9 Best Hotels in World Trade Centre Area and Burj Dubai, Dubai

Bab al Shams, translating as "doorway to the sun," is a five-star adobe brick oasis, a vision you'd expect to find on the edges of the Sahara desert, or perhaps as a set for a movie. The hotel is low-rise and melds with the dunes, scattering rooms and suites around courtyards with a continuous falaj system, ponds, desert gardens, and the spectacular pool area. Rooms are large, decorated in sandy tones with deep red Persian carpets, dark-wood furniture, and cool stone floors. The connecting bathrooms are cavernlike, with these sandy stone tones continued, and a bath large enough for three. On-site dining is very good, in particular, the all-out Middle-Eastern feasting venue at Al Hadheera, or the rooftop terrace and pizzeria (La Dune).

This funky budget accommodation by the Emaar group (The Address hotels) puts you close to the action; it's right across the street from the Dubai Mall and behind the DIFC, meaning plenty of shopping and dining is within walking distance. Rooms are stripped bare and fairly small, but modern and comfortable, with unexpected luxuries for a three-star hotel, including rainwater showers and designer beds. The public areas are quirky and contemporary, with an open, art-gallery feel, and there are unexpected services, such as public Playstations, locker rooms, and a laundry. There's also a reasonably priced attached restaurant, as well as a convenience store.

The only rival to the Burj al Arab, if you want to go all-out, Al Maha is Dubai's most prestigious desert resort. It is at the heart of the Dubai Conservation Reserve, an area of rolling red dunes that is populated with native fauna. The complex is a gathering of individual rooms built to resemble tents (the smallest room is 75 square meters), meaning you can get that glamping experience without sacrificing luxuries like windows, a minibar, and air-conditioning. Each suite has its own private outdoor space with plunge pool and sun deck, and all the rooms are decorated with handcrafted Arabian furniture and artifacts. The focus at the resort is on privacy; many guests spend days and days without meeting anyone except the multitude of service staff---and perhaps a lost gazelle or Arabian hedgehog.

Located in the world's tallest building, the Armani oozes style and sophistication. Lobby styling is impeccably contemporary and lusciously expensive, with dim lighting, cafe latte eramosa stone, and zebrawood panels. This perfectly minimal feel may pinch at some guests, but others will adore the curved dark walls and tasteful oriental silk furnishings along with the ubiquitous five-star high thread-count white Egyptian cotton linen in the rooms. Armani hotel does not have a concierge team, but "lifestyle managers" are available around the clock. Guests are expected to behave as they are treated—like royalty.

With 51 floors and more than 550 rooms, the Conrad is the largest hotel in the business district, but the grandiose size does not stop there, rooms are very spacious, with standard rooms looking more like family suites, and the deluxe suites topping more than 1,000 square feet. The lobby has titanic proportions, complete with back-lit marble walls, columns, and a Gatsby-esque sweeping staircase. Meeting and conference facilities are a winner for the business market, with mammoth rooms that can divided in multitudinous ways, and easy access to the DIFC and the World Trade Center. It is, however, the pool area that tends to blow guests away—you'll forget you are in the middle of the central business district within the 2,000-square-foot rooftop refuge complete with lawns and gardens and a summery lounge with a DJ, all run by slick Purobeach beach club.

This is just one of many very reasonably priced hotels to open recently in Dubai, making a shopping stopover accessible to all budgets. The Hilton Garden Inn is very comfortable, with spacious rooms, sheets with a high thread count, and light neutral furnishings. Public areas are minimalist, as is the connecting restaurant. The family packages, queen rooms with fold-out sofa bed, and on-site pool make this a good choice for families. Ski Dubai is also close by.

Aptly named, the entrance to The Palace is Taj Mahal-like, with Moorish arches, domes, and Arabesque lace reflected over its dramatic pond. The lobby is marble-lined, centered on a rose-petal filled water feature, and framed with carved teak screens for a deliciously exotic effect. Rooms are similarly themed, with silks, velvet, and cottons in cool colors, woodwork, and plush carpets. The hotel is somewhere between a city hotel and a resort---the grounds are spacious, with pools, gardens, alfresco eateries, and a luxurious day spa, it sits in the shade of the world's tallest building, next to the Dubai Mall, and close to the DIFC and other business districts.

For those who are willing to forgo the glamorous side of Business Bay in exchange for five-star luxury at a four-star price, the Steigenberger is perfect. It sits in a growing hotel area (along with the Oberoi and Taj), which will expand further with canal works creating the new Dubai Creek. Despite not having fountain views, the Burj Khalifa is still easy to spot, and you're walking distance from the Dubai Mall and Souk al Bahar. Both rooms and public spaces are neutral and modern, except for the lively, hipster-styled Brothaus Bakery. The greatest asset Steigenberger have are their staff. The hotel is known for friendly and accommodating service, a rarity in the city.