Hyatt Regency Dubai

The Hyatt Regency Dubai stands on Corniche Deira, the older waterfront district that faces the Arabian Gulf and looks across to the Dubai Islands. It is a large, full-service hotel where most things you need are on-site rather than a taxi ride away.

Rooms and suites are air-conditioned, with Wi-Fi, minibar, tea and coffee facilities, and private bathrooms. Suites add a separate living room and dining area. Several restaurants cover a broad range of cooking — Gulf and broader Middle Eastern dishes alongside Asian, Japanese, Greek, and Western options — and the bars serve cocktails.

Among the facilities, the indoor ice rink is the detail worth flagging: a full rink inside a hotel on the Gulf coast is not something you find at every property. Beyond it: a swimming pool with generous outdoor seating, a spa, a fitness centre, parking, a lobby lounge, and a full suite of meeting and event rooms.

The hotel sits on the Deira side of the city, which is the older, denser half of Dubai. From here you can reach the Al Fahidi quarter with its wind-tower houses, the city's main history museum, and the Alserkal Avenue arts district. Deira is also where Dubai's main airport sits, which keeps the arrival transfer short.