by The check-in desks were on the 25th floor. My room was on the 51st floor. The spa was on the 28th floor. And to get from the bed to the pool side (on the fourth floor), I would have to take three different lifts, including one going in the opposite direction from my intended way down.
“Would you like me to escort you?” asked Jibek gently, recognizing the desperation in my eyes as she gave this damning explanation. “Yes,” I replied, resisting the urge to stroke the sleeve of my suite’s Host – a wider “butler” – and beg her not to leave my side.
I have a good sense of direction, but vacations send it haywire: I instinctively run from breakfast mimosas to sunrooms, but I still have to ask for directions. But that’s nothing compared to the yo-yo challenge of navigating One&Only One Za’abeel, Dubai’s new “vertical resort”.
This is a holiday retreat for the modern urban environment, essentially taking the linear holiday concept and stacking all elements on top of each other. Instead of riding a golf buggy around, you ride the lift: there are 29 in total. Its footprint is no larger than your average skyscraper, but the hotel boasts two swimming pools, 11 restaurants, a three-story spa and 229 accommodations. The nearest beach is 20 minutes away, but guests can take day trips to the sandy shores of One&Only’s two larger “traditional” Dubai resorts.
On the 53rd floor, security staff are stationed outside a discreet entrance: the door is to Villa One, the two-bedroom penthouse, which at almost £25,000 a night is one of Dubai’s most expensive addresses. As well as a private pool, cinema and gym, there is a dining room with personal chefs on call, and a “mancave” – the hotel’s term – containing games consoles and a cabinet of “collectibles”. Who stayed? “I can only tell you three names,” Jibek said enigmatically. “The Crown Princes of Dubai and Saudi Arabia, and Jennifer Lopez.” They visited separately, and I added: J-Lo starred at the hotel’s opening party in February, raking in a reported £3.9 million for her private concert, with Naomi Campbell and David Gandy on the guest list.
It might be tempting to dismiss One&Only’s new launch as “just another” distinctive high-rise in Dubai, but the brand is known for fly-and-flop bliss – with a finesse that has earned it an almost-evangelical fan base him. Infinity pools, indulgent dining and glorious spas are its calling cards, with 14 locations across the Maldives, Mauritius and beyond. This is his first urban post, but can you really find vacation heaven in a skyscraper?
With city center property at a premium, and celebrity desire high, Dubai was the obvious destination for the concept. The hotel is located in the new One Za’abeel development, whose two jet black glass towers are being implemented even according to the standards of the United Arab Emirates, interrupting the skyline between Dubai Creek (the oldest part of the city ) and downtown spires. One block is entirely for private houses; there are offices, residences and SIRO One Za’abeel – a hotel with a fitness theme. But One&Only dominates the floor plan, occupying 22 of its 60 stores.
Connecting the mirror-smooth flanks of the towers is the Link, a 100m-high “sky bridge”, featuring fine dining restaurants, the Sphere wine bar and a glittering, souk-inspired food court. But it extends over the towers, leading to a 67.5m cantilever – the longest in the world. A cantilever is, of course, a linear structure that is not supported at one end: the massive 900-ton Za’abeel alone is the length of seven double-decker buses, jutting out as Tetris game gone wrong.
“I wouldn’t say it’s relaxing – more exciting,” said Carine, a businesswoman from “all over Europe”, as we made small talk in the elevator. She has stayed at every One&Only property in the world, including its Maldives retreat, Reethi Rah, 16 times – but One Za’abeel is “the most extraordinary yet”. I will say this for the hotel’s baffling layout: it’s a real conversation starter. As I passed through the lobby (there are several, with elevators on each side leading to selected floors), I met well-mannered retirees, New York socialites, Emirati entrepreneurs – our sparkling cat-chat brighter than the buffed marble decoration.
On the “roof top” of the Nasc is a large infinity pool, from which you can look out over the city far below and the towers burning high above. The sight surprises even the most discerning guests: Sheikh Hamdan, the Crown Prince of Dubai, was impressed enough to post Instagram videos from the pool side when he visited, as well as a glimpse of the cakes at afternoon tea. Whisper it, but I preferred the Garden Pool on the fourth floor which was quieter, surrounded by palm trees and frangipani blossoms.
Alas, I did not sleep in J-Lo’s penthouse: I stayed in Za’abeel Suite, the most basic category of suite, but its bathtub has a view of the city more than most plunge pools. From around £1,280 a night, it’s really expensive – and unlike most resorts, there’s no inclusive food package. Fortunately, its palatial size and furnishings surpassed everything else I’ve experienced in Dubai – with the exception of the Burj Al Arab. Other rooms come with increasingly extravagant perks, from complimentary cocktail parties for up to eight guests, to treatments in the resort’s Longevity Hub Spa by Clinique La Prairie, which offers Botox and laser facials.
Even the hotel’s Za’abeel rooms have huge en suite bathrooms, walk-in wardrobes and beds overlooking the city, from £480 – and because the hotel is new, there are some very good value package deals available.
I didn’t find my way around. Even after three nights, I was still asking for directions: indeed, the staff would come to me first, expecting the inevitable. But as I turned between the head-turning sights, ears dropping harder than the champagne corks at Sphere, I couldn’t help but be won over by the whole one-in-Dubai novelty. Perhaps the beauty laid back is not a regular option, but there is a change, as they say, as well as relaxation. And my goodness, this hotel is like no other in the world, for so much – a lot! – levels.
Hazel Plush was a guest at One and Only Za’abeel (00 971 4 666 1616). Destinology (01204 269010) offers seven nights in the Za’abeel Room from £2,117 per person, based on two sharing. Includes breakfast, return flights from Gatwick and private transfers, for departures between 20 September and 5 October 2024.
