Sharp lines, neutral tones, stone and mahogany predominate: you can almost smell the masculinity. The best rooms have vast balconies overlooking the Dubai Fountain, another record-breaker with water that shoots as high as 150 metres into the air.
Burj Al Arab is famous for so many reasons, the most notorious among them its disputed rating of seven stars. Given the exclusivity of the hotel, it is no wonder that I could get no closer than the turnoff for the road connecting it to the mainland in order to take my pictures.
It is the fourth tallest building in the world, and functions exclusively as a private hotel. It was built on an artificial island created out of welded oil tankers, and sits off of Jumeirah Beach. If you can afford to stay here, you don't need to be using free travel advice; if you can't, you might as well stop gawking and head back to somewhere air conditioned.
In the finance district, the Fairmont Dubai has 34 floors, 394 rooms and leisure amenities including the Willow Stream Spa, with Turkish hammam-inspired steam rooms and eight private treatment rooms; a state-of-the-art gym; and two rooftop swimming pools overlooking the city. Restaurants include Cavalli Club, serving Italian cuisine; Café Sushi; and award-winning steakhouse The Exchange Grill, where the steak is dubbed the best in Dubai - which is quite a claim in this city.
Dubai is all about entertaining: camel riding and racing, scuba diving, skiing, shopping, cruising, fishing - to name but a few - can be arranged by the hotel. Directly connected to the Dubai International Convention Centre, the hotel also has its own boardroom and conference room, and is well set up for business travellers.
Forty five minutes from Dubai, the exclusive Al Maha resort is a desert haven set within a conservation reserve. Each of the Bedouin-style suites, grouped into Emirates, Royal and Bedouin Suites, has its own private swimming pool and activities include falconry, wildlife tours and horse-riding.
Guests can dine in the relaxed Al Diwaan restaurant, or on the private decks of the guest suites. With three staff assigned to every guest, the highly personalised service is as fantastic as the facilities. The Al Maha resort was voted best overseas leisure hotel in Africa and the Middle East in The Readers' Travel Awards 2002 and was on the Gold List 2009.
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