Why this urban resort in Dubai goes way beyond five-star
Forget five star hotels, this new urban resort is turning heads with its innovative design and roster of Michelin-starred chefs.
A mirage-like metropolis in the desert, Dubai is a whirl of bravura architecture – man-made islands, visionary skyscrapers and quicksilver showpieces jostling for attention. Earlier this year, another riveting edifice appeared on its jagged skyline. Straddling old and new Dubai, One Za’abeel consists of two asymmetrical towers dramatically intersected by a cantilever that hovers over a highway. Viewed from the bustle of Sheikh Zayed Road, 20 minutes after exiting Dubai airport, it evoked an enormous, traffic-halting H. “Checking in?” asked a porter but I was rendered momentarily speechless by the daringly futuristic milieu.
Spirited up to the 25th floor, I was once again ensorcelled by the visual splendour. Illuminated by a long wall of windows and ornamented with glass stalactites descending from the ceiling, this was the lobby of One&Only One Za’abeel, the building’s signature hotel. One&Only is recognised for its orchidaceous playgrounds – 14 so far – in Greece, Mexico and Montenegro among other destinations. And it already has two other beachside properties in Dubai, Royal Mirage and The Palm. But this is the brand’s first “urban resort”, a melding of verticality, sensuality and considered luxury. Five-star has lost its lustre. Behold the brightest supernova.
Travel + Luxury Magazine is out today Friday October 11, exclusively inside your copy of The Australian.
Superlatives matter in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is home to the tallest building, the largest shopping mall, the longest urban zip-line and so on. But all the bravado and braggadocio, all the Guinness World Records, don’t always align with good taste. The glitziest concepts can curdle into the tackiest. One Za’abeel is a rarity, though, as polished as it is pioneering. Hatched by Japanese studio Nikken Sekkei, the project features the globe’s lengthiest cantilever. Yet the more impressive feat is how this elongated corridor, known as The Link, was adapted by the hotel masterminds. “Our view was to say, since we don’t have a beach, let’s create a beach in the sky,” said Philippe Zuber, chief executive officer of Kerzner International, the owner of One&Only.
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Suspended 100 metres above ground and topped with a colossal pool, The Link raises the bar in more ways than one. On a scorching summer day, with temperatures in the mid-40s, guests splashed in the water or sheltered in cabanas, but my sunscreen was not up to either diversion. I paused to marvel at the staggering Bladerunner vistas of the city and quickly retreated inside to nearby Tapasake restaurant. A deejay was playing boisterous electronic tunes, while a drummer and a violinist giddily worked the room. Diners swayed in their seats and noshed on Japanese-Peruvian fare, such as glistening sashimi served on a bed of dry ice. I had traded an inferno for a disco inferno – classic Dubai.
Beneath the pool, The Link is an epicurean boulevard filled with 11 restaurants by notable chefs. Among the headliners are Anne-Sophie Pic from France, Paco Morales of Spain, and Istanbul-based Mehmet Gürs. Japanese-Australian luminary Tetsuya Wakuda has a presence here, too, at Sagetsu. At Arrazuna, a high-end food hall and bazaar devised by Gürs, I relished smoke-kissed kebabs encrusted with pistachios for lunch. The space was animated by a serpentine installation by New Zealand artist Jesse Woolston, its digital simulations generating swirls of Pointillist colour. At Sphere lounge, whose amoeba-shaped bar looked ready for take-off, an oolong cocktail with bourbon and Cognac was akin to rocket fuel. There were no weak links in The Link that I could identify.
As a culinary hotspot, the latest One&Only has few rivals even in Dubai. Plus, wherever I went, service was reliably telepathic. “My name is Pan – like pancake,” said a beaming server who, naturally, recommended the fluffy hotcakes at breakfast. One evening, I dined at La Dame de Pic, elegantly outfitted with bronze accents, pod-like lights, and Iced VoVo-pink leather chairs. The inventive French-leaning fare included playful langoustine tacos, pillowy mushroom parcels and chocolate soufflé edgily paired with tarragon-flavoured ice-cream. Even the bread service, with rosette-shaped, pink peppercorn-infused butter, was imaginative.
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“Food is top of mind for our guests,” Zuber told me. “People want variety, and they want to be continuously surprised.” Dining at Dabiz Muñoz’s Street XO proved the most rollicking encounter. One of Madrid’s most unconventional chefs, Muñoz has a penchant for theatricality. The interiors are moody, the food is quirky and the waiters’ uniforms, which resemble straitjackets, are undeniably kooky. “The chef wants us to be lunatics,” confided my waiter. “I’ll be dancing soon.” Kimchi croquettes topped with sea urchin, and paella paired with caviar and Chinese-style chicken were emblematic of the offbeat menu. The late-night crowd lapped it up.
If the hotel’s eateries are highly entertaining, its rooms are equally swish. Za’abeel translates as “white sand” in the local Emirati dialect, which became Belgian designer Jean-Michel Gathy’s lodestar when selecting textiles, artworks, and sculptural lighting. Exceptional craftsmanship is a big focus. In my room the intricately carved credenza, deeply plush sofa and putty-hued bar cabinet with top-flight spirits could all have furnished a Park Avenue duplex. On the coffee table was a Nada Debs-designed backgammon set trimmed with mother-of-pearl. Frosted glass doors led to a mosaic-tiled bathroom large enough to host a tea party, with a gigantic tub, silk robes, and Montroi amenities instilled with a heady floral scent.
The 229-room hotel has almost endless permutations of suite types. Wellness-themed Sanctuary Suites are supplied with a massage table, Creative Suites feature the latest audio-visual technology, and Urban Suites are geared towards remote working. In Dubai, there’s always a ritzier option, a chance to supersize your order. I peeked into the Villa One Penthouse where Jennifer Lopez stayed; she performed at the hotel’s splashy February opening. The two-storey lair is an Arabian fantasy with a sleek majlis (reception lounge), infinity pool, cinema, and gym. With a dedicated host, personal trainer and a private chef, there is no shortage of indulgence.
A spa visit was also mandatory. Clinique La Prairie, the Swiss entity, favours a science-backed – as opposed to half-baked – approach to wellness. At its “Longevity Hub”, a three-level clinic with staff wearing white lab coats and benevolent smiles, therapist Jessica Pugh studied my body composition, scanned my face and checked my exposure to heavy metals. An algorithm generated an overall score – I could do better. “It allows for hyper-personalisation,” said Pugh, who prescribes such treatments as inflammation-reducing cryotherapy, detoxifying far-infrared and rejuvenating IV drips. They all sounded wonderful, but I elected to go back to basics with a Himalayan salt stone massage. I figured the trace minerals from the stones might help to relieve the tension of my middling score.
The hotel is also equipped with a stellar gym, a second lagoon-style pool and a Bali-inspired garden festooned with tropical greenery – the type of place where one could practise zazen meditation with a cocktail. Viewed from this lower level, the dual towers dwarfed guests like an alien robot in Transformers that might change guise at any moment. With this smorgasbord of confections, not to mention the ever-changing buffet of artistic pastries at all-day diner Aelia, I barely left the premises. From my elaborate digs, with automated curtains revealing the sprawling city, I admired local attractions such as Dubai Frame, the Museum of the Future and the Burj Khalifa, but stayed put.
Whether they are situated on a beach, in a jungle or amid an urban jungle, One&Only’s multilayered lodgings induce a state of torpor. Translating resort chic into metropolitan dazzle might sound like building castles in the air, but the venture succeeds with remarkable verve. Gathy has designed two other properties for the group – in the Maldives and Montenegro – and understands the impulses of discerning travellers. There are intimate spaces for imbibing, socialising, reclining and exercising designed by multiple firms. One Za’abeel is also the address for Siro, a new fitness-focused hotel by Kerzner. But leave the Lululemon at the gym. Inside the convivial venues, guests were always impeccably attired.
One&Only’s citified haven is not just another shiny new building in Dubai. When you have a limitless budget, you need to demonstrate restraint in the opulence. The connected towers make a bold statement, but the clean-cut glass façade also conveys a Japanese minimalism. The hotel’s soigné interiors, meanwhile, are the decor equivalent of stealth wealth – neutral tones, arabesque patterns and harmonious artworks precisely knitted together. As with the discipline of haute couture, reserve, detail and proportion create a depth of luxury that wild display occludes. What would you have if you could have anything? Probably simplicity, but on a grand scale.
One consequence of occupying such a paradigm-shifting building is that you spend ample time walking hallways, riding elevators, and shuffling to your ports of call. At first I was a little flummoxed by the Escher-like master plan. I felt like the bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart in the opening credits of Get Smart marching through an endless series of doors. Fortunately, there are obliging staff members positioned at every juncture to direct you. After a couple of days, I finally cracked the zigzagging One Za’abeel layout, but by then it was time to check out. That’s when I realised that maybe I needed to live here. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who had that epiphany. The project includes a slew of opulent residences, many of which have already been snapped up.
The writer was a guest of One&Only Resorts. oneandonlyresorts.com
This story is from the October issue of Travel + Luxury Magazine, out Friday October 11 exclusively inside The Australian.
