In a city already well stocked with five-star destinations, here is another: The Edition Dubai. It opened on November 16th and, although we haven't been able to review it yet, we can tell you it's a stunning place. Set in Downtown Dubai, around the corner from the Manzil Downtown, the Address Downtown and the Dubai Mall, it may be another five-star in Dubai but it's quite unlike any other luxury hotel in this town.
That's because it's an Edition, a brand created by Ian Schrager, the inventor of the boutique hotel, in conjunction with Marriott, that aspires to bring luxury to the masses through a process of 'elevating' private spaces and 'activating' public ones. What that means is that their accomplished team meticulously designs and plans every step you take through their properties in a way that won't just please visually but hopefully live long in your memory too, because it's their succession of beautiful, buzzy living, work and social spaces that collectively create the hotel's identity.
In the case of The Edition Dubai, that entails an LW Design interior featuring a soaring lobby and a stunning stairway to heaven, as well as memorable dining in the form of an Italian eatery called Duomo, a French gastronomic restaurant called Jolie, a poolside lounge called Thia and an underground speakeasy by the name of Leon. It also encompasses 275 tastefully appointed rooms, including 45 suites.
As we mentioned, we will endeavour to bring you a first-hand review as soon as possible, but even before we do, we can confidently predict this place is going to establish itself as the hippest hotel in Dubai. Yes, that's a bold statement, especially considering the plethora of options in the world's fourth most visited city. But this is an Edition, after all.
The brand was created in conjunction with Schrager, of Studio 54 fame, in order to make "hotels that don't act like hotels". Back in 2013, just before he opened his second Edition (the first arrived in Waikiki, Hawaii, three years prior, and the second in London), he told us, in an exclusive interview, that "to me, the idea of doing something on a really big scale is interesting. I think everybody misunderstood how deep the boutique market is. Everybody craves an elevated experience. Everybody craves something that's visually stimulating. Boutique is not just for people who wear black and live in SoHo."
