Bigger and better: exploring Dubai's latest offerings

Our table fills with rice dishes while a woman seated before a wok of bubbling oil prepares us heavenly doughnuts drizzled with date molasses and tahini.

According to the tourism board, Dubai has seen Brits taking longer stays since the pandemic, the typical four days extending to seven or eight, and this Dubai Souks and Creekside tour from Frying Pan Adventures is just the sort of experience to convince clients to explore beyond the luxury hotels and world-beating attractions.

TOP OF THE WORLD

Not that I’m immune to the thrill of the emirate’s showstoppers. At Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, I take the lift to ear-popping height. It’s a fast ride but a slow reveal, as we ascend in near darkness before emerging onto the At The Top terrace on the 124th floor. At The Top SKY is actually higher on level 148, but with the roofs of other skyscrapers far below it makes little difference. 

This panoramic perspective gives me a sense of the mass construction that continues in Dubai and just how close it all is to the nothingness of the desert. 

A less lofty but arguably better view comes from the emirate’s newest attraction Ain Dubai, a double-height take on the London Eye that opened in October 2021. It’s a chunky feat of engineering beside the sea and, as the capsules rise, the unmistakable shape of The Palm Jumeirah becomes visible below.

In case this is not enough, there are numerous upgrade options, from karaoke to dining experiences, and Ain is happy to chat bespoke exclusives.

SWISH STAYS

The wheel sits opposite Caesar’s Palace (currently offering free Ain Dubai tickets for most room categories), located at the tip of Bluewaters peninsula. This is a great location; beachside and with easy access to the Dubai Marina and its various nightspots via a footbridge. The new Madame Tussauds is also on Bluewaters, beside a mall.

Later, I get another perspective of the Palm Jumeirah as a sunset boat cruise takes me past its flagship hotels, including the new Raffles. We slide back in through the marina as an illuminated mosque sounds a melodic call to prayer.

There’s much hotel development beyond the Palm, of course, and I stay two nights downtown in the new ME Dubai. This is another record for the emirate as it was the first and last hotel designed both inside and out by celebrated architect Zaha Hadid, who died before its completion.

The style – curving white balconies ascending from an atrium with purple booth-like “islands”, where guests can relax with a drink, feels part Guggenheim New York, part swanky club. In fact, there are DJs here several nights a week and Dubai’s biggest underground nightclub will open in the basement next year.

My spacious “Midnight” room has atmospheric headboard lighting to evoke the skyline. There are Burj Khalifa views from some suites and you can tackle a recreation of the tower in pancakes for breakfast.

Shahab Shayan, Dubai Tourism’s senior manager for the UK, Nordics and Australia, says city hotels are a good option as there’s usually more capacity compared with popular beach options, meaning prices are often favourable too.

“We encourage our partners to look at city hotels; there’s more room [for manoeuvre] looking at the packages and deals that they can do,” he adds.

WORLD VIEW

A specially constructed Chinatown is the next new attraction due to open downtown, but currently you can stand in Dubai and experience 192 other countries, as the emirate is hosting World Expo until March.

Bigger than the Olympics, this five-yearly mega event attracts globetrotters, but organisers admit it usually fails to “resonate” with Brits. Dubai Expo is running a UK TV advertising campaign to help change that.

On the day I visit, I’m put in mind of a theme park without the rides, crossed with the contents of the Millennium Dome and World Travel Market.

Each participating country has a pavilion. The UK’s entry is architecturally stunning and, inspired by Stephen Hawking’s thoughts on inter-planetary communication, invites visitors to contribute words to an algorithm-generated poem.

Belgium, meanwhile, plays on its greatest hits with a rooftop beer garden and kiosks selling waffles and chocolates. And at Emirates Airlines’ pavilion you can don a VR headset and learn more about the future of electric flights.

About 80% of buildings here will stay to form a “smart city” business park. In the meantime, Expo would work as a day out for families visiting Dubai with older children – recommend interactive elements like the kids’ zone in the Sustainability Pavilion, and a visit in early evening (I see a live band and jellyfish projections in the central dome, then kickboxers interacting with animated mascots outside the Thailand pavilion).

SMART ART

Those who make it no further than downtown can still catch an immersive show at new Infinity des Lumieres, where 130 laser projectors combine to create a digital art exhibition, currently highlighting Van Gogh. To musical accompaniment, sunflowers, irises and starry nights slip down the walls, across the floor and paint my body as I stroll between loungers.

This cultural immersion may not be as authentically local as the one I enjoyed on the food tour, but it’s further proof that there’s plenty to do here beyond the beach.

Book it: Gold Medal offers five nights half-board at Caesars Palace Dubai from £1,149pp based on two sharing, including complimentary Ain Dubai tickets. Also includes flights and private airport transfers. Valid for departures from 16-24 June 2022. goldmedal.co.uk; visitdubai.com/travel-trade