Travel Wishlist – Celebs and footballers have been flocking to Dubai, here’s why we should one day too, when restrictions allow

Opulent and unabashedly artificial, the UAE’s shiny city could be a genuinely refreshing post-lockdown break, says Sarah Marshall.

One&Only's The Royal Mirage on Palm Jumeirah island is surrounded by 65 acres of landscaped lawns, woozy palms and a stretch of private beach.

Constructed with an open mind and an equally limitless wallet, anything is possible at any time of year: air-conditioning bites like an Arctic breeze through malls heaving with thousands of designer stores; caretakers skirt sun loungers to comb sand on the beaches of man-made islands; and even rain can be produced on cue through the process of cloud seeding.

For all its opulence, I’ve never cared much for Dubai. But with the slate wiped clean by Covid and fresh perspectives demanded by rapidly diminishing travel options, there’s an impetus to find out what’s on offer. Which is how I’ve ended up in the UAE, one of the last remaining countries granted an air corridor with the UK – although with new lockdowns in place, many of us will now have to wait.

I’m not alone. More than 200,000 overseas visitors descended during and after the Christmas period, according to Gulf News, including a host of reality TV stars, Celtic FC, and another football player Cristiano Ronaldo – who came to collect an award, soak up sunshine and hit the gym with his pal, the Crown Prince.

Dubai is in heady spirits when I arrive. It’s winter, and the temperature is a comfortable 25C, making swimsuits permissible and jackets unnecessary at night. Smiling groups of friends are sipping cappuccinos beneath pastel café awnings, malls are selling a plethora of non-essential items, and women are in salons getting their hair cut.

It feels like a world from a distant memory; a parallel universe far removed from the dystopia I’ve left behind. Of course, it hasn’t been an easy ride for Dubai. Lockdown was fierce: leaving the house, even for exercise or dog walking, was forbidden, and police permits were required for collecting groceries or medical prescriptions. Refusing to wear a mask could result in a penalty of £600.

But strict measures have delivered successful results; and although the virus hasn’t completely disappeared, the 1,590 new cases recorded on January 3 are a blip compared to the rest of us.

Firstly, every traveller must present a negative PCR test to enter the country, although anyone entering the UAE from Britain can do their test on arrival for free. There are no queues, it takes less than 30 seconds, and results are delivered within 24 hours. Emirates, whose sanitised planes create a bubble-safe start to the holiday, have also introduced an industry first multi-risk travel insurance, offering Covid medical cover alongside standard provisions of travel disruption and loss of belongings – included in the airfare price.

Marble and Moorish lanterns in the hammam at One & Only’s palatial Royal Mirage,

Indulgence is Dubai’s forte, but there’s space for slow contemplation too. Surrounded by 65 acres of landscaped lawns, woozy palms and a stretch of private beach, the One & Only’s palatial Royal Mirage is a Garden of Eden in the heart of the high-rise frenzy. Jetsurfers and paddleboarders skim across the water, while bikini bathers relax beneath parasols, as a parade of waiters deliver drinks from the bar. Drinks from a bar, I sigh. It’s the simple pleasures in life we miss most.

That afternoon, I visit the hammam, a cavern of marble surfaces and soft lights dancing from Moorish lanterns. As the therapist sloughs away several centimetres of dead skin, I can feel the last nine months of lockdown stress and worry peel away.

Dressing up for dinner at the waterside 101 Dining Room that evening feels like a treat, even if I’m dining alone and the only person I’m setting out to impress is me. But even in ordinary times, Chef Yannick Alleno’s menu is outstanding: a full steamed artichoke comes with every juicy leaf intact, and the tuna is so tender I wonder if I’ve eaten my way up to those seraphic clouds.

On the boat ride back, I marvel at the many cranes suspended in mid-action. Although temporarily halted by Covid, there’s a building boom in the already busy city, as an appetite for more residential and hotel spaces grows. The Royal Mirage was fully booked for the Christmas period, I’m told, with some guests begging to extend stays as news of new lockdowns emerged.

The Atlantis, a salmon-pink Arabian archway at the tip of the crescent forming artificial archipelago Palm Jumeirah, has 1,539 guest rooms.

At the Atlantis, The Palm, a salmon-pink Arabian archway at the tip of the crescent forming artificial archipelago Palm Jumeirah, there are faster and drier ways to lose weight. A three-minute cryotherapy session at the Shuiqi Spa (around £70) promises to burn up to 800 calories simply by standing in a chamber filled with liquid nitrogen and cold air. It’s a good counterbalance for the volume of restaurants on offer, where buffets overflow with oysters, roast meats and a chocolate fountain towering higher than the Burj Khalifa.

Options. We don’t have many of those back home, either.

The challenges of keeping a hotel of 1,539 guest rooms Covid-free are high: attendants wipe lift buttons after every entry and exit, and all glass surfaces of the on-site aquarium (this is the lost sunken city, after all) are scrupulously cleaned. But it creates a sense of reassurance without dampening playful spirits in any way.

One morning, I wake to watch the sun rise from my high-rise room, its rays ricocheting across a ridgeline of steel and concrete.

In Dubai, increasingly reliant on tourism, cranes are temporarily suspended in mid-action by Covid.

Dubai is glowing with optimism; good moods are infectious and spreading at a rate that’s pleasingly high. As dawns go, it’s surprisingly beautiful and uplifting; because in that golden orb lies a promise of brighter days ahead.

FACTFILE

13 January 2021 FCDO advice: The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the whole of the United Arab Emirates based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks. If you are returning to Scotland from Dubai and the remainder of the UAE on or after 4am on 12 January, you will need to self-isolate on your return. Check the latest guidance for Scotland.

Abercrombie & Kent (abercrombiekent.co.uk; 01242 547 760) offers six-nights in Dubai from £3,350pp including three nights at One&Only The Palm and three nights at Atlantis, The Palm. Includes flights with Emirates, private transfers, and accommodation on a B&B basis for two people sharing. Includes £50pp contribution towards a Covid test and comes under A&K’s flexible booking policy.

Emirates (emirates.com) offers return flights to Dubai from London Heathrow in economy from £359 and £1,599 in business. Departures also available from Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. Book by January 18 for travel before June 15, 2021.

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Skyscrapers fill the Dubai skyline.

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