Elite Traveler Summer 2022

etr li at ve eler SUMMER 2022 129

From top The outdoor pool; Cinq Mondes spa; the grand foyer

doom, more a spacious suite overlooking the swimming pool and gardens. The hotel also has two room and duplex suites, royal and presidential suites, and eight villas. DINE There are plenty of choices, from the ground- fl oor Le Jardin dining room that serves a great breakfast as well as a daily bu ff et lunch and dinner, catering to all tastes. My favorite was the beachside Italian, Piatti, which in a gracious and informal setting serves tasty choices for the whole family, including thin-crust pizzas, seafood specials and delicious pasta dishes. The signature starter of crunchy cold green beans, olives, avocado, cherry tomatoes and warm Mazara prawns is excellent. The wine list is good and unpretentious. We also enjoyed Matagi, a Japanese Asian fusion restaurant that is dimly lit, has a bustling open kitchen and serves terri fi c black cod. The cocktails are exciting and the sta ff energetic, and our waiter, a young Ugandan named Frank Mudebi, was especially charming. There is also a cigar bar and jazz lounge for louche late-night entertainment. RELAX The hotel has a 1,640-ft private beach, and there are organized activities for children, including badminton and crazy golf. The extensive spa has 23 treatment rooms, and the Cinq Mondes menu provides facials, body massages, hammams and detox sessions. It has a 72-ft indoor pool and a fi rst-rate gym — no excuses for not exercising, then. Aperitivos can be enjoyed at the Ra ffl es Club, with its magni fi cent sea or Palm views, and afternoon tea at Blüthner Hall lobby lounge, with its custom-made Blüthner Louis XIV grand piano, is not to be missed. The scones are exquisitely baked, as one would expect. This is Ra ffl es, after all. EXPLORE The hotel organizes city tours as well as desert expeditions for the more restless tourists. The gold souks are an hour’s drive away. Dubai is a city of multi-lane freeways and very few places to walk, but there is a promenade outside Ra ffl es, and you can stroll for miles along it, as we did, while looking out to sea and marveling at the sheer improbability and audacity of what is happening here in this land of plenty, before the oil runs out. By Ed Winter From $455 per night. Contact Robin Alex, reservations supervisor, dubai@ra ffl es.com, +971 431 497 77, ra ffl es.com