Review: Jumeirah Mina A'Salam at Madinat Jumeirah

Set the scene for us. What's this place like?
The Dubai insider’s hotel—cooler and more understated than most of its competitors. It’s contemporary and comfortable, but still has an old, authentically Arabic head on its shoulders. The pool is the lobby showstopper. The hotel stands at the gateway to the entire Madinat Jumeirah resort, where everything is linked by canals.

So what is the story behind the hotel?
With nine hotels within Dubai itself, Jumeirah is known for being a heavyweight on the city’s scene, the name behind many of its most well-respected restaurants and residences. Mina A’Salam itself opened in 2003, the first of three hotels in Jumeirah City, a 40-hectare project designed to look like a traditional Arabian hub, which also includes Dar Al Masyaf, a cluster of summerhouses that have been rented by Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise and Stranger Things’ David Harbour. Many a Dubai International Film Festival opening party has been held on Mina A’Salam’s private beach.

The real reason we're here: The rooms. What are they like?
Everything in the room is generally… big, which tends to leave you feeling rather petite and cozy. The double-window-fronted Arabian Rooms are showered in sunshine, with oversized wooden furniture and archways looping through them. The bed itself is vast—or rather, it’s actually two wide beds pushed together—plus there’s a small living space too. The tech is extremely simple to use, while the huge balcony has enough space for you to take tea and photographs in front of the Burj Al Arab (pictures of the tower can also be taken, Negroni in hand, from the hotel’s beautiful Bahri Bar).

Oh, the bar! That brings us to our next questions—what are the dining options on the premises?
You reach the extensive breakfast buffet via a short morning voyage along the canal, served on the sun deck of the smart Pai Thai restaurant. And every experienced bruncher in town knows that, come Friday, Mina A’Salam sets the bar. Our top pick for creative, modern grub is Folly by Nick & Scott, the latter a Gordon Ramsay protégé who worked at Claridge’s. With its tasting menus and organic and biodynamic wines, it is probably the city’s most forward-thinking restaurant.

How do the staff treat you?
While staff at other Dubai hotels can veer into bungling subservience, Mina A’Salam staff are accommodating and efficient – the beach crew always a wave away no matter what the temperature.

Who else are you likely to see here?
International and eclectic, with film stars, families, couples and the just-randomly-ended-up-in-Dubai. Visualize the tribe you’d find in an Emirates business lounge and you’re halfway there.

What is the surrounding area like?
Set in one of the city’s oldest, bougainvillea-framed-white-villa districts, Umm Suqeim, Mina A’Salam is the gateway to the mighty Madinat Jumeirah souk, with its canals and wind towers. To put it in Dubai context: When a long-term city resident stays at the Mina A’Salam, they cannot wait to tell people. You could have stayed at the Burj Al Arab, but that’s a little more… obvious.

Are there any other facilities at the hotel worth checking out?
The Talise Fitness Centre and Spa is enormous and incredibly slick, with all the very latest classes and kit. Guests of the Mina A’Salam can also attend sunset yoga sessions on the beach, which are rather special.

It all sounds pretty great, but is there anything you'd change?
The decor could be slightly more pared-back. Although, that said, that would then dilute some of what makes the Mina A'Salam, the Mina A'Salam.

Wrap it up for us: What's your pitch for staying at this hotel?
The Mina A’Salam is a lavish hotel in exactly the right location. Stay here and spend every day watching the sun sink behind the Burj Al Arab from your lounger on the city’s finest private beach.