More on Four Seasons’ luxury Dubai hotel

Simon Casson seems to have metaphorically ‘built’ the luxury Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach. Retail stores gracing the marbled and chandeliered main lobby corridor include the inevitable jewellery and watch outlets, and also one of his favourites, 100% Capri, which somehow looks just as right here in Dubai as it does, says the gal, in the chic line-up of shops at The Peninsula Beverly Hills in Los Angeles. The kids’ outfits are so cute you almost want to find a little one to model.

Kids have their own pool here at the 11-acre pool complex, by the way. There are two mirror-image curvilinear pools, with lots of greenery around. One is clearly signed Tranquil Pool, and no-one under 16 is allowed there. Substantial cabanas offer real indoor rooms, and outdoor showers. The other pool is noisier, and there are kids’ floats and toys indicating that this is where families will feel happiest. The family pool is near to the two indoor-outdoor restaurants, the all-day Suq restaurant, where the predominant colour is orange (even down to orange-topped tables) – and the lunch-dinner Sea Fu Asian, a mainly-turquoise space with weird wall sculptures by designer Adam Tihany‘s son Bram.

Colour excites at meal times when the sand outside is white and the intense heat seems to draw any hues out of greenery and sky. Over a glass of 2011 Craggy Range Pinot Noir Te Muna Road, I savour a Puglia burrata with a smoked salmon twist; abalone with duck foie gras and Jerusalem artichoke purée, and seared black cod. The menu cover, fully 15 inch square, is royal blue leather with a circle on the front (is this real mother-of-pearl?). Later, with a friend, I create my own still-life with a golden espresso cup, and a pair of turquoise glasses. In suite 402 I have brightly-coloured toiletries, Rajasthan, specially created for the hotel by Etro. My room supplies, incidentally, include linen laundry bags with my initials embroidered on them, and a folk-look embroidered beach bag. The enormous desk, which has masses of sockets, holds a multi-outlet Kidici pad for recharging any smart phone you can think of.

This is all very Four Seasons, the luxury hotel brand that prides itself, with justification, on anticipation (such anticipation, indeed, that you might be able to be met, plane-side, on arrival at the airport). Here in room 402 I  also have wood shoe stretchers in my closet, sensibly in two sizes. Sometimes an owner adds his, or her, own thoughts. Here, the hotel was finished when the owner felt another top suite was needed, ideally one with its own gym. A new suite is therefore still being finished and on top of it all, as you can see in the photo, is a glass box. This will be the ‘private’ gym, in full view of all and sundry. I just wonder if any workout addict, even me, would want to jog, ellipt or bike in such full view?.