Dubai’s hotel scene may be dominated by sleek glass towers and glossy spectacle, but Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort opts for a softer approach.

Since opening in 2013, it’s carved out a niche as one of the city’s more laid-back beach resorts, offering guests a change of pace without compromising on experience. The property’s architecture nods to Anantara’s Thai heritage, with red-roofed pavilions, tropical gardens, and water-laced pathways that gently meander toward its signature overwater villas — still one-of-a-kind in the UAE.

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Popular with both local residents and international travellers, the resort delivers just as much heart as hospitality, welcoming returning guests season after season. It’s a place where children can roam freely, couples can find sunset pockets of privacy, and food lovers can navigate a diverse menu of culinary offerings, from beachside tartare to kangaroo fillets with a bushman's twist. Though its interiors show signs of age, its easygoing personality and imaginative touches make it a reliably upbeat option for a long weekend or full-on beach retreat in Dubai.

In Short: A family-friendly retreat with a playful, unpretentious personality, Anantara’s first Dubai resort delivers plenty of surprise amenities and artful Thai hospitality.

The Location

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The Palm Jumeirah is a marvel of human creativity, but for all its mystic the traffic jams that funnel along its ‘trunk’ mean reaching this retreat, almost at the tip of the east crescent, can be surprisingly time-consuming for holidaymakers arriving from or keen to explore the surrounding city. Best, instead, to treat your time here as a proper stay-put resort holiday. Luckily, there’s enough to do here to keep guests occupied for days, and if you do want to economically explore further afield occasionally, a complimentary shuttle service connects the hotel to Mall of the Emirates, and its adjacent metro station.

The Background

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Anantara’s debut Dubai property when it launched back in 2013, this resort on the easternmost arch of The Palm pays tribute to the brand’s Thai origins with its lush gardens, studded with swaying date palms and pretty bursts of bougainvillea, and terracotta-coloured pagoda-style rooftops. In Dubai, where so many hotels are wedged into stark glass towers, this low-slung retreat feels genuinely different and offers a touch of escapism, though consistently dated, drab design is prevalent throughout and diminishes the sense that this is a truly polished, poised property.

The Guests

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This longstanding resort has built up a very loyal following: occasionally offering excellent deals and operating at near full occupancy even during my summer visit, it draws plenty of repeat custom from guests based throughout the Emirates; with lots on offer for kids, it also feels a failsafe bet for families. While couples will find some quiet corners, this is a lively spot that is more suited to travellers looking for a buzzy beach break rather than honeymooners seeking a sedate, romantic hideaway.

Families are warmly welcomed; this is very much a child-friendly resort. The on-site Tuk Tuk Kids’ Club and Chill Teens’ Club deliver ample activities and distractions, from hula hoop relay races to cupcake decorating to billiards sessions, while every restaurant includes children’s menus and babysitting services can be arranged should parents and guardians want to secure some additional time off.

The Rooms

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It feels fun to stay here. Stairwells adjoined to ground-level lagoon-facing rooms provide immediate access to the water at any time of day (their private terraces are another nice touch though anticipate close-up sightings of the wallowers and swimmers that drift by occasionally).

For more privacy, 15 beach pool villas are seconds from the sand and feature their own pools for out-of-sight swimming. The resort’s star offering, though, is its 18 overwater villas, still, surprisingly, the only ones to be found in this innovative city. The most romantic residences on site, they feature bumper-sized seafront bathtubs, generous decks and glass flooring that occasionally reveals schools of fish swimming underfoot - though the surrounding skyline views provide an unambiguous reminder you’re definitely in Dubai, these abodes still strongly reminded me of previous visits to the Maldives.

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The Dining

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The standout dining destination, Mekong is the resort’s most beautiful restaurant setting. Here cherry-red columns are embellished with glossy paintings of water lilies, brightly coloured lattice wooden screens partition seating, and other decorative elements - brass elephants, silky Thai fabrics - add tactility. Make this your go-to destination for a date-night dinner. Like the river it’s named after, the menu flows through Thailand, Vietnam and China; my Bangkok-born waitress guided me through a broad list of Thai staples that didn’t quite match the fiery flavours you might find in Thailand proper but were consistently tasty.

I was underwhelmed by the unimaginative design at the resort’s other eateries, but putting lacklustre aesthetics to one side their dishes often delivered.

Relaxed, airy and seconds from the sea, The Beach House’s zesty tuna tartare is top-tier; lined with crisp threads of dough, the pistachio kunafa cheesecake was a memorable, moreish blend of crispy and creamy. At Ozzie surf ‘n’ turf specialists Bushman’s you can sidestep the standard beef steaks and seafood dishes to try kangaroo fillet - it’s unexpectedly light, protein-packed, a touch gamey and, as it turned out, delicious. If you visit over a weekend, expect breakfast at Crescendo to be exceptionally busy. Crowds aside, it’s an impressive affair with endless food stations that cover everything from made-to-order crepes to abundant, help-yourself jugs of freshly blitzed juices and smoothies.

Wellness & Spa

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Anantara’s Thai lineage means its spa offering is often a triumph, though this particular resort’s tired facilities compromise the sense that a spa day is truly indulgent. A shame, as the therapist who administered my massage was superb - treatments here are delivered with precision. Still, I was more impressed by other facilities: accessible 24 hours a day, those three irresistible baby-blue lagoons sit between blocks of bedrooms and provide a one-of-a-kind centrepiece for the property.

A separate infinity pool draws couples and families, while guests additionally have access to a 24-hour gym, padel and tennis courts and their own private beach. For some gentle adventure, the resort’s longtail boat can be chartered for private cruises towards the mansions of The Palm and past a leafy private island to deliver a showstopper close-up view of Dubai Marina’s vertiginous skyscrapers, which look truly magnificent from the water.

The Staff

Anantara’s heritage is again evident in the resort’s intuitively delivered hospitality - something you encounter so frequently in Thailand. Even with the property so close to full capacity, the team members I encountered were unfailingly upbeat, keen to please and professional.

Sustainability & Accessibility

Initiatives are in place to continually improve recycling rates and reduce food waste.

A number of lagoon rooms are fully accessible. The entire resort is barrier-free and provides step-free access to key facilities.

How would you describe it to a friend?

Though aesthetes will agree the resort would benefit from a refurbishment or other cosmetic interventions, this remains a warm, welcoming and well-run hideaway.

Anantara The Palm Resort Dubai, East Crescent, The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai
Prices from Dhs750 per night (including breakfast)
Book your stay here
@anantaradubai

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