Luxury hotel group Kempinski has confirmed it will delay the opening of its Dubai hotel on Palm Jumeirah until 2013, although the attached residences will open as planned in July.

The Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah will open as planned this summer, with residents having access to facilities including the gym and 1,200sqm outdoor pool.

The group was forced to delay the opening of the 253-room hotel due to the economic downturn, and the current oversupply of hotel rooms in Dubai, it said in a statement.

Kempinski already manages a Dubai property within the Mall of the Emirates, an entertainment complex featuring shops, restaurants, a 14-screen cinema, an indoor ski resort, and a Pullman hotel.

The group plans to open over ten new properties this year, including two hotels in India (Delhi and Chennai), and six in China (Shanghai, Sanya, Xiamen, Huizhou, Guiyang and Qingdao), plus properties in Jurmala (Latvia) and Moscow.

The Kempinski Hotel Bahrain City Centre is also scheduled to open this year, although the current unrest may affect these plans.