It’s around January time, with Christmas over, that most of us think, yes, we could really do with a holiday now. Just 6 hours away, Dubai has all the components of a winter break: sunshine, balmy climes, and luxury hotels aplenty.
Grosvenor House is one of Dubai’s original marina hotels, and is the perfect base camp for a relaxing winter break. Dubai is the home of luxury hotels, and Grosvenor House was above and beyond. Luxury dripped off the décor, and staff were so accommodating and polite (so much so I did start to wonder whether they’d mistaken me for royalty!). The hotel is made up of two almost identical 45-storey towers, which at night, stand defiant the skyline with their geometric blue lights. Guestrooms are beautiful; mine, on the 34th floor was bright and airy, and had a desk and giant bed, huge television, luxury bathroom, the largest bathtub I’ve ever seen, and a balcony which overlooked the marina. As with everything in Dubai, they are air-conditioned to the max, so you’ll have no trouble sleeping in the heat.
With limited time in Dubai, I chose to spend the majority of the time by the pool, lapping up the heat and rare opportunity to relax. Floating around on your back in the pool, looking up and seeing cloudless blue sky framed by towering skyscrapers in every direction is a mesmerising experience. Whilst there are things to see and do in Dubai (the souks, Burj Khalifa, Atlantis, shopping malls to name a few), you certainly wouldn’t be alone if you didn’t leave your hotel the whole time.
You definitely don’t need to go out to find lunch, because the breakfast buffet is really something. Everything was on offer. And by everything, we’re talking shrimp salad, carrots and hummus, waffles and syrup, cauliflower cheese, pasta bake, cassava chips, prawn crackers, dahl, cheeses, plus all the regular breakfast fare. You’ll never eat so much so much in one sitting…
After breakfast (and a lie down) spend the rest of the morning relaxing in the beautiful B/Attitude spa, which is located in the second tower. There are both women-only and unisex pools and hammams, plus various treatment rooms — go for a full-body massage…bliss!
Not unusual for Dubai, Grosvenor House has 14 eating and drinking options. 14. Toro Toro, “Dubai’s finest Pan Latin restaurant” is my top recommendation. The sharing plates menu features the likes of sea bass ceviche, tuna tataki, beef empanadas, braised short rib, and giant panko-crumbed prawns. Don’t leave without trying the Tres Leches cake — it’s decadent and superb, and you can start to work it off with a stroll down the marina, admiring the city at night.
Take the red-eye home and you can be back home or in the office by morning!