One&Only The Palm

You come in off Al Ittihad Park and down the trunk of the Palm, past the monorail, then right onto the West Crescent, and you keep going until the road runs out. The last gate is this one. Behind it is not a tower and not a wing of anything: a forecourt under a carved porte-cochère with a pierced brass lantern hanging in it, a pale Moorish façade with 3 horseshoe arches, and then a village — 2 and 3 storeys of terracotta roof, sandstone arcade and clipped hedge, laid out along a private beach with date palms closing over the paths. The whole island went up and this corner of it went along. From the water it reads as a small Andalusian town that happens to be in the Gulf, which is what the architects were after. A private marina sits at one end and it is the other way in: boat owners who come to dine berth free, and guests who would rather not do the drive arrive by water. Dubai International is 45 minutes away, Abu Dhabi about 70.

There are 2 buildings here, and the one you take decides the holiday. The Palm Beach Mansions are the low houses along the sand: ground-floor rooms whose arched doors open straight onto a paved patio, a hedge and then the water, upper rooms with balconies over the same view, and the suites among them with private pools cut into their own terraces. The Manor House is the building in the middle, the one with the long arcaded front and the loggias on 2 floors, and it looks the other way — over the gardens, over the grand pool with the turquoise pattern laid into its floor, with the sea in the gaps between the palms. The rooms themselves share a language: a padded headboard with a palm leaf worked into it, pierced lattice screens either side of the bed, a bench at the foot, a proper sofa and not a token chair, marble and a freestanding tub in the bathroom, and everything in sand, bone and unbleached linen. At 6 the light comes in low and orange through the arches and the whole place goes the colour of the roof tiles; the lanterns come on under the arcades; and across the water the towers of the Marina turn into a lit skyline that has nothing to do with you.

The service here is quiet, and that is the point of the address. Every room has a dedicated host — the person who books the table, arranges the car, and knows on day two how you take your coffee — rather than a desk you queue at. The rate covers a great deal beyond the room: breakfast at ZEST, the pools, the beach and the gardens, the fitness centre and the tennis court, the daily activities programme, the KidsOnly club, and daily access to the waterpark down the road, with transfers arranged on request. Beyond the gate the desert is arranged properly: a private safari by vintage Land Rover or camel with falconry at sunset and an Emirati dinner after it, an Arabian horse ride through the dunes, Old Dubai and the creek in a classic car, a helicopter over the city. On the water there are Champagne cruises, fishing, diving and paddleboard yoga off the beach. The practical things are stated up front. Wi-fi is free at 512kbps on up to 2 devices, in the room and around most of the outdoor pools; the high-speed tier for streaming, on up to 4 devices, is charged by the day or the week.