Jumeirah Lakes Towers Holidays 2024/2025
One of the newer parts of Dubai, Jumeirah Lakes Towers has a young feel, complete with art installations, flea markets, a sprawling park and hundreds of restaurants. You’re also close to Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach.
Jumeirah Lakes Towers Holiday Deals
A modern and arty, yet homely, slice of Dubai
Known affectionately by the locals as JLT, Jumeirah Lakes Towers makes up part of ‘New Dubai’. This is the area between Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Residence and Discovery Gardens that’s been constructed over the last 15 years. It’s a modern and trendy area, complete with Dubai‘s largest piece of street art by Spanish-born graffiti artist Ruben Sanchez.
JLT was designed as a set of 80 towers, sitting in groups of three around the 66-storey high centrepiece, Almas Tower. They’ve been built along the edge of three scenic, artificial lakes, with a fourth lake that’s been drained to make way for a huge park complete with lots of recreational facilities.
You’ll stay in one of four hotel towers on your Jumeirah Lakes Towers holiday, with views over the marina, Jumeirah Beach, The Palm Jumeirah Islands and across the Persian Gulf. The remainder of the area is made up of residential buildings and office blocks, which gives a welcoming community feel to JLT, including lots of facilities like gyms and swimming pools. There’s a long list of shops and restaurants to try, and another plus is the schedule of local events held, from market days to outdoor movie nights.
Programmes in the park
JLT Park is the hub of the district, popular with families, joggers and dog walkers. This former Lake has been transformed into a 55,000-square-metre park, complete with a running track and several children’s playgrounds. It’s also the setting for events throughout the year.
In the summer, free movie nights are held twice a month, and head to the flea markets on the third Friday of every month for clothes, art and home accessories. Several other events can be found along JLT waterfront including farmers’ markets, pop-up art exhibitions and events as part of Dubai Shopping Festival.
Shops and other activities
In the unlikely event there’s nothing scheduled when you’re staying in JLT, the roster of shops and services will keep you busy. There are over 500 retail outlets in total in the area, plus numerous spas and massage centres, nail and beauty salons, barbers and hairdressers, with many open into the evening.
Buses run around the lakes every 20 minutes to get you from your hotel to all parts of Jumeirah Lakes Towers, and there are two tube stations that connect you to the rest of Dubai.
If you want to practise your swing, you’ll be staying right next to Emirates Golf Club. Or if JLT’s shops aren’t glitzy enough for you, the Dubai Marina Mall is within reach and you can carry on shopping at the stylish boutiques of Jumeirah Beach Walk before relaxing in one of the al fresco restaurants.
In 15 minutes by taxi you can be at what many consider the heart of Dubai – its Downtown district. Yes, there’s another mall here – The Dubai Mall – but aside from the shopping one of the best things about this building is the fact it provides great views of the Dubai Fountains, the largest of their kind in the world. And right beside them is the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, so you can gaze in awe at both sights at the same time.
Eating and going out in JLT
Among JLT’s 250-plus restaurants and cafes, you can choose to sip coffee beside the lake with live music, eat fast food, get your health fix, or dine at the top of a tower. All types of cuisine are catered for – dine on French food at Couqley Bistro, try tasty and cheap Asian food at Wokyo Noodle Bar, or even see what food Georgia has to offer at Café Little Georgia. If you’re more hands on, you can pick up some new cooking skills at Dubai’s School of Culinary Finishing Arts (SCAFA), then eat the finished product.
Alternatively, stay in at your Jumeirah Lakes Towers hotel, as many have top quality restaurants and shisha cafes. You’ll also find the majority of JLT’s nightlife at the hotels, although there aren’t too many dancefloors in this district. McGettigan’s is an Irish Pub for laid-back nights watching the big game, or Healey’s has a Wednesday ladies’ night until 3am, with three free drinks.