Luxury Hotels

Sybaritic Single on the luxury hotel prowl

The Sybaritic Single found himself in Dubai over the weekend and decided to enjoy two ‎blissful days by a pool. Unfortunately, the past decade saw the glittering emirate transforming from the ‎Monaco to the Benidorm of the Middle East, with many luxury hotel beach clubs turning into ‎unsightly, overindulgent hen parties every Friday and Saturday.‎
It took the Sybaritic Single a while to study each luxury resort, from Madinat Jumeirah to ‎One&Only Royal Mirage to Four Seasons Jumeira to find a perfect spot under the sun – The ‎Bvlgari Resort’s Yacht Club. Well-hidden on a man-made island carved into ‎the shape of a seahorse, the cabanas-only seaside pool was the place to spend a couple of ‎days away. The service was flawless and the amenities thoughtful – from full-size Evian face ‎sprays and a selection of mineral waters in ice buckets to heavy art albums and a properly curated list of Champagnes, which are now also reasonably priced (as opposed to the absurd  $70 for a flûte of non-vintage, entry-level label a few months ago – the Sybaritic Single complained and ensured he got heard). The pool ‎attendants quickly remembered the Sybaritic Single’s taste to mix bubbles with fresh raspberries and ‎were a touch of a button away.
The only concern was the music: though not too loud, it was the very same soundtrack that the Sybaritic ‎Single kept hearing at Rodina Grand Hotel & Spa in Sochi, Russia, since at least 2008. In his view, ‎detail-oriented luxury hotels should invest into bespoke soundtracks – or just allow guests to ‎enjoy the unadulterated sound of the rolling sea waves.