Dubai Adds Another Eye-Popping Hotel to its Skyline, and it’s a Superyacht-Inspired Beach Retreat

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The Afar take

The newest opening from Dubai’s homegrown luxury hospitality brand Jumeirah is taking the city’s hotel scene to even more stratospheric heights. Joining its sister seaside properties—the iconic Jumeirah Burj Al Arab and the wave-shaped Jumeirah Beach Hotel—Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab is the final addition to this maritime-inspired trilogy. The sleek superyacht-esque silhouette by architect Shaun Killa is a show-stopper, but there is so much more to this hotel than its spectacular building. From the warm and friendly service to the light-filled rooms, excellent food and drink, multiple swimming pools, and spectacular views, Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab impresses in a city already known for its superlative hospitality.

RUPERT PEACE/Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab

Who’s it for?

If you’re already a fan of Dubai’s Jumeirah hotels, you’re going to love Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab. It feels as if it the brand has taken all of the learnings from its other properties and brought the best bits together here. This is a great hotel for families, but it’s also a brilliant place for those looking for seclusion and serenity, with a circular adults-only pool, quiet cabanas flanked by tropical vegetation, and sophisticated restaurants and bars for proper grown-up evenings. Spend a moment or two in the lobby’s plush seating areas and you’ll quickly get a feel for your fellow guests, with elegant Emiratis in traditional dress, local residents in chic resort wear, well-heeled vacationers, and a few well-known faces all passing through on their way to the rooms and restaurants.

The location

This stretch of Jumeirah beach has long been Dubai’s best, and Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab is the final link in a chain of Jumeirah hotels along this 1.2-mile sweep of sand. It’s all connected by buggy so you can venture out to try restaurants in the other hotels and head to the faux-old bazaar Souk Madinat Jumeirah for souvenir shopping and more dining. It’s less than 25 minutes by car to the airport, so you can really drag out beach time until the last second.

The rooms

Although it may cultivate a sense of calm and serenity, Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab is not a small hotel. The 300 light-filled rooms and 86 suites feel like real sanctuaries though, thoughtfully designed with high ceilings, high quality materials and fixtures, and private terraces. Some rooms face the sleek yachts of the Marsa Al Arab Marina, but the really mesmerizing views are in the other direction, with the Jumeirah Burj Al Arab in the foreground and the beach, green gardens, and neighboring resorts stretching beyond. You’ll even find that viral FIX Dubai chocolate in the minibar.

Rupert Peace/Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab

The food and drink

Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab’s eleven restaurants and four bars combine indoor and outdoor spaces with exceptional cuisine and service that is charming, friendly and fun, including chefs who pop out of the kitchen to check on diners and to serve items tableside. At Umi Kei’s sushi counter, chef Yukou Nishimura plies guests with seasonal seafood from the waters surrounding Hokkaido and Kyushu.

Courtesy of Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab

At The Bombay Club, delicate flavors from Western India feature in dishes like chestnut paneer tikka, smoked butter chicken, and monk fish Musallam, inspired by the kitchens of Mughal royalty. And the seaside tables at Greek restaurant Iliana are some of the loveliest in the hotel. If you’re staying in a suite, you can head to the Iliana pool, a dreamy oasis of palm trees, frangipani and Burj Al Arab views, for a blueberry tsipouro cocktail, watermelon and feta salad, and shrimp souvlaki served right to your sunbed.

Staff and service

Unfailingly friendly, efficient, and helpful. Stay in a suite and you’ll also have a butler to take care of you. The hotel had only been open for two weeks when I stayed, but it felt perfectly choreographed with the kind of smooth service you’d expect from a team that has been working together for years. Even with a rush of guests descending on the hotel to celebrate the Eid holidays, staff remained unflappable, gracious, and genuinely kind.

RUPERT PEACE/Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab

Accessibility

The resort has five accessible Marina Deluxe rooms.

Family friendly?

In a word, very. The beach and large family pool are perfect for safe splashing, and the Family Club offers meaningful creative and learning activities for children between the ages of three and ten years, like scavenger hunts on bikes, painting sessions inspired by artists from Picasso to Monet, and high-energy rolling, tumbling, and jumping at the Marsa Tots bootcamp. At nearby Souk Madinat, little abra boats offer fun cruises through the artificial canals, and all rooms include complimentary access to Jumeirah’s Wild Wadi waterpark, with waterslides that get the adrenaline pumping and more sedate options for younger kids.