Umm Ramool Rd, Dubai Festival City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | (888) 616-5829
Overlooking Dubai
Creek, a 10-minute drive from airport
Creek views from
most rooms and common areas
Long, heated
swimming pool
Fresh,
contemporary rooms with free-standing tubs
Michelin-starred
dining and deluxe champagne bar
Luxurious spa
with saunas and steam baths
Nearby
construction noisy and disruptive
Removed from beaches and main tourist attractions
The InterContinental
Dubai Festival City is a high-end, luxury chain hotel that's impressive in scale,
sophistication, and facilities. The location overlooking Dubai Creek with
direct access to Festival City will be ideal for some, but tourists wanting to be near the beach and the main attractions might find it inconvenient. However, Michelin-starred
dining, a luxurious spa, and chic, spacious rooms makes this hotel a strong
contender for anyone looking for a seriously upscale stay near the airport.
Disclaimer: This content was accurate at the time the hotel was reviewed. Please check our partner sites when booking to verify that details are still correct.
Scene
Imposing scale and chic refinement in distinctive, sailboat-inspired architecture
With modern architecture inspired by a sailboat, the enormous InterContinental Dubai
Festival City is striking in both scale and design. The cavernous lobby is
no less impressive, with huge polished-stone pillars and sleek marble reception desks. The ambience is
high-end and adult, though with enough chic touches -- vibrant modern artwork,
contemporary-style chandeliers, and undulating wood-slate corridors -- to keep it from feeling stuffy or overly formal. That said, the hotel's refined and serene
atmosphere isn't suitable for families with young noisy kids, and most guests here are either wealthy tourists or business travelers with hefty expense
accounts.
Location
Part of the Festival City complex overlooking Dubai Creek, near the airport
The hotel is part
of Dubai's Festival City complex, which consists of retail, office, and leisure
facilities positioned on the eastern shore of Dubai Creek. The
Intercontinental sits adjacent to its sister hotel -- the Crowne Plaza -- and
next to a large shopping center that is currently undergoing expansion (which comes with inevitable noise and disruption). There's not much within walking distance aside from an adjacent mall, and while the airport is only 10 minutes away by car, the hotel is removed from
most of Dubai's main tourist attractions.
Rooms
First-class amenities and large windows, some with creek views, others overlooking construction
The
InterContinental has over 500 rooms -- including over 120 suites -- all of
which are pleasantly decorated with fresh and contemporary, yet homey and
welcoming, interiors. Standard amenities include free and fast Wi-Fi, iPod docks, and large flat-screen TVs
with satellite channels, DVD players, and pay-per-view movies. Bathrooms all include
free-standing tubs -- some with city views -- in separate wet rooms with fixed
and moveable showers and high-end toiletries. Large windows also provide plenty
of natural light and some have views over Dubai Creek -- though others look straight
over a construction site expanding the mall next door.
Features
Michelin-starred dining and outstanding pool and spa facilities
The health and
fitness facilities are particularly good at the InterContinental, the highlight
of which is a temperature-controlled swimming pool with an overhanging glass floor section and views over the creek. The luxurious spa is
also impressive -- with saunas, steam baths, and great views from its 10
treatment rooms -- while the gym features a good variety of modern fitness equipment. Dining
is also a real draw, and the hotel has four restaurants, including the Michelin-starred
Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire. The Eclipse Champagne bar offers an opulent experience, with dizzyingly high views in a sophisticated -- and
suitably-expensive -- setting.
