When you walk into a hotel and are met at every turn with gold period moulding, fluted floor-to-ceiling marble columns, vast hand-woven rugs and more Swarovski crystal chandeliers than you can count, it’s testament to a hotel wanting to welcome guests with a bang. And, in the case of the recently-opened Raffles The Palm Dubai, what a bang it is. With less than five months of opening under its belt, the sprawling hotel on Palm Jumeirah’s West Crescent has raised the stakes for five-star hospitality in the city, a heavyweight in all-out grandiosity. It’s not something to be shy of either, when done well and with purpose. Ambitious opulence that feels convincing rather than gaudy.
To put that in numbers, there are in fact over 6,000 Swarovski crystal chandeliers throughout the hotel - the first aforementioned found in the hotel reception, made of 24-carat gold with 40,000 crystals, and the second dangling delicately from the equally ornate ceiling of Blüthner Hall - the hall itself steals its name from the Blüthner Louis XIV Grand Piano created especially for the space. Both ceilings are spectacular works of art and set a precedent to look up... There’s always something to see and it’s worth the neck strain.
Throughout the hotel, there are over 70,000 pieces of hand-made furniture from the traditional ateliers of Francesco Molon, and in the rooms and suites finishing touches using real gold and silver leaf, with specialist stonemasons shaping imported Portuguese marble. Indeed, so lavish are the pieces created and made from such precious materials, that the furniture collection is tended to by a highly trained in-house ‘Furniture Master’, who works around the clock to ensure every detail is perfect, polished and shining at all times. Absolutely no corners cut here.
When you’ve managed to move on from admiring the lobby, the palatial property houses 389 luxuriously designed rooms, suites and villas – the latter set apart from the hotel to ensure elevated peace and exclusivity – six restaurants and bars, several pools, a 500-metre private beach and the award-winning Parisian Cinq Mondes Spa.
The latter has 23 treatment rooms, as well as two private spa suites and an indoor pool. The private cinema is also well-worth a mention, as is the Kids Club, both of which come in useful for entertaining little people throughout the weekend, and which, I have on good authority (from my five year old) are excellent.
Whilst the hotel is definitely classical in its design, its service approach speaks a more contemporary language. Fans of the Raffles brand will already know and appreciate the excellence of Raffles’ private butler service – having first introduced the world to private butlers back in 1887. That enduring dedication to discreet, gracious yet intuitive service is something that really exemplifies a Raffles property even now.
The rooms are as equally lavish as the suites, starting at the 667-square-foot Premier Palm room to the 807-square-foot Raffles Club Palm. The suites start at the 2,185-square-foot Raffles Terrace suite, with its beautiful terrace overlooking the gardens and Arabian Gulf, to the Duplex suite perfect for couples, all the way up to the 3,552-square-foot Raffles Presidential Suite and the even more vast Raffles Royal Suite, which, at 10,226 square feet, has three bedrooms, a huge dining room and whirlpool on the extensive private balcony.
The hotel’s collection of private villas provide something a little more homely, and each regal in its own right. The Raffles Royal Villas and Raffles Imperial Villas nestle against the shoreline, each with four bedrooms, easy access to the beach, pools and gardens, high ceilings, a built-in spa with hammam, private swimming pool, a private garage and entrance away from the hotel, maid’s room, driver’s room and, of course, a private butler on hand for, well, whatever you wish.
To be honest, it doesn’t really matter where you lay your head here, as the same lavish experience and service awaits; one crafted by Francesco Molon and other European masters of interior design, and the other served by a team of highly dedicated and well-informed staff.
The restaurant scene at Raffles The Palm Dubai also bridges the gap between tradition and modernity, with breakfast served in the incredibly lavish surrounds of Le Jardin, which overlooks the hotel’s gardens, and quintessential afternoon tea served amidst the majesty of Blüthner Hall.
Then, the contemporary side of the hotel experience kicks in, with Matagi, a fusion kitchen that brings together Japanese and Italian food, a cuisine known as Itameshi; and soulful bites and beats at Sola Jazz Lounge, which hosts world-renowned artists five days a week.
The newest addition is Piatti, a beautiful beach restaurant inspired by the Amalfi Coast, run by charismatic Turkish and Italian culinary director, Batuhan Piatti. If you stay in a Suite, you’ll also be granted access to the private Raffles Club Lounge on the sixth floor. Hotel Club Lounges can often fall foul to creating a rather stuffy, overly formal atmosphere, but not here. The lounge is elegant, airy, modern and flooded with light. You can take breakfast or lunch here, slope off for an afternoon of cocktails and sundowners, or retreat for a more intimate dinner, with live music to set the mood.
This hotel really does do what it says on the tin by offering a traditional, grand and gracious stay somewhere remarkable, yet with all the trappings of the modern world we all want and need.
HOTEL:
WHAT: Royal Club Ocean Room
WHERE: Raffles The Palm Dubai, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai
TEL: +971 4 248 888