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

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.

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.