Marina Breakwater
With its five-floor-high minaret archway adorning its copper-toned facade, a lobby flanked with mihrab-style niches, echoing mosque architecture, and…
Must-see hotels in Middle East
Downtown Dubai
This city slicker wows, especially at night when its four-poster towers are dipped in coloured lights. With a direct link to the Financial Centre, it…
East Jerusalem
Decorated glass and a tangle of vines adorn the entrance to the 19th-century mansion housing the small, family-run Jerusalem Hotel. Its 14 high-ceilinged…
The Negev
Ketura's guesthouse is comfortable and extremely well maintained. Facilities include bicycle hire and an on-site coffee shop (open 8am to 11pm except…
HI – Karei Deshe Guest House & Youth Hostel
Sea of Galilee
This sparkling-white facility, right on the lakeshore, has 82 rooms (with 18 more set to come in 2018), a sandy beach and lots of trees and grass. Dorm…
Dubai
Feel the stress nibbling at your psyche evaporate the moment you step inside this luxe boutique retreat, just a short drive outside Dubai and set on a…
Downtown Dubai
A modern interpretation of Middle Eastern design traditions, this fashionable hotel is directly connected to the Dubai Mall. Lug your bags back to…
Bur Dubai
Right on the historic Shindagha waterfront, where Dubai's royal family used to live, this charismatic retreat lets you connect with Dubai's past in a…
Jerusalem
After three decades, the Inbal underwent a top-to-bottom makeover – and the results are stunning. Completed by the same architect who did the president's…
Sheikh Zayed Mosque Area
Its stark glass facade, with rectilinear night-lighting, invites you into a vast atrium of textured surfaces and glowing hanging lamps. Things stay more…
Kuwait City
Two decades ago, during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, there wasn’t a window remaining in the Radisson. That's a difficult scene to imagine today at this…
Iran
Hotel Koohrang is in a pretty valley near a river and makes up for any lack of exterior charm by the warmth of its welcome. With a range of activities…
East Jerusalem
Elegant cream-coloured rooms fill this refined hotel in a former YMCA building. Bathrooms would benefit from a spot of maintenance, and the breakfast…
Tehran
Located at 3525m, this is the only accommodation and place to eat near the summit of the mountain. As ski lodges go, it's a rather cosy and pleasant place…
Dubai Marina & Palm Jumeirah
When this timelessly elegant Mediterranean villa-style resort first opened in 1998, Dubai Marina was still the middle of nowhere. Now it's dwarfed by high…
Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi Yas Island
Yas Island
This friendly hotel, in a hotel complex just a hop from Yas Marina Circuit, has hospitable staff and comfortable (though blandly business-brisk) rooms…
Tel Aviv
Go back in time to the 1970s with this retro 'urban hotel'. It may not be in the best part of town, but scenesters love the rooftop bar with its sundeck…
Mitzpe Ramon
Right on the edge of the makhtesh, with extraordinary views (especially at sunrise), this place has a Bedouin-style tent sleeping 20, smaller dorms and…
Mitzpe Ramon
Perched right on the edge of the makhtesh, this luxury resort hotel has one of the most spectacularly sited infinity pools you're ever likely to dive into…
Tel Aviv
Housed in a 1934 Bauhaus-style apartment block, this luxury hotel offers 32 sleek and stylish studios and suites with good amenities, including coffee…
Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina
Dubai Marina & Palm Jumeirah
A top choice for water sports enthusiasts, this sophisticated beach resort feels like a cross between a Middle Eastern summer palace and an Italian…
Dubai
Owned by Marriott and on the doorstep of four theme parks and the Outlet Village shopping centre, this resort-style property keeps families front and…
Downtown Dubai
An eye-catching steel-and-glass high-rise harbours one of the top-ranked business hotels in the Middle East. Glide up in the panoramic lift to sumptuous,…
Marina Breakwater
While this remarkable Abu Dhabi landmark is a destination in its own right, offering excellent entertainment and restaurants, an overnight stay enhances…
Tel Aviv
A major luxury hotel that opened in 2018, the Jaffa is housed in the 19th-century French Hospital, which has been redesigned by renowned architect John…
Mövenpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida'a
Kuwait City
Right on the beach, this large five-star hotel has 280 rooms (some with direct pool access), plus two restaurants, five pools and two shisha terraces…
Iran
In a woodland setting behind the garden of the appealing Telar teahouse (open from 3pm), the Tourist Hotel's main building has renovated rooms that are…
Dubai Marina & Palm Jumeirah
Twin-towered Grosvenor House was the first hotel to open among the jumble of the Dubai Marina’s sky-punching towers. The public areas are sleek, grown-up…
Shabhaye Talai – Golden Nights Beach Restaurant
Qeshm Island
No language barrier at this quirky venture: it's run by Annelie, from Germany, and her husband, Ali Reza, who both speak fluent English and go to great…
Tel Aviv
There aren't many opportunities in life to stay in a building incorporating remnants of an 8th-century Byzantine chapel, but that's what's on offer at…
Sharqiya Sands
This luxury camp offers what has been described as 'shabby sheikh' for those who want to see the sands but don't really want to engage with them. The…
Tel Aviv
At nearly a century old, the mauve-painted Hotel Nordoy at the end of Nahalat Binyamin’s pedestrian walkway (where a twice-weekly arts and crafts market…
Sisters of Nazareth Guest House
Nazareth
Set around a flowery courtyard with archaeological excavations underneath, this 61-room establishment, in a building that dates from 1855 (a new wing…
Dana
Free transfers to/from the main road, a quirky warren of small, unheated rooms called ‘Flying Carpet’ and 'Crazy Camel', leafy courtyards, a majlis (Arab…
Oman
Offering good-value accommodation wedged between a calm lagoon full of waders and a sea bobbing with turtles queuing up to come ashore after dark, this…
Haifa
Original works by local artists adorn the public spaces and 40 mahogany-and-cream rooms of this hotel within a Bauhaus building. Some rooms feel a little…
Kuwait City
This stylish, if a little dated, downtown hotel prides itself on being the first ‘art and tech’ hotel in the Gulf, with a mishmash of styles including a…
Abu Dhabi
Le Royal Méridien is imbued with plenty of contemporary swagger, from its yellow-and-black-toned atrium looking out to the pool to the minimalist rooms…
Kuwait City
It's not often we recommend this international chain, but its modern rooms are outstanding value for Kuwait. Many on the upper floors have views out over…
Al Zahiyah & Al Maryah Island
Joined at the hip to Abu Dhabi Mall, this 565-room hotel is as much a favourite with leisure travellers as with conference-goers. Staff manage to keep…
