There’s nowhere quite like Dubai. Just fifty years ago this was a small trading port with barely a toe on the international stage, today it is the world’s fastest growing city; a megalopolis built on oil and dripping in 21st-century luxury.
With grandeur at every turn, Dubai holidays are about so much more than sun, sea and sand. The city is a dazzling monument to consumer culture, where anything truly is possible (even skiing in the desert!) and service is of the very highest standard.
There’s no shortage of luxurious places to stay in the city and Dubai hotels are some of the most opulent and exclusive in the world. The graceful yet iconic Burj Al Arab may be simple in design but it’s also famously the world’s first seven-star hotel, catering for its guests’ every whim with its sumptuous rooms, full-service Assawan Spa and high-class restaurants and bars; while the Atlantis Dubai is a lavish resort located on the extraordinary Palm Jumeirah, the world’s largest man-made island, and hosting 17 different restaurants and bars. Atlantis also offers a multitude of activities and services including more than two dozen luxury shops in The Avenues, an exclusive 700-metre beach and a unique marine habitat, the Ambassador Lagoon, which is home to over 65,000 marine creatures of all varieties.
Many of the city’s top hotels are built with the view in mind and offer awe-inspiring views not only to those staying in their multi-storey rooms but also to visitors to their plush restaurants and chic bars, many of which are based as high up as possible in order to afford expansive views. Al Muntaha at the Burj Al Arab serves up contemporary European cuisine with views of Jumeirah beach and man-made islands The Palm and The World, while Vu’s at the Emirates Towers offers an international menu and great cocktails with panoramic views of the city skyline.
Dining in the city has been heading inexorably upmarket in recent years, with numerous celebrity chefs opening outlets here. Leading the charge was Gordon Ramsey with Verre at the Hilton Dubai Creek, a highly acclaimed modern European restaurant with an innovative menu and atmosphere of understated elegance. The wine cellar here stocks over 500 handpicked labels; a real enhancement to the gourmet experience. Other chefs have followed Ramsey’s lead, and the city’s assortment of celebrity chef restaurants now includes Japanese favourite Nobu at Atlantis, and over at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Gary Rhodes’ English-with-a-dash-of-French restaurant Rhodes Mezzanine and Vineet Bhatia’s non-balti Indian Indego.
The luxury continues with the city’s nightlife, with numerous hip bars dotted around Dubai, many with spectacular views. The stylish Skyview Bar at the Burj Al Arab offers a long and internationally-minded cocktail list, while Bar 44 at the Grosvenor House Hotel serves champagne with a marina view. For an even higher perspective on things, the 63rd-floor Neos at The Address Hotel serves great cocktails to drinkers enjoying the view from its floor-to-ceiling windows.
Whichever bar you choose, it’s almost certain to offer a dazzling panorama of the city as its backdrop, so sit back, charge your glass and enjoy the view – after all, given the pace of change here, it’ll be different tomorrow.
