Stephen Bailey inspects two new hotels in Dubai’s iconic tower, One Za’abeel.
One symbolises the allure of a trending hotel brand. The other flips the convention of what a hotel should offer.
Stephen’s trip report explains the original experience in these two hotels and why they should be on your list.
One Za’abeel
One&Only One Za’abeel occupies the top floors of Dubai’s next architectural icon, the new One Za’abeel. SIRO occupies the middle floors from 30 to 36.
The larger tower is the height of the Eiffel Tower and The Link connecting them is 230 metres long. Hanging above Dubai, it’s the world’s longest cantilevered building.
Za’abeel is a residential area reserved for Emiratis and One Za’abeel is the first high-rise in the area. You enjoy incredibly open views from any room, unlike areas like The Marina, where a 45th floor window looks out at…the 45th floor opposite
These are the closest luxury hotels to Dubai International Airport, only a 15-minute drive.
One&Only One Za’abeel is also the closest genuine luxury hotel to Downtown and Dubai Creek, even closer than Mandarin Oriental Jumeirah. Also the finest option close to the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall (Ritz-Carlton, Shangri-La, Armani Hotel and Address Sky View are all closer, but not as comparable in terms of quality).
However, it’s at least 20 minutes by road to a good beach club and very far from anywhere on the Palm Jumeirah.
SIRO – A New Hotel Concept
I’ve never experienced a hotel as youthful or energetic as SIRO.
It’s a fitness-centred lifestyle hotel. You feel health and fitness everywhere. The lobby is the biggest and best gym I’ve ever seen.
SIRO stands for Strength, Inclusive, Reflection and Original.
It couldn’t feel any more different from a standard five-star hotel, with guests lounging lazily around the lobby or tucking into their third plate of buffet breakfast.
All the energy was a little overwhelming to be honest. Then again, it was a complete surprise. And just being in the lobby made me want to get active.
The SIRO Layout and Experience
The main floor is dedicated to working out, with different gym areas, organised classes, personal trainers walking around, guests drinking supplement shakes in their workout clothes.
There are different zones for free weights, weight machines, classes, boxing and a lot more. There’s every machine you can imagine, all the latest equipment. I’ve never seen so many treadmills.
Normally I take photos of hotel lobbies, but that’s like taking photos in a gym, something I find highly offensive – my workout face stays in the gym, it’s not for the outside world.
Floor 31 above is dedicated to recovery. Every changing room has a sauna, steam and ice bath. Specialist treatments and zones support faster recovery from exercise, like cryotherapy and a relaxation area tiled with Himalayan salt walls.
Entering the room the work out feeling continues. Instead of alcohol and chocolate, the minbar offers supplements, juices and healthy snacks.
There’s a pull-up rack, yoga mat and work out area. Plus a full-screen projector instead of a television, for streaming virtual classes in your room.
Rather than fluffy bathrobes an AC Milan football shirt hangs in the bathroom, along with a signed muay thai boxing glove. There’s a bathtub, which can be filled with ice on request, anytime
SIRO has a partnership with AC Milan, who designed some of the training programs, and loaned their sleep consultant Anna West to help design the rooms (the King Koil Aero Plush mattresses are thermoregulated).
The rooms at SIRO are the same size as those in One&Only One Za’abeel, on the higher floors. Materials feel cheaper than the One&Only too, understandable given SIRO is around 30% cheaper.
It’s still good quality and you don’t go to SIRO to stay in your room. You stay at SIRO to get active, workout better and recover faster.
I can’t imagine coming here and not working out at least two times per day. Fitness is all around you, it is an immersive experience.
So now…to the gym of course. A personal training session, which includes great information about to best use the recovery facilities. Followed by spinning. Then some very healthy tasting food.
And this was just a trial experience to help me understand SIRO. If I was a paying guest I’d be going a lot deeper into my workouts and recovery.
SIRO Recommendations
SIRO is for people who want to kickstart their fitness routine. I’m sure it will be incredibly popular in January, when most people want to get active after the holidays.
It’s also for people who are already training. Either they want to kick on to the next level, or have become stuck in a rut. Just the atmosphere will inspire you to do more.
I often find gyms to be too testosterone heavy. Having chart dance music pumped at full volume doesn’t help my mood either. SIRO isn’t that.
What I liked most is that the atmosphere feels inclusive and encouraging, rather than conceited and unapproachable.
I can imagine it’s also a great option for business travellers to Dubai, as you can have this real focus on health and fitness during a business stay.
Another option could be as a Dubai layover, especially if you’ve just had a boozy and indulgent beach resort holiday.
A second SIRO will open in Portonovi, Montenegro, next summer. I’m certain this holiday concept will become more popular in the coming years.
It’s not quite like a boot camp and I wouldn’t recommend more than five days. Three to four nights is fine. You can mix typical Dubai things to do (sightseeing, shopping, beach, etc) with the hotel fitness experience.
One&Only One Za’abeel, Dubai
What amazes me about One&Only is that they can open a hotel in a completely new and seemingly unusual location. And then it’s full within the first year.
One&Only One Za’abeel only opened in February and was full during my stay, with barely any availability for the rest of 2024. This indicates a hotel that not only captures the eye and imagination, but is enjoying consistently good feedback from guests.
Guests and staff give the hotel a very cosmopolitan feeling. I heard so many languages being spoken, by people from all corners of the world. This is also symbiotic of Dubai, a very multicultural city.
Overall this new hotel is just so incredibly stylish and elegant – the design, the details, the curved lines, interesting spaces and epic views!
You know you’re arrived somewhere with a clear, fresh and distinctive identity. It felt a little too stylish for me, although I’m not particularly fashion forward.
One&Only One Za’abeel Layout and Experience
You enter on the ground floor, reception is on floor 23. Rooms are located on floors 37 to 45. Floors 46 to 53 have the signature suites and Grand Za’abeel rooms.
It’s an urban resort you navigate via elevators. Every elevator has a specific route, rather than stopping at every floor.
From the ground floor I needed to change elevators twice to reach my room. Overall, getting around is quite fast, but it took 24 hours to understand which elevator to take where.
Dubai’s new happening place is The Link between the two towers. It already has four Michelin chefs and two Michelin stars.
We tried Arrazuna, a food market experience with table service. I wish I had more time to try others, because there are amazing dining options like Japanese-French Sagestu and StreetXO by Dabiz Muñoz (of Madrid’s DiverXO and named world’s best chef 2022 and 2023).
Located on top of The Link is Tapasake, a Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurant and the longest infinity pool in Dubai. Go there for your Instagram photos and definitely stay for the food.
I appreciated how access to Tapasake is restricted. It’s included for guests in signature suites, 250 dirham minimum spend for hotel guests (€65), or 450 dirhams minimum spend for SIRO guests. Non-hotel guests must pay a 450 dirham entrance fee – that’s €115 per person just to use a pool (not very popular), so this beautiful infinity pool remains quiet and exclusive.
The hotel spa is by Clinique La Prairie and is a specialist longevity hub. I didn’t try any treatments but the facilities are stunning and the menu very extensive.
Down on the fourth floor there’s a good kids club, which received the thumbs up from my three-year-old.
Plus two more restaurants and a shaded garden pool for families. It’s a nice enough pool area with kids, but couples will want to be at Tapasake.
Overall the service was good, not 100% perfect, during my stay, the level I’d expect at a hotel in its first year. Twice I needed to re-request something, but issues were quickly rectified.
I liked how easy it was to communicate with a hotel host (like a personal concierge) via WhatsApp. Service should improve further as the team gels together.
One&Only One Za’abeel Rooms and Suites
Rooms are super stylish rather than super spacious, although the floor-to-ceiling windows make them feel larger than their 50 square metres.
Those facing the Burj Khalifa have a premium, but the views are superb from everywhere so it won’t be an essential add-on for everyone.
Rooms don’t interconnect and all room guests take breakfast in the main Mediterranean restaurant Alila.
I stayed in a Grand Za’abeel room and it is worth the upgrade. They are bigger, have the signature One&Only bathtub, and a walk-in wardrobe that’s more like a walk-in living room.
One&Only love bathtubs with a view and mine didn’t disappoint, an enormous two-person tub next to the window some 200 metres above the ground. I came out of the bath with skin like an elephant.
Suites are bigger in size. As the hotel was full I could only inspect a loft suite, which is spread over two floors with tons of lounge space.
Suites can interconnect with Grand Za’abeel rooms, creating very large spaces for families, up to four adults plus two children.
Grand Za’abeel rooms and suites access the Club Lounge on the 56th floor, with views over three sides of Dubai.
It’s not a lounge with complimentary afternoon tea or drinks, like elsewhere in the UAE. Rather a very calm and quiet place to take breakfast.
And wow, what a breakfast! Mostly a la carte, with a great selection of original breakfast items, from Asia, Mediterranean, the Middle East and other cultures.
One&Only One Za’abeel Recommendations
One&Only One Za’abeel is a specific hotel. It’s definitely not for a Dubai beach holiday.
It’s a perfect option for a Dubai layover, thanks to proximity to the airport. You can easily spend three or four days just in the hotel, relaxing, trying different restaurants and enjoying the facilities.
While there are excellent accommodations and nice facilities for kids, it’s not a number one choice for families, because there’s no beach and not enough pool. Still, families would have a good time for a couple of days.
One&Only Za’abeel is a perfect option for a holiday focused around classic Dubai attractions, like Burj Khalifa, the famous shopping malls and Downtown.
I can also imagine couples enjoying a two-night stay here in combination with a Dubai beach resort, just to experience the new hotel and its style.
Your Dubai Holiday
SIRO and One&Only One Za’abeel are the new and distinctive hotel options in Dubai. Just two among dozens we have tried and tested in the Emirate.
We don’t just resell hotels like other travel agencies and booking platforms. We’re continually inspecting hotels to understand exactly how they are for our clients.
Not only does that mean we can provide clear recommendations. It also creates good relationships with the hotels, so when you have a special request, we know who at the hotel can make it happen.
