Al Maha, A Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa

The other Dubai

Dubai is known for its enormous real estate projects and its huge, extravagant buildings. In short, for the majority of people, Dubai is a completely mad city in the Middle East whose sense of the modern rhymes with excess, like for example, the world’s tallest building and the world’s largest shopping center. The mad rush to build more and more makes Dubai the capital of superlatives. The skyline reflects this growth with skyscrapers as far as the eye can see. But the city of Dubai is only a small part of the Emirate. The rest is the domain of nature and more specifically, the desert. And it’s here, in this infinite stretch of sand, that we find the origins of Dubai. Before it became a port specializing in pearl fishing, the Bedouins crossed this desert, which still today, we find both fascinating and disturbing. The tourist industry, realizing that for some, the city of Dubai is synonymous with excess, has built hotel complexes in the desert, offering visitors incredible landscapes and an experience diametrically opposed to the hustle and bustle of urban life. And one of these resorts is at the top of the scale in this category.

Desert luxury

Luxury, authenticity, refinement, harmony, flora and fauna sum up, in a few words, the bases of this hotel located only 60 kilometers from the city center. But these words do not really do justice to this veritable oasis in the middle of the dunes. Designed and modeled after a traditional Bedouin camp, the 42 bungalow suites resemble tents whose neutral colors blend in with the landscape. The Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa is a hymn to the desert and those who crossed, it, as well as an invitation to be enchanted by this region which seems hostile at first glance. The resort offers a range of ultra luxurious villas ranging from 75 to 530 square meters, each one individually furnished with antiques and decorative elements from the region. Here, the word, tradition, is not a marketing concept; it’s a reality. Each villa has its own swimming pool and a spectacular view. Guests have their own individual guide, indispensable for getting to know the desert and to explore its hidden wealth. Whether one chooses a four-wheel drive, a horse or even a camel, there are things to see everywhere. The hotel is located in a 225 square meter nature reserve, The Dubai Conservation Reserve, which is particularly rich in flora and fauna. The Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa invites its visitors to discover a completely different facet of Dubai, of going back in time, and thanks to the silence that reigns over the desert, of getting a glimpse of eternity.

The emblematic animal of the region gave the hotel its name since Al Maha is Arabic for white onyx, an endangered species reintroduced into the reserve to protect it. The hotel is a privileged spot to observe them as they move about here in total freedom.