Once reserved for wealthy travellers, Dubai’s top-notch hotels have become almost exclusively reliant on residents, drawn in by dizzying staycation offers as war drives tourists away.
On the Palm, an artificial island that has become synonymous with Dubai opulence, five-star hotels are busy on weekends and holidays once more, despite having been deserted by tourists.
The clientele is driven by hotels offering residents-only deals that have become a lifeline for Dubai’s luxury tourism.
“I had never been in a hotel on the Palm because the prices were crazy,” said Fadi Iskandarani, a doctor in his sixties who just spent his first weekend at a luxury resort on the tree-shaped island.
The Lebanese national, who has lived in Dubai for five years, decided to opt for a staycation after he saw that a hotel on the Palm had slashed its rates by a factor of four.
The hotel was not packed, with some floors closed because there were not enough guests.