Words by Rubina A Khan
The Kempinski Mall of the Emirates hotel in Dubai is where modern Arabian luxury can be seen, felt and experienced, within the glimmer and glamour of its cultural and design magnificence.
Situated on Sheikh Zayed Road, right between Downtown Dubai and the Dubai Marina, the hotel stands 17 stories tall, bridging the Dubai desert of yore to the landscaped Dubai of today with contemporary ease. The hotel arches and curves as much as it squares and rectangles in architectural consonance under the bright Arabian sun. A fresh and heady scent adds to the allure of this hip and youthful 18-year-old that opened in April 2006 as the first Kempinski in Dubai.
Hotel
Attached to the Mall of the Emirates, you can chase the sun and the snow, glamour and gourmet, fashion and fun, all at the touch of a lift button, without stepping outside the premises. The very convenience of having everything seconds away from your hotel room, with impeccable service teams, sans traffic snarls, is irresistibly seductive. Imagine wanting to buy something on impulse, or going skiing in the morning – you can within minutes at the mall and at Ski Dubai.
The Kempinski makes for a great destination hotel for lovers and newly-weds, with all the excitement of a coupled holiday right in, and by, the hotel – shopping, eating, partying and the spa, making you never want to leave. Just as easily, it is a fabulous place for families and celebrations with innumerable activities for kids and parents right under one roof. And after work partying and shopping doesn’t get any cooler for a business traveller staying here given the mall and bars are open past midnight. The electric Tesla airport pick up and drop off service is in keeping with the green keep of the environment and a conscious addition to the car choices on offer, given Dubai’s love affair with gas run supercars.
Watch a film in the hotel’s private 15-seater cinema, Vox Kempinski on the third floor. You could even propose to a loved one in the midst of a scene unfolding on screen at Vox Kempinski, or just watch the latest Hollywood or Bollywood release with your friends and loved ones.
Room
The Kempinski’s 375 rooms and suites with skyline and pool views, and 20 Aspen Chalets overlooking the indoor ski slopes of Ski Dubai, are decadently designed, with sophisticated natural tones set off by gold and wood accents. If Dubai was a colour, it’d be gold! The Aspen Chalets are spectacular, particularly the duplex chalet, replete with faux stone fireplaces, acorns and hot delicious cocoa with toasted marshmallows, making for a dreamy wintry retreat all year round.
Some of the rooms on higher floors have sweeping views of the Burj Al Arab, an architectural landmark of the city, only eclipsed by the Burj Khalifa in recent years. The Aspen Chalets come with Hermès bath amenities and the rooms and suites with Salvatore Ferragamo amenities, making every morning luxuriously indulgent. And, there is no dearth of mirrors and gleaming surfaces, especially the dresser, to get your makeup, hair and fashion game on.
Food and drink
The hotel has six restaurants, my favourite being Olea, a Levantine restaurant that celebrates the flavours of six nations – Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Southern Turkey, Lebanon and Cyprus. Every dish on Olea’s menu is culinary perfection in itself. You will fall in love with the distinct flavours of the Jordanian Mansaf Bil Lahmeh (turmeric rice with a leg of lamb) and Kebdet Dajaj (chicken liver in pomegranate molasses) with fresh and hot pita bread fresh off a stone oven.
Olea’s breakfast is unparalleled in the city and it is the most delicious way to start your day. Afternoons are for shisha and chill al fresco, with a complementary Kunafa – a spun, sweet Middle Eastern pastry. Olea also serves up a 1.5-metre kebab made from a mixed meat mince hot off their grill that is perfect for a family table. During Ramadan, Olea serves sumptuous delicacies for Iftar and Suhoor, throughout the month of fasting.
Aspen is an all-day European café in the hotel’s lobby, with an afternoon tea service that is one of the most popular culinary to-dos in Dubai. It is also the best spot for people-watching as you see the world converging in Dubai, enjoying your Parisian Express breakfast. Salero, a Spanish tapas and bodega, serves up traditional food-sharing platters alongside live Flamenco on the weekends, with a Tapas Happy Hour every day from 4pm to 7pm.
Mosaic, on the hotel’s beautiful wrap-around terrace on the second floor, is for pizzas and pastas, mini hot dogs and beef burgers, and shisha by the pool under the sun or starry Arabian night skies.
Eugène Eugène, a modern French brasserie with a greenhouse, market hall feel, serves French cuisine in the hotel. Xu with its lanterns, red walls and mirrored ceilings, serves Cantonese-inspired cuisine and imaginative Southeast Asian flavours. The foie gras bao with roasted Peking duck is decadent, as is the cherry wood Peking duck.
The Hungry Ghost cocktail at Xu made with Baijiu, a colourless grain spirit that is traditionally made from sorghum for over 5000 years in China, is delightful. Baijiu is the national drink of China and it is to China what sake is to Japan and soju is to Korea. It is also the most consumed spirit in the world. With all the world cuisines on offer at all the exceptional restaurants at the Kempinski, you’d be forgiven for not trying out the mall cafés and eateries, or leaving the hotel, ever.
Spa and wellness
The Sensasia Stories Spa here is phenomenal and every experience is as relaxing and healing as it is memorable. The cold globule face session called ‘The Coolest Balls Ever’ after a Balinese massage with Sujitta is a must as soon as you get off the plane – it doesn’t just make you feel good; it makes you look fabulous! However tricky your schedule, managers Fatima and Haleem will manage to score you an appointment.
To do
Anything you can think of or even remotely imagine is available at the Mall of the Emirates to experience, be it food, fashion, adventure, beauty, films or skiing. MOE has some of the best restaurants and cafés offering world cuisines in Dubai from a Hardees to Paul to Cipriani Dolci – it has it all. Ralph’s Café by Ralph Lauren is soon to open in the mall, right by the POLO Ralph Lauren store, making it the American brand’s first in Dubai.
From high street to luxury, shopping at MOE is the best way to get in your health steps and cardio for the day – it is definitely more glamorous and exciting than a treadmill with the world’s most beautiful view trying to lure you on it.
What’s a winter without schussing and skiing on fresh powder? Ski Dubai brings the powdery slopes to you, all year round in the desert of Dubai. Situated on the ground level of the mall, encompassing 22,500 square feet, Ski Dubai is an indoor skiing experience like no other, conceptualised and created to simulate the feeling of skiing outdoors within its freezing confines for everyone. There’s a frozen zip line, chairlifts, a bobsled and, of course, a skiing hill to roll off from. And, a colony of king and Gentoo penguins too. Ski Dubai is the coolest place to be as it is always -4°C, making you forget you are in the desert of Arabia. You can even make snowmen while the sun shines outside!
Downtown Dubai is where the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa rises into the skies. The Dubai fountain puts on a marvellous show each evening from 6pm that you can watch from the waterfront promenade under the Burj. And if you are lucky, you might just spot Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on a traditional abra (the oldest form of public transport in Dubai) waving out to you, promoting his next film. The souks and the glittering promenade make for a great walk-about and the restaurants are beyond fantastic given it is rare to have an unpleasant dining experience in Dubai, such is the reputation of this dazzling city.
Factbox
Rooms can be booked from £330 pppn onwards and Aspen Chalets from £450 onwards.
Address: Mall of The Emirates – Sheikh Zayed Rd, Al Barsha, Al Barsha 1, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Phone: +971 4 341 0000
Email: reservations.malloftheemirates@kempinski.com
Website: kempinski.com/en/mall-of-the-emirates
