InterContinental Residences Dubai Business Bay by IHG

We recommend this address to families wanting space without blowing the budget, to expats on long transits, to business travellers who prefer cooking in the evening rather than ordering in. It's also an ideal base for stays of two weeks and more, when the classic hotel becomes stifling. Honeymoon couples will seek more soul elsewhere, here it's functional before romantic.

Contemporary glass-and-concrete residential tower, recently inaugurated on Marasi Drive. The apartments stack over some thirty levels, surfaces between 50 and 120 m² depending on configurations. Neutral interiors: beige marble, white lacquered kitchens, floor-to-ceiling windows. The scale is that of an upscale building, not a palace: sober lobby, wide corridors, fast lifts.

An on-site restaurant handles room service and breakfasts, international menu without pretensions (club sandwiches, pastas, grills). No signature chef or gastronomic table, the idea is to fill in rather than impress. The equipped kitchen in each apartment remains the main draw, with Spinneys and Carrefour supermarkets ten minutes away by car. The district has several Middle Eastern and Asian tables within walking distance.

Business Bay is Dubai's recent business district, between Downtown and DIFC, threaded by a canal lined with towers. The hotel stands on Marasi Drive, south bank, five minutes by car from Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall. Business Bay metro station 800 metres away, international airport 20 minutes off-peak. The district buzzes weekdays, calmer weekends, with a pedestrian promenade along the canal dotted with cafés and restaurants. No nearby beach, reckon 15 minutes to Jumeirah.