Dubai, also called the City of Gold, is a trading center for the precious metal, but is even more famous for its golden sands. With year-round sunshine and calm, warm waters, the city’s coastline is vibrant. Soak up the atmosphere and try kite surfing, jet skiing, banana boats and inflatable flamingos. Many hotels in Dubai offer access to private beaches with added perks, from free popsicles and frozen grapes delivered to loungers to Instagram-friendly swings built into the water for enviable holiday snaps. Then there are the ultra-luxury resorts with private seaside villas and barefoot beach bars. These are the best beach hotels in Dubai.
How we assess
Each hotel on this curated list has been visited by one of our expert reviewers, usually hosted free of charge. They stay at least one night, test at least one meal and try other experiences the hotel may have to offer.
The family-friendly Four Seasons Resort Dubai is home to Mercury, one of the coolest rooftop bars in Dubai – if not the world. When you’re not enjoying the view, take a stroll through the colorful gardens or enjoy the private beach. All of the hotel’s 237 spacious rooms have a balcony that directly overlooks the beach or overlooks the downtown skyline. Book a room on this side if you want to see the twinkling Burj Khalifa piercing the night sky.
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One&Only The Palm is one of the UAE’s most secluded and seductive resorts, making it one of the best beach hotels in Dubai. It offers three restaurants from Michelin-starred French chef Yannick Alléno, indulgent spa treatments from the UAE’s only Guerlain Spa and a spectacular swimming pool. With just 90 rooms and suites and four riad-style villas surrounded by lush gardens, the resort has the feel of a boutique hotel (by Dubai standards). It has a magical feeling in the evening when it is illuminated by lanterns.
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This beachfront hotel has a relaxed atmosphere yet within easy reach of the city, with palm-shaded pools and views of the skyscrapers of Dubai Marina in the distance. It’s great for families and couples alike and facilities include a fantastic spa, adults-only pool and an excellent kids’ club. There are four swimming pools and an 800-metre private beach with volleyball nets, table tennis, speedboat rides and water sports. The hotel feels elegant and luxurious, with creamy marble and a sand-meets-sea palette of beige, brown and aquamarine.
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If you prefer modern neutrals to Arabian opulence, this low-rise resort is for you. The sea-facing gardens, designed by acclaimed architect Bill Bensley, are the focal point of the hotel, with three large swimming pools, including an adults-only pool, giant hanging chairs and plenty of palm trees. There is also a seawater lagoon where rescued sea turtles can recuperate before being released back into the wild. The beach, dotted with turquoise umbrellas and cabanas with billowing white curtains, is just meters away.
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This fantastic family-friendly hotel is one of Dubai’s original seaside resorts and is still as popular as ever. With its own water park and a wide variety of activities and restaurants, it’s easy to see why this five-star hotel is a universal winner. It is designed in such a way that all rooms have a view of the sea and a view of the sail-shaped Burj. The furnishings are modern and practical. There is a mile-long stretch of private beach reserved by the adult-oriented Cove Beach bar and restaurant.
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This underwater-themed resort features an attractive water park, two swimming pools and almost a mile of man-made beach. Lavish suites and gourmet restaurants are aimed at luxury travelers, but Atlantis is actually a vibrant family resort. Embrace it as such and you’ll have a ball. The kitschy under-the-sea decor – think shell-patterned carpets, shell-shaped lamps and fish-shaped handles – may not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s certainly fun. There are more than 1,500 rooms, each with a private balcony overlooking the ocean or The Palm.
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A stylish all-suite resort on a pristine beach with lush gardens, several pools, multiple restaurants and a range of activities. It’s both family-friendly and quiet enough for couples, thanks to an adults-only pool and spacious beachfront lawn. With a series of low-rise buildings set amid gardens with streams, waterfalls and a flock of peacocks, the resort feels incredibly relaxing. Contemporary interiors with high ceilings, large windows and neutral tones contribute to the relaxed, luxurious atmosphere.
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Opulence abounds in this modern Arabian palace. When you’re not relaxing in your luxurious bedroom, smoking sheesha under the palm trees in the Courtyards bar, eating delicious Moroccan cuisine at Tajine or enjoying the oriental hammam, you might be found at the Jumeirah Beach or the Mall of the Emirates, both nearby. The rooms are luxurious with expensive carpets, curtains and bedspreads, large marble bathrooms, oriental lanterns, beautiful toiletries and balconies or terraces.
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In a metropolis well acquainted with excess, the Ritz-Carlton in Dubai offers luxury with elegant restraint. Despite the abundance of rooms, suites, swimming pools, restaurants and bars, the atmosphere here is intimate and discreet; a lush, tranquil retreat from the hyperactive sprawl that surrounds it. Marble, Arabesque arches and trickling water set a soothing tone in the lobby, where the tranquil sophistication of the Lobby Lounge awaits, complete with cathedral-like wooden ceiling, harpist (Monday to Saturday) and evening jazz (Thursday). The hotel’s Eden-like gardens lead down to a private beach.
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Le Royal Meridien may be one of Dubai’s oldest resorts, but its huge pools, expanses of squeaky white sand and top-notch children’s facilities make it one of the city’s most popular family getaways. At the far end of Dubai’s seemingly endless Jumeirah Beach, the location is not suitable for visitors who want to focus on the cultural and historical sights of old Dubai, but if your main interests are water sports and working on your tan, punctuated by food and drink, you will be completely happy here.
Contributions by Jenny Johnson, Sally Peck