Ras Al Khaimah
Desert life doesn't get more opulent than this. The arabesque-style mud-brick villas of this resort feature mashrabiyya (lattice-screen) detailing and…
Must-see hotels in Arabian Peninsula
Oman
Reflecting its origins as an accommodation block for athletes, this concrete structure is stuck rather unsympathetically on the seashore and has something…
Kuwait
The only hotel on Failaka Island has a range of facilities, including a petting zoo, a lake, horse riding, camel rides and watersports. Crafts are…
Abu Dhabi
Opened in 2015, this idyllic getaway has 32 massive one- and two-bedroom villas that you'll need to be pried from at checkout. The modern villas, dressed…
Qatar
This four-star resort just off the corniche is a fine getaway, if eclectically decorated, with cast-iron horses in the drive and abstract art and Middle…
Yas Island
This bright, airy and entirely contemporary hotel sits in pole position on Yas Island, literally straddling the Yas Marina Circuit. Its avant-garde, steel…
Doha
The pyramid-shaped Sheraton Doha is more than a place to stay; it’s an institution. The oldest of Doha’s five-star hotels, it still has one of the best…
Doha
The Torch, at 300m high, is the tallest structure in Doha, and its sleek grey rooms are well known for their panoramic views over the city and the desert…
Dubai
This sail-shaped landmark regularly hosts pop stars, royalty, billionaires and the merely moneyed. The lobby with its eye-catching waterfall and opulent…
Hajar Mountains
Beside Snake Gorge and handy for an early-morning assault on the canyon hike, this guesthouse is in a pretty location surrounded by fruiting figs, guava…
Downtown Dubai
Opened in 2018, this 75-storey hotel looms like a golden beacon, and at 356m high, claims to be the world's tallest hotel (this is Dubai, after all!)…
Dubai Marina & Palm Jumeirah
With its domed ceiling, golden pillars and jewel-like lamps, Zabeel Saray’s lobby is as lavish and majestic as an Ottoman palace. The rich decor transfers…
Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort
Al Zahiyah & Al Maryah Island
A visitor could be forgiven for taking one look at the outside of this particularly rust-orange hotel and running off to the competition. That would be a…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Bur Dubai
This Dubai hotel apartment pioneer has 750 studios and one- or two- bedroom serviced apartments with kitchenettes spread over a dozen boxy midrises behind…
Doha
This contemporary hotel with traditional touches like arabesque archways and detailing has 32 enormous rooms, each with living areas and rain showers…
Doha
On its own island surrounded by the Gulf, the Doha Ritz is as grand as you'd expect from the American hotel giant. Enormous windows, polished floors and…
Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana
Marina Breakwater
Steeped in subtle Middle Eastern character and harbouring a giant pool, landscaped gardens and beachfront, facilities aimed at children and a relaxed…
Abu Dhabi
This white palace, with art-deco touches in the lobby's sweep of the ceiling and structured hanging lamps, is a behemoth, all-bells-and-whistles resort…
Bur Dubai
The Versace is styled like an 18th-century Italian palace with neoclassical-style architecture and decor. This grand hotel has pretty landscaped gardens…
