What
Dubai’s hotels lack
in subtlety, they make
up for with marble
fittings, gold-leaf fixtures
and other nouveaux riches
trappings. The city’s landmark
hotels can be
wildly imaginative, with a vast
sense of scale.
Business hotels are either
on the Creek or on the main business
roads (Sheikh Zayed Road,
Creek Road (Deira
side), Bank Street
and Umm Suqeim Beach Road.)
The resorts on Beach Road
are convenient for Dubai Media and
Internet City. Note
that finding anything
decent with fewer
than four stars
can be a problem.
Prostitution is rife in
certain hotels. During
the height of the tourist
season (November to
April), hotel vacancies
are scarce. In summer
(mid-May to mid –September), rates
drop by up to half.
BURJ AL ARAB
The Burj Al
Arab is Dubai’s most
famous landmark. The minimalist white
structure, which resembles
a billowing sail, stands
on its own
island 280 meters offshore. No-one is
saying how much it cost to
build, but most
hoteliers in Dubai are convinced
it will never make
money rather, it pays
for itself by
creating a potent marketing
symbol for Dubai. This
public relations strategy
has, however, begun
inauspiciously: in Dubai
the hotel is
affectionately known as the
“giant cockroach”, thanks
to its shell-like exterior.
If you like
golden fountains, mirrors on ceilings, fawning
staff and an ooze of opulence, you
will be in your element
here. Guests are met at the airport and
chauffeured to the hotel in a
white Rolls Royce,
then whisked to
their rooms by a white
gloved, personal butler
who remains on call
24 hours a day.
Adding yet more
drama, the escalators
are flanked by
two gigantic fish
tanks. Don’t be
surprised to see scuba
divers inside cleaning
the glass. Some
guests may feel
a bit cut
off at the Burj.
In the hushed lobby,
staff tiptoe about,
and gawking tourists must
pay an entrance
fee just to step
inside. There is no beach
though the staff can drive
you to the nearby Jumeirah Beach
Resort in a golf
cart. Not everyone
will want to stay at
this kind of hotel,
but it is an interesting place to
visit. The view
from the Al Muntaha
restaurant on the top
floor is one of the best you
will get in Dubai, with food to
match. Most of
Dubai’s buffets offer
mass-produced food that
has been congealing
in hotplates for hours in end. At
the Burj, think
pan-fried foe grass,
seven different types
of caviar, and Kobe
beef carved at
your table. Not
bad for Dhs300(&80)
without wine.
THE
RITZ-CARLTON DUBAI
Arguable
Dubai’s best-loved hotel,
the Ritz-Carlton flies
in the face of the city’s
hospitality norms. While
most hoteliers here wage an
endless war to build
the biggest, brashest
properties imaginable, this hotel
is subtle and understated, With
just 138 rooms , a friendly
and knowledgeable staff,
afternoon tea and butler
service, it has a charm and
intimacy that would
befuddle its more celebrated
rivals. Instead of
hiring as many
cheap Asian staff
as budgets will
stretch to, training
them in basic
English and putting
them on a crash
course in emptying ashtrays,
the Ritz- Carlton employs at
least a handful of staff with whom you can have
an instructive conversation about
food and drink. The hotel’s sommelier, for example, keeps
a fine cellar, which he is happy to
discuss at length, particularly when
hosting a regular wine-tasting
evening. The hotel also boasts the prettiest
gardens on Jumeirah beach. 
