Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa, Dubai City, United Arab Emirates

Dubai has been in need of a place like Al Maha, a boutique hotel that counters the fast-paced, growing city. It has set itself up to be the perfect place to escape the excesses of everyday life. Al Maha has been open since 1999 and owns 5 per cent of Dubai. Combining sustainable tourism with conservation, one of the main goals of Al Maha was to reintroduce the Arabian Oryx to the area, and to protect and educate about the delicate eco-system in the desert.

The facilities

Guests are greeted at the boutique hotel by their guest relations officer, and field guide who will look after you for your stay. Checking in turns into a chat about activities over fresh juice before you’re transported in a golf buggy to your suite.

There is one restaurant at the boutique hotel, presided over by a talented Sri Lanka chef who dreams up a new and delicious menu every day. When the weather is good, which is most of the year, dinner is served on the terrace overlooking the desert, and although there is not much to see at night, there is a watering hole about a kilometre away from the building which is lit up at night so you can see the animals coming to drink. Shisha is served after dinner, or you can wander into the boutique hotel’s bar which, oddly enough, has a colonial feel to it. Perhaps it's the camaraderie amongst the guests who have seen each other throughout the day or might have been on a horse-ride together that morning.

The activities alone are worth a trip to Al Maha boutique hotel. Horse or camel riding, falconry, dune driving and nature walks are all led by very informative and enthusiastic field guides. A guide may drive you out into the desert and leave you on a dune with a picnic and some champagne to watch the sunset.

There are two or more activities every day to keep you busy. The boutique hotel’s staff is very friendly and guests will be made to feel so at home that they’ll never want to leave. It is a place to appreciate tranquility, eat well, watch animals and go to bed early in preparation for a horse ride at sunrise.

The suites

Each of the boutique hotel’s 30 suites, which are canopied in imitation of Bedouin tents, stand independently of each other and are built in such a way that you see very little of the other buildings. The decoration is a mixture of traditional Bedouin and European luxury. Four sets of French windows open out onto a decked patio and a private plunge pool so that from your bed there is an almost 180-degree view of the desert.

The boutique hotel recommends that you keep these windows closed at night because of the animals that come to drink from the pool (sure enough there were fresh tracks around the pool in the morning). All the details of the suite come together to encourage relaxation. Two chaise lounges in the sitting area positioned perfectly to allow you to contemplate the desert; a sketchbook and oils are propped up on an easel just in case you feel the need to express this serenity in paint, and a pair of binoculars on the writing desk adds the Indiana Jones touch.