Review of Arabian Boutique Hotel, Dubai

Rooms

The Arabian Boutique Hotel's rooms are bright and airy, incorporating traditional patterns with light wood and wicker furniture. The building itself is a traditional two-story building, including barjeel wind towers, which bring cooler and cleaner air inside. The hotel is sprinkled with funky touches, such as brightly-colored decorative chandeliers and equally bright velveteen throne chairs. The whole property has a calm energy about it, while the area outside can get quite busy. The rooms are sheltered and block out the surrounding hustle and bustle.

The rooms are centered around a courtyard, with a small dipping pool in the corner and flowering bougainvillea vines throughout. It's the perfect place to read a book, journal, do a little work or scroll through your Instagram feed — whatever you feel like doing in your down time!

Courtyard

Dining

Meals can be taken at the Arabian Fish House Restaurant, which sits adjacent to the hotel and offers three dining locations. There is seating alongside the creek, on the roof of the hotel and inside the interior courtyard next to the reflection pool. If you take a room package which includes breakfast, you'll be entitled to a generous spread of traditional regional dishes. Such as manoushe, shakshouka, foul and balila, with all sorts of coffees, teas, smoothies and juices. You won't leave hungry! Lunch and dinner offer freshly-caught fish and lots of rice and vegetable dishes.

Dining

Location

The Arabian Boutique Hotel is located in the Shindagha district along the Dubai Creek, which is one of the oldest neighborhoods and essentially the 'birthplace' of modern Dubai. The area has been recently restored, and features several museums and cafes. My two favorites are the Shindagha Museum and the Perfume House. Both have interactive exhibitions sharing important elements of Dubai's history and culture.

The hotel is within walking distance of the Dubai Souk. Here you can hop aboard a traditional abra boat and sail across the creek to Deira, where the Gold and Spice Souks are located. Just a bit beyond the Dubai Souk, you'll enter the Al Fahidi Historical District. This is another heritage area where you can visit the Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding to learn more about local traditions. This area has many art galleries, cafes, souvenir shops and another gem — the Coffee Museum. It has beans from all over the world and which offers visitors the chance to try local preparations of coffee, including one that is cooked on hot sand.

The hotel has bicycles that you can borrow to explore the area as well if you'd rather travel on wheels than by foot! The hotel is also next to the Al Ghubaiba metro special, with direct links to the Dubai Mall & Burj Khalifa, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Marina and more.

Events

The Sikka Art Festival is an annual celebration of emerging artists and local culture, held around February and March each year. If you visit Dubai while it's on, it's a great way to go beyond the typical tourist activities and connect with residents of the city.

This is a great hotel to use as a base for your Dubai travels, or at least for a few days as you explore the more cultural and historic areas of "Old Dubai." A few days staying here also pairs nicely with a stay at one of the larger, modern resorts in a different part of town. This way you get to experience both types of accommodation. See my trip report on getting off the beaten path in Dubai for more recommendations.

For more inspiration and insider recommendations, visit our Dubai page.