Dubai Hotels Reach New Heights

Dubai’s critics often point to its ostensibly skin deep culture and unsympathetically consumerist development, but the transformation of this Emirate city-state from sleepy pearling village to one of the world’s most futuristic, glamorous and extravagant destinations has been truly remarkable. A sybaritic monument to excess, petrodollars have helped fund a surfeit of luxurious, and often quite kitsch, Dubai hotels, which are unlike anything you’ll find in other resorts. Tourists head to Dubai in their droves to shop till they drop in its unrivalled shopping malls and top up their tans on its extensive white-sand beaches. Yet gaudy hotels and designer boutiques are not the extent of Dubai’s tourist attractions. In fact, Dubai is place full of fascinating contrasts and a rich, and very diligently preserved, heritage.

The Burj al Arab

With its iconic sail-shaped design, the Burj al Arab is an instantly recognisable part of Dubai’s towering skyline. Despite being overlooked the (much) bigger Burj Khalifa, the Burj al Arab remains the most impressive and original building in Dubai. Inside the Burj al Arab offers everything expected of opulent “7-star” Dubai hotels, as well as much more besides. The awful, jaw-dropping majesty of the interior and exterior is well worth experiencing, even if choose not to stay at the hotel.

Souk It Up

Dubai’s traditional souks, innumerable designer boutiques and vast malls are perfect for shopaholics looking to treat themselves to a little retail therapy. Equivalent in size to more than 50 American football pitches, the Dubai Mall is a shopping on a see-it-to-believe-it scale, and it even has its own ice rink and aquarium. The cookie-cutter malls aren’t the only places to splash the cash. Head to the traditional Gold and Spice souks in Deira, with their famous narrow alleyways brimful of colourful merchandise.

Bur Dubai

On the south side of the Creek, Bur Dubai is the oldest part of the city and home to many of its most interesting traditional Arabian heritage houses, as well as the atmospheric Textile Souk. If you’d like to find out more about how Dubai transformed from pearling village to a modern metropolis, head to the Dubai Museum. Set in the Al Fahidi fort, the museum offers a snapshot of Emirati life before the advent of mass tourism and oversized Dubai hotels. Highlights include a reconstruction of a traditional souk and the Al Arish house complete with an original wind tower.

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