Why book?
From the moment I check into my room and look out at the pool and beach stretching below, everything at Banyan Tree Dubai feels polished and carefully considered. Downstairs, there's a sparkling pale pool ringed by contrasting striped orange and white umbrellas, the perfect surroundings for contemplating a lazy pool and beach day, an interlude at the spa, and an evening of fine dining at any of the bars and restaurants in the hotel or along its beach strip. Alternatively, if you're feeling more energetic, you can walk across the pedestrian footbridge to explore Jumeirah Beach Residences' Marina Beach or venture further afield to explore Dubai's attractions.
Set the scene
I arrive at Banyan Tree Dubai in time for Sunday brunch and, in many ways, my table at Alizée, the hotel's main restaurant with a French Riviera theme, is the perfect vantage point for taking in the atmosphere. Tables are busy with smartly dressed couples and families as we sit down to a feast of oysters, grilled sea bass fillet, seared Australian beef tenderloin, and braised corn-fed chicken Basquaise, served with perfectly grilled vegetables and confit rosemary potatoes, followed by a selection of bite-sized sweet treats from a buffet selection. Alizée's outdoor terrace is shaded with a woven canopy and umbrellas, but it's the resort's mature gardens that provide a welcome feeling of tranquility; I feel like I'm relaxing in an idyllic, well-tended tropical garden, rather than a made-to-measure development in ultra-modern Dubai. I have the same feeling as I sit by the pool sipping chilled coconut water, or in the evening watching one of the waiters at Demon Duck conscientiously slice a whole Peking duck into mouthwatering pieces, or on the rooftop outside Tocha watching the sun set very prettily: everything feels stress-free and “just so.”
The backstory
Banyan Tree Dubai opened in November 2023, in what used to be Caesar's Palace Dubai, after a partnership agreement between the investment company, Dubai Holding, and hospitality groups Ennismore and Banyan Group. Headquartered in Singapore, Banyan Group has a portfolio of 12 hotel brands, and more than 80 hotels and resorts in over 20 countries, with Banyan Tree being its flagship marque. The five-star Dubai property is one of only three Middle Eastern Banyan Tree properties, the others being in the Qatari capital, Doha, and Saudi Arabia's AlUla.
The neighborhood
The star of Bluewaters Island has long been the 250 meter-high Ain Dubai, the world's tallest observation wheel, which finally began turning again in December 2024 after a two-year hiatus. The attraction looms over a busy development of apartments, shops, cafes and restaurants on the “island,” which is actually a small peninsula bookending one end of Jumeirah Beach Residences, to which you can easily cross via a pedestrian bridge. A short walk around Bluewaters will take you past Madame Tussauds Dubai, with views either out to sea, towards The Palm or back towards Dubai's high rises. Banyan Tree Dubai sits at the top of Bluewaters, making the most of unobstructed sea views. A short walk away is the hotel's sister property, Delano Dubai, where four more drinking and dining options by local hospitality group Rikas sit along a beachfront path that snakes between the two hotels.
The rooms
There are 7 room categories, from a 54 square-meter guest room with a sea, boulevard, or garden view, to the 315-square meter Harmony three-bedroom Oceanfront Royal Suite; the latter is dwarfed by the standalone 4,465-square meter seafront Banyan Tree Villa with 10 bedrooms, a private pool, its own beach, and a cozy private cinema with nest-like floor cushions. I settle in to a Harmony Ocean View Master Suite with an adjoining Serenity Oceanview guest room, a set up known as a family suite that provides both privacy for sleeping and communal spaces for getting together. In keeping with Banyan Tree's Asian roots, my room has a pared back style, with dark woods, recessed ceiling lighting, and grooved furniture and rugs reminiscent of the patterns of Japanese Karesansui gardens. Slatted wooden panels decorate back boards and room dividers, and dark drapes provide a contrast with the creams and taupe of the armchairs, sofas, and daybeds. At every turndown, I'm left a different incense stick to burn, a deft touch adding to my sense of Zen-like calm.
Food and drink
In addition to the excellent French restaurant Alizée, and outdoors Alizee Pool and Beach, which serves lighter bites, sushi, burgers, and sundowners, the hotel pays homage to a Japanese teahouse in the hotel lobby at Tocha, where you can choose from a selection of bento boxes, ramen, sandos, and matcha-infused pastries, alongside western fare for breakfast, à la carte lunch and afternoon tea. Tocha's first-floor terrace, with views over the treetops and out to sea, is a wonderful spot for shisha from 3 p.m. until midnight. If you book a table at TakaHisa, one of Condé Nast Traveller Middle East's best restaurants in Dubai, which sources seafood and beef directly from Japan, opt to sit at the counter to watch the chefs at work.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Demon Duck by celebrity chef Alvin Leung offers a different kind of theatre: past a giant golden-beaked duck with horns and red eyes, sit either indoors in a dramatic blue-lit interior with contrasting black furniture, or outside under tree boughs strung with lights, and enjoy imaginatively presented dim sum and creative takes on classic Chinese dishes. A favorite: duck kibbeh created with the Orfali Brothers for the Dubai food festival.
Beyond the confines of the hotel's garden, a path threads its way behind the sandy beach connecting Banyan Tree Dubai with the Delano Dubai; in between you can take your pick from Turkish-Mediterranean restaurant Blue Door; beach club, La Cantine Beach; Japanese robata restaurant Gohan; Rose Bar for cocktails; Italian at Tutto Passa; and Maison Revka for a Slavic slant on French food.
The spa
My morning at Banyan Tree Dubai Spa begins with an hour-long session in the Rainforest Suite, a private suite of wet rooms that's so extravagantly spacious I'd usually expect to share it with other spa guests. I'm invited to use the suite's changing facilities before I'm left to my own devices to explore the rain walk, which alternately drenches and mists me with cold water from a series of ceiling and wall spa jets, before I opt to warm up in the bubbling hydrotherapy pools, and stretch out solo in the sauna and steam rooms. By the time I've relaxed on a heated lounger and used the natural body scrub left to exfoliate my heated skin, the hour has passed all too quickly and I haven't even tried the bucket shower.
My spa therapist leads the way down softly lit corridors to one of seven treatment rooms for my full-body, 60-minute massage and a 30-minute express facial, using my choice of scrub, mask, or massage to brighten my skin. It's immediately obvious that my therapist has skilled hands, using just the right amount of pressure to knead and subdue the knots in my upper back, neck and shoulders. She also advises me to stretch for 20 minutes every day to release any tension from sitting at a desk every day. The spa menu includes 30- and 45-minute massages focused on a single problem area, as well as a wide range of body massages, facials, scrubs, and traditional Asian therapies in addition to longer wellness experiences, including for couples.
The service
It's no surprise that service levels are excellent: staff are knowledgable, efficient, and willing to share helpful ideas and opinions; restaurant service is prompt and discreet.
For families
In addition to family suites, there is a kids club for children aged from 3 to 12 years, open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily; younger children must be accompanied by an adult. Complimentary cots and sofa beds for children up to six years old are available in standard rooms and suites.
Eco-effort
From wooden key cards, biodegradable bathroom amenities, recyclable coffee balls, and pencils with a seed in the top you're encouraged to plant, plus eliminating single-use plastic bottles, the hotel has earned a Green Key Certificate, awarded by the global, not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, Foundation for Environmental Education.
Accessibility
Public spaces are served by lifts and ramps, and there are a number of accessible rooms. Contact the hotel for more information.
Bluewaters Island, Dubai, Dubai
United Arab Emirates
https://www.banyantree.com/united-arab-emirates/dubai
+971 4 556 6666