The Dubai EDITION hotel review Dream by Luxury Escapes

Like the living embodiment of a refresher towel, entering the cool-white surrounds of The Dubai EDITION hotel is immediately calming and revivifying, a salve for the travel you have done and a blank slate on which you can project the most relaxing stay you can imagine.

At the Dubai EDITION this might mean dinner under a canopy of projections of the Old Masters, a visit to the spa or a cocktail on the roof watching the nightly light show on the Burj Khalifa.

What’s the neighbourhood like?

Downtown Dubai is shopping heaven and the neighbourhood around the Dubai EDITION is mostly made up of the mega Dubai Mall. This makes The Dubai EDITION the perfect place for a quick shopover where you are walking distance to the dizzying array of retail options at Dubai’s premier shopping attraction.

If you are looking at something that is more local cross the walking bridge to the Souk Al Bahar, still part of Dubai Mall but with a more traditional design and shops that offer dishdashas and abayas, dates and kufiyas. On the second floor, dine at the Time Out Market a collection of local and international food stalls where you can try Asian flavours at BB Dining, Izu Burger from Dubai celeb chef Izu Ani or killer dumplings at Long Teng.

Where am I sleeping?

The whole theme of the EDITION is one of restrained luxury, my room is decorated in beiges and whites with classic black-and-white photography, but also fabulous design. This may be one of the most intuitive lighting panels it has been my pleasure to use – and I hate chasing each lamp’s individual light switch when all I want to do is hit my pillow – temperature is similarly easy to use. Other grown-up touches not often seen is the fact I have a usable balcony despite being 20 floors up and a Bluetooth speaker. My view is the other Dubai skyscrapers, both finished and constantly under construction.

The bathroom features a deep soaking bath, backlit mirror and separate toilet and shower. There is a glass wall between bathroom and bed, so if you are on your own you can pull pack the gauzy curtain and see the Dubai skyline from your tub.

What’s on the menu?

Just next to the taupe-toned lobby, and the signature EDITION corkscrew staircase, is Duomo, an Italian-themed restaurant that puts its pale arch to good use of an evening. As the sun goes down, and the lights of the Burj Khalifa start their little party, the restaurant’s huge archway is lit with projections inspired by the Piazza Del Duomo in Milan and classic Italian painters. Guests are seated under Maria Theresa, a huge crystal chandelier and the only adornment in the lobby apart from a forest of plants, and treated to Italian dishes like yellow fin tuna tartare with Taggiasco olives, capers and sun-dried tomato. The flashy Dubai outside sneaks in with a liberal use of black truffle in my tagliolini topped with fresh chives and my Eldorosa martini with cranberry and edible gold.

Duomo also handles breakfast and the Arabian Breakfast with hummus, moutabel (spicy eggplant dip), labneh, beans and green olives with Arabic bread is impossible to go past.

How are the facilities?

The 24-hour gym is as high-tech as befits such a future-forward city and the spa on the second floor keeps the chill vibes coming with a wide range of treatment offerings. I opt for a plunge in the rooftop pool instead to ward off the desert heat then see how long I can last on my sunbed, draped with protective curtains, before having to hit the water once again.

At night, the area turns into a chic cocktail lounge, Thia Skylounge, where you can sit with a tipple and watch the Burj Khalifa light show, a truly jaw-dropping display that runs every half hour or so and makes it look like the building is disappearing into an inter-dimensional portal.

Who will love The Dubai EDITION?

Anyone who wants to dip their toe in and out of the Dubai madness. This is a brand that knows that lavishing you with peace and tranquillity is also very luxurious.

The writer was a guest of the hotel.