The honest review of One&Only The Palm

Being on this end of the Palm makes the whole city feel like it disappears — genuinely felt like the Maldives at times.

The rooms and bathrooms were massive, almost royal in scale, and the whole property felt relaxing from the second we settled in. Breakfast was delicious and the staff were very attentive throughout. Crystal clear water and total peace despite technically being in the middle of Dubai.

This is the best hotel in Dubai, full stop, and the hummus at Zest alone is worth the trip.

Every single staff member was kind and warm, but Forever in particular made our stay. The pool bar guy at the beach gave outstanding service too. Breakfast was so good every single morning, and the chef at Zest deserves special mention for that hummus.

There was a billing mixup with a spa gift I'd prepaid for, and it left me embarrassed in front of my guests.

I'd arranged massage and facial treatments as a gift and paid through their booking link ahead of time, but the spa charged my guests again anyway. The communication breakdown was frustrating, and honestly I might never have caught it if I hadn't followed up myself afterward.

The whole experience felt genuinely cared-for, from front office all the way through checkout.

The facilities are amazing and well maintained, but what really got me was the service — you can tell it's not performative, people actually go out of their way. Ahmed from front office in particular worked hard the whole stay to make sure we were sorted, from check-in through checkout. We're already planning to come back.

Booking a suite with its own pool got us proper host service that meant we genuinely wanted for nothing.

Ian took care of us the entire stay without us having to chase anything down. All four restaurants delivered great food, in-room dining was excellent, and the breakfast buffet was massive. What stood out most were the odd little touches — rabbits roaming the grounds and falconers with owls and hawks — that you just don't get at other Dubai resorts.

I was set on using the steam room and only found out at 1pm that it was closed to men until 6pm — annoying scheduling quirk.

Overall the property is lovely and staff were super responsive whenever I needed something, but this policy felt needlessly restrictive. Why not just run it on an appointment system instead of blanket gender hours? On top of that, being at the very tip of the Palm means transfer times run long and can get worse with construction delays.

This is Dubai's most romantic resort, and guests happily pay honeymoon prices for it.

Telegraph·Aug 2025·

It carries a reputation as the emirate's premier honeymoon destination, and it earns that with a genuinely exclusive, intimate atmosphere that stands apart from the city's more commercial hotel scene. It delivers sophisticated luxury without leaning on Dubai's usual glitz.

Our honeymoon here was everything we dreamed of, largely thanks to one guy on staff named Andrew who basically became a friend.

Every detail felt considered from the second we walked in. Andrew went out of his way for every single request we made, no matter how small, and he did it so fast and warmly that we stopped worrying about anything. It genuinely felt like being looked after by someone who cared, not just an employee doing a job. We're already counting down to when we can go back.

Eleven years running, and this is still the only hotel in Dubai we bother staying at.

I've spent 38 years in hospitality visiting hundreds of hotels, so I don't say this lightly — this place exceeds expectations at every level. It's low-rise, only 95 rooms, and the staff genuinely know us and our preferences by now. Quieter than usual on our last trip given the regional situation, but honestly that just made it nicer. Immaculately clean, great food, every single time.

Fourth stay here and it still felt just as special as the first time, which is honestly rare.

We keep coming back to this brand because every experience has been consistently excellent, and Dubai makes for such an easy winter sun trip. The spa was recently redone and it's genuinely beautiful now — calm, elegant, one of the best treatments I've had. Santos remembered every detail of our breakfast order by day two, and Forever looked after us as our host throughout. The room was stylish and comfortable, the kind you actually look forward to returning to each evening.

We skipped downtown Dubai entirely and holed up at the far tip of the Palm instead, and it made the whole trip.

Dubai's grown so much in the last decade it's lost some charm for me, so this felt like the right call. We landed in the middle of the night and still got a warm, unhurried check-in at 3am from a gentleman we later saw serving breakfast — and a host named Forever walked us to a genuinely great room without us asking for an upgrade. The décor felt maybe a decade old but still held up well, with all the lavish amenities you'd expect. It's a proper 40-minute haul from the airport being at the very tip of the frond, but worth it for the calm.

We left to spend the rest of our trip at Burj Al Arab and honestly regretted it — this place set the bar too high.

It's tucked away at the very end of the Palm and you genuinely feel like you can exhale the moment you arrive. Our butler handled everything smoothly, the buggies were always ready without any waiting around, and the pools and spa matched that same calm, polished feel. The restaurant manager even tracked down a Middle Eastern dessert we'd fallen in love with in Morocco and hadn't been able to find anywhere since — that's the kind of thoughtfulness that stays with you.

Our honeymoon looked like something out of the Alhambra — genuinely one of the most sophisticated resorts I've stayed at.

The weather wasn't perfect but it barely mattered next to the three pools and the private beach views. Breakfast every morning used such fresh, high-end ingredients that we looked forward to it daily, and the yoga and pizza-making classes ended up being real highlights rather than filler activities. Our host Delly sent us wine for our celebration and arranged a late checkout without us even asking, and housekeeping kept our room flawless the entire stay. If you want a quiet, romantic, ultra-luxurious honeymoon in Dubai, I can't recommend this enough.