Who's Going
Business Elite, Milan Fashion Crowd, Advertising Execs
Reason to Stay
Downtown Location, Fashion Crowd, Hip Nightclub
Hotel Type
Luxury Design Hotel
Armani Hotels and Resorts debuted its first hotel installment earlier this year in Dubai with partner Emaar Properties that will eventually include outposts in Milan and Bali. Standing-out from the numerous resorts by resort brands like One & Only and Ritz Carlton located on the water, Armani Hotel Dubai is located in Burj Khalifa (currently the world's tallest building) from the 5th to 8th floors and 38th to 39th floors. The lobby is the antithesis of Dubai hospitality that's use to heavy gilding and ornamental themes. A soothing space of dark leathers, veiny stone floors and muted furnishings enfolds designed by Armani's own Armani Casa line. Virtually everything in the hotel is affiliated with Armani company in some way, from the bed linens in the rooms to the olive oil in the restaurant to the moisturizer in the Armani/Spa.
The social epicenter of downtown Dubai, the Armani Hotel is free of some of the brash and touristy characteristics of many popular mega-hotels and yet classic enough in design not to look like it will need a design overhaul in just a few years. Dapper Dubai and Western business elite strut their own Armani suits into a treasure trove of eight restaurants. An outpost of Milan's 125-year old Peck Deli offers hard to come by counter-style deli cuisine while Armani Ristorante brings fanciful Italian faire to a stunning dining room cast in personalized bone china and zen-inspired seating areas. For something more fun, Hashi is a Japanese sushi-cum-DJ club overlooking the exploding Dubai fountain and water show that could humble any on the Vegas Strip. Afterward, Armani even brands his fist nightclub concept with Armani Prive that gives the ever-hot Cavalli Club in town some dressy competition in what is surely the poshest new hotel scene in the Middle East.
The Room
The antithesis of most typical Dubai mega-resorts, Armani Hotel Dubai is an ideal business hotel sanctuary that combines fashionable, minimalist Italian design within a muted zen-like eastern aesthetic. Long hallways adorned with slatted wood details and bold white room numbers are topped off with bold light that duplicated natural sunshine from the ceiling. Wood paneled guest rooms illuminated by views of the burgeoning Dubai downtown are adorned with signature Armani Casa furnishings with liquid metal finish. Bathrooms are clad in green bamboo marble with separate shower and soaking tubs overflowing with signature Armani toiletries. The smallest rooms aren’t so small, measuring in at just over 700-square feet and full residences a staggering 3,000 square feet with views of the Dubai fountain and city skyline.
Preferred Room
Armani Classic
Special Features
Designer Hotel Downtown Location, Armani Boutique
Amenities
Spa, Lounge, Bar, Nightclub, Restaurant, Residences
