The Best Places in Al Sufouh 2

Jason Atherton's fine dining room on the 45th floor of Grosvenor House seats just 22 people and runs a 17-course French-Japanese tasting menu in three acts, moving guests between spaces as the evening unfolds. The chef's table, four seats facing the open kitchen, books out fast. Ankimo, uni, and soba carry the Japanese thread; French technique holds it together. It holds two Michelin stars and a Forbes Five Star.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Five Star
2. Michelin Guide 2 Stars
3. The 50 #36 · MENA's 50 Best Restaurants

The infinity pool on the roof is said to sit higher than any other outdoor pool on earth, which sets the tone for this Forbes Five Star beach resort on the JBR promenade. Five dining venues range from rooftop decks to casual family spots, and the sand is right outside. When the resort itself feels like enough, The Walk's cafes and boutiques are steps away, with Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah a short drive beyond.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Five Star
2. Michelin Guide 1 Key

A private beach on the Arabian Gulf, six pools, and enough room to actually exhale: this Forbes Five Star resort on The Walk at JBR manages to feel calm despite being genuinely family-friendly, which is harder than it sounds. Nine restaurants and bars, four tennis courts, and water sports keep everyone occupied, while the rooms are large enough that you won't feel like you're negotiating terms with your travel companions by day three.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Five Star
2. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Twin towers rising over Dubai Marina, Grosvenor House is a large luxury hotel where the view from your room competes with everything the neighborhood throws at you: yachts on the canal, a waterfront promenade, JBR Beach a short walk away. It holds a Forbes Five Star. Seven hundred and fifty rooms, multiple pools, a spa, and more than a dozen bars and restaurants mean you may not need to leave, though Dubai Marina makes a convincing argument that you should.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Five Star

A beachfront resort on the JBR strip where the pool deck bleeds into a private beach and six bars make sure the party never has to travel far. FIVE LUXE JBR runs 222 rooms, a full spa with an indoor pool, and a kids' club, so it accommodates both the honeymoon crowd and families who want someone else to handle the entertainment. The building holds LEED Platinum certification, which feels like a flex nobody else on this stretch is making.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended
2. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

The infinity pool faces the Gulf, Palm Jumeirah floats in the middle distance, and everything is aggressively, unapologetically W. This 31-floor hotel in Dubai Marina leans into the brand's louder-is-more design language with a rooftop lounge, cocktail bar, and beach club restaurant on site. The crowd dresses for it. Dubai Marina's dining and nightlife strip is a short walk away when the hotel's own options feel insufficient, which may take a while.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended
2. The 50 The 50 Discovery

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand

The name means "sky" in French, which tracks for a tower standing 377 meters above Dubai Marina, currently the tallest hotel on earth. Over a thousand rooms keep it from feeling intimate, but floor-to-ceiling glass and a restrained contemporary palette make the scale work. The open-air pool hangs at altitude with nothing but city below, and a gap in the tower's structure creates an outdoor perch that is difficult to play it cool about.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Floor-to-ceiling windows face the marina on every one of the 328 rooms, and the glass-walled bathrooms mean the view follows you in. This waterfront hotel sits close enough to Dubai Marina Mall and the beach to feel genuinely connected to the neighborhood, while the 39th-floor Rex Bar and a spa with a rooftop pool give you little reason to leave. The Michelin Guide has it among its selected hotels.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Thirty floors up, the balcony faces the Gulf, and the waterfront promenade is right below. This high-rise beach hotel blends Sofitel's French-accented style with Arabic touches, and it handles both the leisure crowd and the laptop brigade without making either feel like an afterthought. Two restaurants, three bars, a spa, and a pool fill the middle hours, with Jumeirah Beach and the Walk doing the rest.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Red paper lanterns and tiled walls set the mood on the ninth floor of FIVE LUXE JBR, where the windows frame Ain Dubai straight across the water. This is a contemporary Japanese restaurant covering a lot of ground, from raw fish and tempura to robata and teppanyaki, and the kitchen handles the range with genuine care. Counter seats open up an omakase option that draws the dedicated crowd who come for the chef's full attention.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. World Coffee Map Dubai Coffee Map for First-Time Visitors
2. World Coffee Map Best coffee shops for work in Dubai

1. World Coffee Map Dubai Coffee Guide for Travelers

1. World Coffee Map Dubai Coffee Guide for Travelers

Lobster rolls and oysters by the dozen pull most of the weight here, but the truffle pizzas have their loyalists too. The Maine is a brasserie-style bar and grill tucked into a DoubleTree, which undersells it: the bar runs loud and the room fills fast with people who came for a drink and stayed for dinner. The concept has since spread to Ibiza and Mayfair, which tells you something about the formula.

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