful Grand Millennium hotel is amazing, I had a great stay here and everyone should stay here,” commented the Duchess of York, adding “I am grateful to this wonderful organisation and to Mr Riad and his generosity for hosting the event.”

“I found it to be very nice here. Having lunch down by the canal (at Beau Rivage Bistro) is beautiful and the service has been wonderful. Everybody’s very cordial and nice, the room service is great and everybody has been very interactive. I will definitely come back and I’m very appreciative that they were offered to host this evening for the Artist for Peace and Justice which is really wonderful,” described Stiller when asked about his stay at Grand Millennium Business Bay.

Actress Sarandon added: “Grand Millennium Business Bay has been fabulous and very generous. It’s a new hotel and I like the part that you can open the door in my room and get real air so I was very happy to find that in this property.”

The “Brilliant is Beautiful” gala was held for the first time in Dubai and brought here by Dubai-based socialite and reality television star Caroline Stanbury.

The money raised from the charity auction will go towards education efforts around the world: Dubai Cares focuses on providing quality education for young people in developing countries; while APJ runs scholarship funds for young women around the world, including in Peru, Pakistan, Uganda and Haiti.

At the event, honorary awards were given to businessman, philanthropist and owner of Grand Millennium Hotels Riad Al Sadek and the Duchess of York for their philanthropic pursuits. Stiller presented Riad Al Sadek with the APJ Humanitarian Award for his continuous contribution to philanthropic causes in the UAE and around the world, with a strong focus on educational causes while Sarandon honoured the Duchess of York with the APJ ‘Brilliant is Beautiful’ Award for her decades of charity work including 25 years helming her Children in Crisis.

On accepting the award, Mr Riad Sadek dedicated it to his wife Hassanah Al Sadek and thanked her saying, “one person who really deserves this award is my wife. My wife always says that a man is the head of a family but a woman is the neck that moves the head. So indeed, anything I have done, anything good I have done or anything good that I might do is always motivated by Hassanah.” He also lauded APJ for its charity works that have touched the lives of many people especially children.

Hundreds of guests including dignitaries, entrepreneurs and philanthropists were treated to performances of smash-hit radio staple from Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia and a stunning performance by local performer Layla Kardan.