Middle East
Skyline suites, desert camps, and the world's most ambitious new hotels.
The view from here
Why Middle East, and why now
The Middle East has spent the last decade quietly building the most aggressive luxury hotel market on earth. Dubai and Abu Dhabi opened a new flagship roughly every quarter through the 2020s; Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar are now doing the same. The result is a region with a startling concentration of brand-new top-tier hotels, often at lower rates than equivalent product in Europe — and a service standard rebuilt from scratch around the idea of seamlessness.
The ideal trip pairs a city stay with a desert escape an hour or two out. The contrast between the skyline suite and the canvas tent under the stars is the region's signature, and almost every traveller who leaves does so wishing they'd given more time to the second half.
Fly business class if you can — the regional carriers (Emirates, Qatar, Etihad) are part of the experience.
When to go
The Middle East calendar
October through April is the working window for the Gulf — dry, warm by day, sweater-cool at night, and the desert at its most usable. November and March are the sweet spots: beach-warm and not yet at peak holiday rates. May through September is genuinely 45°C+ and the desert closes; this is also when hotels offer their deepest discounts if you only plan to be indoors. Plan around Ramadan, when restaurant hours and dress expectations shift.
Signature experiences
What we'd book first
- Two nights in a Dubai skyline suite followed by two in a desert resort an hour out
- An Abu Dhabi cultural weekend at the Louvre and Sheikh Zayed Mosque
- A Wadi Rum overnight under canvas after a Petra day in Jordan
- An Omani road trip from Muscat to the Hajar Mountains
- A Saudi AlUla stay during the cool winter window
The editor's take
Skip the obvious Dubai hotels in the Marina and book a desert resort on the Al Wadi or Al Maha reserves instead. The city is best as a 48-hour stop, not a week. — The Lucalvry Edit
Countries
Where to go in Middle East
United Arab Emirates
Skyline suites, desert camps, and the world's most ambitious new hotels.
Jordan
Petra by candlelight, a Wadi Rum night under canvas, and a Dead Sea finish.
Oman
Hajar mountain canyons, Empty Quarter dunes, and the Gulf's most quietly luxurious country.
Saudi Arabia
AlUla's Nabatean tombs, Red Sea reefs, and the Gulf's most ambitious new tourism market.
Common questions