Fairmont Bab Al Bahr

In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s a quick update: Abu Dhabi is the luxury capital of the Middle East. In addition to its extravagant hotels and high-end shopping scene, the Emirati capital is about to have its own Louvre and Guggenheim, the latter designed by none other than Frank Gehry. The city also has an ATM that dispenses gold — but that’s old news, and anyway, you get the idea. To be clear about things, the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr is not in the very highest echelon of this luxury sphere, but it’s close. And by virtue of being a five-star hotel in this particular city — there’s a “keeping up with the Joneses” element at play here — the Fairmont is a tremendously nice place to stay.

Báb means “gate” or “door” in Arabic, making the Bab Al Bahr the entry to the island of Abu Dhabi from the mainland. In other words, the Fairmont isn’t in the city center, but at the gateway to the city. Situated on the beachfront, facing the silhouette of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, it’s a proper business hotel, with contemporary design and hundreds of smartly outfitted rooms and suites. The look and amenities are what you’d expect of a Fairmont: plush king-sized beds topped with crisp white linens, sleek bathrooms with large tubs, flat-screen TVs, separate sitting areas. Higher-category rooms and suites include access to the Fairmont Gold Lounge with its complimentary continental breakfast, afternoon tea, and evening cocktail hour, plus free wi-fi and on-call butler service.

There’s a wide range of dining venues, including Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White’s steakhouse and the Chameleon cocktail lounge. Al Naba’a Lounge, quite notably, offers the widest selection of tea blends in Abu Dhabi, and at The Chocolate Gallery, you can observe chocolatiers at work. Food and drink aside, the hotel’s biggest draw is its private beach and adjacent pool, sparkling blue and well-attended by hotel staff. The Fairmont Bab Al Bahr might not be quite the most opulent hotel in a very rich city — but stylish and reliable, it’s a business traveler’s favorite for a good reason.