Arabian Court Deluxe Room

At 50 square metres, this is a generous entry room anywhere and a very generous one in this city, and the plan uses the space properly rather than filling it. The bed sits against a panel of carved white fretwork with pierced screens either side of it; there is a bench across the foot, a proper sitting area rather than a token chair, and desert-toned fabric everywhere — sand, bone, a single note of burnt orange in the glass on the bedside table. The bathroom is marble, with the bath set into a stone surround under a lit arch and twin basins facing it.

The balcony is the reason to be on this floor: 6 square metres behind a dark timber lattice, a table and two chairs, palm crowns at eye level and the Gulf past them. These rooms interconnect, which is how the family grades above are made — but connecting rooms are on request, so ask rather than assume. The room holds 4 guests at most, 3 of whom may be adults.