Who knows what Jennifer Lopez did with the Quality Street bowl in her hotel room.
The star pocketed £3.9 million for singing and staying at the opening of One&Only One Za’abeel last month.
But when I arrived four days later – among the first paying guests to visit Dubai’s new ultra-luxurious resort – I was surprised to find complimentary orange creams, green triangles and purples among the champagnes and single malts from my minibar.
The West Yorkshire-made treats aren’t the strangest perk on offer.
While its sister property, Atlantis The Royal, offers gold-plated toothbrushes to its customers, One&Only One Za’abeel goes further.
Ed Grenby among first paying guests to visit new One&Only One Za’abeel resort
View from the sofa in one of the rooms at the ultra-luxurious Dubai resort
A suite includes a free cocktail for eight people, writes Ed
Some suites have soundproof walls and recording facilities; others give guests a free “longevity analysis index” upon arrival (no, me neither); one, at £22,500 a night, even offers a “mancave” for guests.
My favorite would probably be the one that includes a free cocktail for eight people – if only I’d remembered to bring seven friends with me.
As it stands, I’m staying in a simple “room” – although it’s still ridiculously luxurious, with a walk-in closet, a sofa with so many soft cushions that I have to remove eight of them to sit down, a toilet with 17 buttons. to control its “intimate cleaning” functions, and a bath large enough for three people.
It’s best not to speculate on which of these luxuries attracted more than Naomi Campbell, Idris Elba, David Gandy or Emma Radacanu, who joined J-Lo during the hotel’s opening weekend.
This bath, with its view of Dubai’s glittering sci-fi skyline, is a highlight of its 53 floors.
The hotel is located in one of two 300m-tall towers, meaning guests can admire ant-sized cars speeding along the 12-lane highway below.
Ed stays in “a simple room” at the hotel – although it’s still ridiculously more, he says
LEFT: Ed’s hotel bath offers views of Dubai’s glittering sci-fi skyline. RIGHT: The writer is surprised to find free Quality Street chocolates among the champagnes and single malts in his minibar.
The hotel is located in one of two 300m-tall towers, meaning guests can admire ant-sized cars speeding along the 12-lane highway below.
But that also means I spend a lot of time in elevators. (Security measures mean you have to change elevators to get from your room to restaurants and bars.)
And while One &Only One Za’abeel is more convenient to Dubai’s business district than the beach, don’t leave your swimsuit at home.
On the 4th floor is a palm tree-lined swimming pool with hot and cold servers. It’s a beautiful place – and in the private area, Campbell/Gandy types can relax hidden by thick palm fronds and a forbidden door for an extra hundred euros.
A bathroom with sinks for him and her in one of the hotel’s rooms
Better yet is the hotel’s spectacular 27th-floor infinity pool — 200 meters long and 100 meters high in the air, atop the world’s longest cantilever bridge. It has cabanas, swim-up bars and a Japanese-Peruvian club bar and restaurant.
There are 11 restaurants. It’s true, there is a certain stupidity: fortune telling in Thai DuangDy; from straitjacketed waiters to avant-garde StreetXO; and a late-night “snacks” menu at Sphere that features a £2,500 portion of caviar.
After a few days I’m half a stone heavier, 100% happier, and my carry-on is largely made up of stolen Quality Street.
I bet if you checked J-Lo’s, hers would be too.