Al Qasr

Thurs night

The Al Qasr hotel was on the 'must see' list from both Saif, an old (OK, not so old) flame from NY who was born here in the UAE, and my current hosts, so off we went for dinner at a Thai restaurant in the hotel complex. It's a magnificent property---a central hotel core surrounded by dozens and dozens of 2-3 story villas in sets of four or five buildings grouped around individual pools, all connected to each other by a system of narrow canals. You can access more than half a dozen fine restaurants by either walking through the property or doing what we did, which was to take a small motorized boat through the canals right to the restaurant doorstep.

This is the celebrity hotel, I am told, so when Nicholas Cage or Brad Pitt are in town, they're here. And no wonder---it's a picture perfect Arabian luxury property, though just this side of 'over the top'. Elegant, tasteful, every detail carefully considered, executed, and spotlessly maintained. If we hadn't had a baby and babysitter to return to, I could have spent hours just wandering from lounge to lounge and one sitting room to the next, drinking in the details and breathing in the atmosphere. It was an unusually chilly night for Dubai, so not the perfect evening for leisurely outdoor strolling along the inland waterway. This is clearly The Place to stay in Dubai, and if I can re-achieve my status as a well-to-do media consultant. I'll be back....as a guest.