Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental Abu Dhabi

They don’t make them small in the Emirates these days, that’s for sure. Still, some are taller than others — and while there are plenty of options for high-rise enthusiasts, the smart money is on a sprawling seaside compound with a private beach like the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental Abu Dhabi. UAE's only palace concept hotel, the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental Abu Dhabi is the place for statesmen and dignitaries as well as families with slightly more classic tastes.

It’s no less over-the-top, classic décor aside — the Palace is crowded with limousines and uniformed butlers, the former expensively German and British, the latter local in origin but employed by the ever-efficient Kempinski management company. As a result the place runs like very expensive clockwork, from the Palace Suites on down to the humble standard rooms (each of which would likely be the top offering at a lesser hotel).

The business facilities, naturally, are absolutely beyond reproach, and the Emirates Palace Spa, beach clubs, restaurants and swimming pools cater to any guest in need of a little rest and relaxation. It would be a simple matter to just disappear here, and never set foot off the grounds — plenty of business travelers do exactly that, and one imagines they’re not exactly distraught about the fact.