Liquid Magazine

DESTINATION DUBAI

With temperatures that top out at 120 degrees during summer, this formerly modest trading post is the Middle East’s shiny model of a modern, moderate Muslim state, where the rulers took oil revenue and turned the city into a tourism and trade hub. It’s a city where conspicuous consumption, the Muslim call to prayer and clubbing coexist peacefully. So recline in your seat on Emirates Airlines and take a tour around the surreal city of Dubai.

If golf’s your game, check in at the Moroccan-styled Dubai Creek Park Hyatt Hotel. Staying at the stylish Kempinski Mall of the Emirates means not having to tackle Dubai’s crazy traffic to get the best of the city’s designer shopping as well as walking to the slopes of massive indoor ski resort, Ski Dubai, where fresh powder flutters down every night. Flush with petrodollars, Dubai’s Sheik Mohammed wanted to put his city on the world stage. Quickly. So up went the Burj Al Arab, the world’s tallest dedicated hotel. Add stunts such as Tiger Woods teeing off from the helipad and it’s mission accomplished.

If you don’t want to stay, you’ll want to visit, so book a table for cocktails. To see the real old-skool Dubai, head to Dubai Creek where you can take an abra (water taxi) to the other side or hire one for an hour to see the sights, such as the old dhows (wooden boats) that transport goods between Dubai and Iran. Dubai Museum, with its kitsch dioramas, is also worth a look.

Get Active
If snowboarding at Ski Dubai doesn’t float your boat, charter a sleek private yacht (www.charterbay.it) and check out the mind-blowing man-made offshore developments, The Palm and The World (yes, man-made islands that resemble palm-shaped Arabic poetry and a flat map of the world, respectively). A better view of the islands is from a helicopter and HeliDubai (www.helidubai.com) offers several different routes to see Dubai from the air, including taking off from the Burj Al Arab helipad.

If you have a need for speed hire a Ferrari or Aston Martin DB9 Volante (both are very Dubai; www.parklanerental.com) and motor down to Abu Dhabi (the UAE capital) for a ritzy afternoon tea at the glittering gold, Swarovski crystal-endowed Emirates Palace. If you don’t want to pay all those speeding fines (automatically taken off your credit card!), take a spin at Dubai Autodrome (www.dubaiautodrome.com) where you can attend driving academy or sling a leg over a superbike.

Looking like you’ve just spent two hours lapping in a sports car or just arrived after a dozen hours at 30,000 feet doesn’t cut it in style-conscious Dubai so before you hit the town get your grooming on at the H2O spa at Dubai’s sleek Jumeirah Emirates Towers (www.jumeirahemiratestowers.com) or at the Oriental Hammam at the One&Only.

Hit The Shops
Shopping is Dubai’s favourite sport, so head to the Gold Souq to bargain for bling (gold sold by weight) at world-beating prices. The ‘City of Gold’ also wants to be Diamond Dubai when it grows up, so make an appointment with Dubai Diamond Company (www.dubaidiamondcompany.com) for your bespoke beads. For the chicest threads, from Armani to Zegna, head to swanky malls such as BurJuman (www.burjuman.com) and Mall of the Emirates (www.malloftheemirates.com).

Eat Well
Dubai’s dining scene is fast becoming world-class. Verre, by Gordon Ramsay (who recently opened in New York) has been the best restaurant in Dubai for a few years now, fending off other French-flavoured challengers to the title such as Café Chic, Tang and Mezzanine. For Middle Eastern cuisine, settle in for a long Lebanese dinner (complete with belly dancer and hookah pipes) at Awtar at the Grand Hyatt. For a mind-blowing Moroccan experience, Tagine at the Royal Mirage is perfect and their Sheesha Courtyard outside is a great place to try apple hookah.

Hit the Bars
Dubai’s bars are all located in the four- and five-star hotels (remember you’re imbibing in an Islamic state) and there is everything from olde English pubs (think beer and soccer) to champagne bars (Dom Pérignon and cigars). Cin Cin’s and Bar 44 are the pick of the stylish champagne bars, while Sho Cho’s offers up the best mix of bubbles and banging tunes. Buddha Bar, a franchise of the legendary Paris bar and restaurant, is perfect for lethal cocktails and cool grooves, while The Rooftop offers up that Middle Eastern vibe in an outdoor setting.

Clubbing
Club nights come and go in Dubai and while the DJs mainly play house music, the tunes are secondary to getting a private space, putting some bottles on ice, and hanging with your friends. The best club is Trilogy (where the VIP booths protrude from the first floor over the dancefloor) while The Apartment offers respite from the house music metronome with hip-hop and R&B nights. While the eye candy is eye-popping at all Dubai’s clubs the best vistas in town are from the bar/club 360˚ where the sunset views of Burj Al Arab and the Arabian Gulf will have you marvelling at this miracle of the Middle East.