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5 STAR LUXURY HOTEL • 394 ROOMS & SUITES From Boston's plush Copley Plaza Hotel and London's majestic Savoy Hotel to the castle-like Banff Springs peeking out from alpine pine forests in Alberta, Fairmont hotels are synonymous with regal and stately. Here at the flashy Fairmont Dubai add the words “trendy,” “seriously happening” and “tres chic.” One of the most fashionable hangouts in hopping Dubai, the Fairmont goes positively bold here beginning with the dashing blue-lit building itself: shooting up 37 floors, the glowing four-towered design inspired from Arabian wind towers makes Fairmont Dubai a landmark in the ever-changing cityscape, although the hotel's landmark status extends far beyond architecture. With ten dazzling outlets, this property serves as a colorful hub of Dubai's after-work scene which draws thousands on weekends and healthy crowds even during the work week. Entering through a dramatic lobby of curves and glass swirls, striking décor beckons from around every corner – viewable even from the artful glass elevator that zips one up and down past dramatic settings and lights -- and to experience the city's nightlife at its finest, guests need not leave: the hotel's swanky bars and classy restaurants are so adored by locals that the hotel is an entertainment institution checked out by most who come through the city, another enticement to checking in – even for those who live here. With two pools (one to catch sunrise, the other for sunset) and the marble-wrapped Willow Springs spa designed like a domed hammam, The Fairmont (which links to the Dubai International Convention Center via covered walkway) is more than simply a business hotel where corporate types can escape in spacious suites and comfortably work amid splendor; nor is it only for families who have enough room to hold clan reunions in stylish two-floor Royal Suites. Beyond the outstanding service that makes the hotel a standout or the trademark opulence (from the sculptures of chocolate, heaving bowls of exotic fruits and artful trays of sweets that may greet you to the mineral bath salts, Quercus toiletries and beds so comfortable that they swallow you up), the lure that has caused so many locals to snatch up apartments in the adjacent Fairmont Gold complex – “a hotel within the hotel” -- is the promise of days-worth of ever-changing entertainment found under one roof. The only problem at the Fairmont Dubai is the decision-making that lies ahead: does one begin with Cascades – a ritzy atrium serving up mezze and salads – or does one pluck that day's delights from the revolving sushi bar? Does one head to dinner at Bacchus, the lush Italian eatery, or at the trendy Spectrum on One – an open-air maze of international food stations where chefs perform synchronized culinary ballet before your eyes whipping up masterpieces from risotto to soba noodles to Tournedos Rossini? And when will you squeeze in time for the requisite visit to Fairmont's famous floor two, where the swanky triad of wine bar- steak restaurant-cigar bar keeps customers entertained through the night? Settling back into the leather chairs at Cin Cin, you can choose from Dubai’s most extensive wine list – Bordeaux to Shiraz, Zinfandel to SuperTuscan, there's 340 in all, and fifty by the glass – perhaps sipped while savoring oysters, a tasting of Vancouver Island salmon, or tacking the mountain of ocean delights in the Seafood Tower Extreme. As substantial hunger sets in, head next to the second floor's ritzy Exchange Grill, where you can have wine by the glass matched to each course, as you embark on a feast that may start with Iranian caviar, pan-seared foie gras with raspberry anise coulis or a salad of asparagus and spiced pear, but should definitely – after a palate-cleansing sorbet displayed on a plate of changing color lights -- meander into a main course of prime USDA Angus beef – perhaps Beef Wellington or the mouthwatering 20-ounce Chateaubriand for two. Between the molten Manjari chocolate cake and the sour cherry and lemon pistachio Crème Brulee, even selecting dessert can be a chore: best to opt for the sampling plate. Decisions, however, do not end there: once you’ve moved a few steps on and have sunk into the couches in the duly sophisticated Cigar Bar, you’ll have to select between dessert wines, vintages ports and cognacs – not to mention the decisions that call from the humidor (where regulars purchase their own name-plated cigar box). Your work, however, is not over -- there are still decisions to be made: namely should you take in that final after-dinner drink in Bridges the lobby’s piano bar, or work off that dinner in the glam downstairs disco, the Peppermint Club, where Dubai’s beautiful crowd also hangs out? On Fridays, at least, one decision is thankfully pre-made: you simply must partake in the hours-long champagne brunch that is so popular, it’s a cherished local ritual. In short, The Fairmont Dubai is more than a hotel – it’s a kaleidoscope of entertainment possibilities, with every night ending on the happy note of snuggling up in your room’s plush king-sized bed. ©2007 Melissa Rossi. Written by Melissa Rossi for Luxury Travel Magazine. Melissa Rossi, who is currently traveling across the Middle East and Asia, is the author of the What Every American Should Know about Europe (Plume/Penguin 2006). What Every American Should Know about the Middle East will be published in June 2008. HOTEL RESERVATIONS | BOOK FLIGHTS | CAR RENTAL |
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