Dubai: Hotel Guides

The Burj Al Arab is one of the world’s most distinctive buildings, its sail-shaped silhouette every bit as instantly recognisable as Sydney Opera House or the Eiffel Tower. Even by Dubai’s extravagant standards, this lavish, all-suites resort stands out, set on its own private island with multiple bars and restaurants, a rooftop helipad and assorted pools surrounded by air conditioned cabanas. Suites come with Hermès toiletries, bespoke floral arrangements and gold-plated iPads for ordering in room service or summoning your butler. Naturally enough, there’s nothing run-of-the-mill about the spa either. Up on the 18th floor, with spectacular views over the Arabian Gulf, it has an extensive treatment menu: there are lavish-sounding facials incorporating caviar, diamond dust or gold leaf; massages designed to relax or re-energise; therapies to help you slim or help you sleep. For the ultimate indulgence try the Romantic Moonlight Swim, where you get aromatherapy massages, personalised bathrobes and exclusive evening access to the rose-petal-strewn infinity pool.

Jumeirah Street

The desert is on Dubai’s doorstep and, for most visitors, the way to experience it is on a four-wheel-drive desert safari. For romantics, we recommend skipping the tour and escaping to dreamy Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa instead for some ultra-luxurious glamping. Eco-friendly Al Maha is located within the Dubai Desert Conservation Area, which means there’s none of the desert safari’s ‘dune-bashing’. Rather, your low impact 4WD tour treads softly, cruising quietly among the apricot-coloured desert sands to give you an opportunity to observe rare Arabian birds and wildlife, such as the handsome oryx and elegant gazelles, which during early morning and late afternoon might even wander up to your private plunge pool for a drink. The Bedouin Suites, with tent-like canopies, are decorated in a sumptuous colonial style with sweeping vistas. While there’s a superb restaurant, private villa dining overlooking the spectacular desert is more romantic.

Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, Al Ain Road

Since its opening, this stylish, new-breed InterContinental has attracted fashionistas as much as foodies for its chic, spacious, high-tech rooms and its location beside the glamorous designer boutiques of Dubai Festival City Mall. Equally, gourmands from around the globe check in for one of Dubai’s finest restaurants, Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire. One of the great masters of innovative French cuisine, Paris-based multi-Michelin starred Gagnaire closely oversees the restaurant and crafts the menu; he visits Dubai often, so don’t be surprised if he wanders over to ask how you enjoyed his signature côte de bœuf. Dress up and allow a whole evening to linger over the creative degustation menu. After, enjoy bubbles at sexy Eclipse champagne bar, which boasts stunning bay and city views. The legendary Lebanese seafood restaurant Al Sultan Brahim is fantastic for lunch or dinner, while the hotel’s Anise, with its live cooking stations, is one of the few all-day-diners we’d really recommend.

Dubai Festival City, Deira

With its old Arabian-style architecture and enchanting 1001 Nights-inspired décor, staying at Mina A’Salam hotel feels almost fairy tale-like at times. As is the Bedouin custom, guests are greeted at the door with dates and coffee by Emirati staff in their national dress, while performers play traditional music in the plush lobby lounge that does wonderful Arabian-style afternoon teas. The public spaces and spacious rooms are decked out in Oriental lanterns, Persian carpets and brass Aladdin-style coffee pots and the like. Guests move around the winding waterways on abras (traditional wooden boats), much to the delight of kids. There’s a long palm-lined beach and an adjoining shopping centre, Madinat Jumeirah, with dozens of restaurants, cafés, fast-food outlets, and theatres. Dubai’s best waterpark, Wild Wadi, is right across the road, too – the perfect pastime for children, who will also love the complimentary Sinbad’s Kids Club: housed in 1,178 sq metres of pure play area, with a jam-packed activity schedule. Big families should book the Malakiya Villas.

Jumeirah Road, Umm Suqeim

On the south bank of Dubai Creek, in amongst the many shops and restaurants of the new Al Seef district, you’ll find the Middle East’s first Canopy by Hilton outpost. Design-led interiors combine with business-friendly facilities in this new-build property. Rooms have smart monochrome décor, Dubai-themed artworks and espresso machines, along with laptop safes, USB ports and work desks; suites get more space and interesting extras like a yoga mat, Canopy socks and maybe a hammock by the window. They’re well used to hosting corporate events here, with seven on-site meeting rooms featuring smart tables, A/V connections, and TV and projector screens, plus a range of support services for organiser. During downtime guests can take a hotel bike to explore the neighbourhood or make the most of on-site facilities such as the fitness centre, rooftop infinity pool, and Skafos restaurant, with an outdoor terrace over the water.

Al Seef St, Umm Hurair 1, Dubai Creek

You’d expect the world’s first Giorgio Armani-designed hotel to have a memorable setting and indeed it does, occupying the first eight floors of the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, with suites up on levels 38 and 39. Ideally, the rooms to go for are those overlooking Burj Khalifa Lake, so you get a bird’s-eye view over the choreographed water, light and music displays of the Dubai Fountain. Whichever room you’re in, though, you’ll find the kind of high-spec, streamlined interiors you’d expect from a designer known for understated elegance, with custom-created fabrics, bespoke furniture and a restrained colour palette of greys, beiges and browns. The same sophisticated style extends into the several restaurants and elegant spa and at every turn there are artistic little branding touches to remind you of the designer connection, from the A-shaped arches in the lobby to the little As stamped into the hotel sugar lumps.

1 Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, Burj Khalifa

The first thing that strikes you about Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, on Palm Jumeirah’s West Crescent, is its sheer opulence. Taking inspiration from the palaces of the Ottoman Empire, this popular beachfront resort has grand arches and gilded columns, multiple water features and elaborate hand-painted ceilings. There are tennis courts and pools, high-end boutiques, assorted restaurants, and a lavish spa that’s the largest in the Middle East. Less immediately obvious are the ways in which the resort strives to lessen its environmental impact, but the glittering chandeliers are powered by energy-efficient LED bulbs; a kitchen ecology unit helps to reduce air pollution; eco-wood is used in place of timber for decking throughout the resort; and when waste water leaves the luxurious marble bathrooms, it’s treated and recycled to irrigate the grounds. The Jumeirah Group also supports the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project, which rescues and rehabilitates sick and injured turtles before re-releasing them into the wild.

West Crescent, Palm Jumeirah

The white-washed, low-rise Park Hyatt Dubai is one of the city’s most relaxing resorts. Designed in a modern-Arabian style, it boasts minimalist rooms in cream and beige, with a subtle ‘sun, sea and sand’ style, evident in the touches of blue, textured carpets that look like desert dunes seen from above, and black and white photographs of old dhow boats. All rooms offer restorative water views of Dubai Creek, the luxuriant gardens of Creekside Park on the opposite shore and boats bobbing in bay upon which the hotel wraps around. The property is located next to Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club. If the gentle sound of water lapping isn’t soothing enough, there’s an alluring palm-lined swimming pool and the superb Amara Spa for some serious pampering. The hotels award-winning restaurants have long been some of the city’s best, including the French bistro, Traiteur, and the authentic Thai Kitchen, while The Terrace bar down on the waterfront is one of Dubai’s finest spots for a sundowner.

Dubai Creek, Deira