Anantara: The Palm Resort Hotel

Where do you stay in a place that puts up five-star hotels at the rate most cities put up parking restrictions? Somewhere where you can recline on a
sun lounger and watch the frenetic pace of it all from afar, as you enjoy the serenity of your own, quiet patch of sand. That place is Anantara The Palm, from the Thai hotel group that makes good on eastern promise and delivers faultless service, luxury dining and a calmer, peaceful alternative to the buzz of downtown. Located on the furthest tip of the Palm Jumeirah, a lazy river runs through the resort (complete with its own paddle-boarding barman dispensing mojitos). Its private beach is flanked by two sets of luxury overwater villas
– the first in the UAE – although ‘slumming it’ in a lagoon-view room isn’t exactly a hardship, come as they do with sun-trap balcony, Elemis toiletries and a pillow menu. The culinary offering ranges from high-end pan-Asian at Mekong to excellent cuts at Bushman’s steakhouse. Booking in for high tea at The Lotus Lounge would add a flourish to any break, but in all honesty, drinking coconut water straight from the flesh while watching the sun set over the city is every bit as gratifying. Doubles from £158.