Utterly glamorous and with everything on a big scale, Dubai knows how to up the extravagance factor for your honeymoon. It has chic hotels offering private beaches, indulgent and romantic fine dining restaurants, and every activity possible covered in its repertoire, from skydiving to skiing, and spa trips to shopping.
Deciding where to stay on such a special occasion as your honeymoon can be tricky when there are so many luxury hotel offerings, but in Dubai, 5* needn’t break the bank.
Choose to be in the thick of it at the TUI A La Carte Movenpick Ibn Battuta Gate hotel between Jumeirah Beach and Jebel Ali. Or be pampered away from it all at the Doubletree by Hilton Resort and Spa on the exclusive Marjan Island.
With architecture as large and inspiring as Dubai’s, the best way to take it all in is from the air, whether that’s by helicopter, seaplane or from the top of the world’s tallest building. You can book romantic trips to the lofty heights of Burj Khalifa’s 122nd floor to sip cocktails at the contemporary At.Mosphere Bar and get a different angle on Dubai’s renowned Fountain Show from up there.
Of course, Dubai being Dubai, simply taking a seat to look at the views would be too boring, which is where sky diving over Palm Jumeirah comes in. You’ll jump out of a plane to take in all the glory of the world’s largest manmade island, laid-out in the shape of a palm frond, while travelling at 120mph.
If you’re an active couple, Dubai has some treats for you in the form of trips into the desert, ice skating and even skiing. Desert tours will take you by 4×4 to see the glory of the Red Dunes of Al Hibab, and some involve sand boarding and dune bashing, which is basically off-road driving on the soft sand dunes at speed.
Staying closer to Dubai, you could head to the Olympic-size ice rink in the Dubai Mall where they have snowfall sessions three evenings a week, disco sessions every night and monthly foam parties at its outdoor areas. That’s not the only cool sports action, as Ski Dubai in the Mall of the Emirates is the world’s largest indoor ski slope with 400-metre slopes.
Dubai isn’t all thrills and spills as there are lots of things to do for one-on-one time with your new spouse. Another world’s-largest, the Dubai Fountain display is held on the manmade Burj Khalifa Lake in downtown Dubai every afternoon and evening, encompassing lights, music and 140-metre high fountains.
From Dubai’s luxury marina you can charter a private yacht with crew members to steer the course along the coast and barbecue your lunch, leaving you and your partner to enjoy each other’s company. And for even more downtime, the range of spas in Dubai is immense, for example the Amara Spa at the Banyan Tree Al Wadi has a rainforest room, ice igloo and hammam spa.
Seeing it’s your honeymoon, you’ll want to treat yourselves to some luxury dining and maybe a couple of honeymoon gifts at Dubai’s enormous range of shopping outlets. The Dubai Mall is a vast area where you can do anything from browsing for designer items to visiting a cafe with over 50 types of cheesecake.
Meanwhile Covent Garden Market sells artisan soaps and nice gift items, and Souk Madinet Jumeirah offers a more traditional Middle Eastern shopping experience, with restaurants under its wooden covered arcade. For a truly plush dinner though, try somewhere like Buddha Bar at the Grosvenor House Hotel with its sushi, Chinese and Thai fusion that attracts the stylish crowd.
