Lagoon villas at Anantara Dubai The Palm Resorts and Spa. Courtesy Anantara
Lagoon villas at Anantara Dubai The Palm Resorts and Spa. Courtesy Anantara

Kinks aside, a good atmosphere at Palm resort



The welcome

After a slightly bleak drive almost to the end of the East Crescent of The Palm, a cluster of Thai temple style roofs at least means you arrive with a sense of intrigue. My bags are unloaded and my car happily disappeared, leaving me to be welcomed into by a rather over-elaborately and heavily made-up female staff member who says “Saswadekaa” with a less than convinced look on her face. I’m given a cold towel and chilled longan drink while I check in. My bags and I are then taken to my room in a three-wheeled, custom-made electric tuk-tuk.

The neighbourhood

The Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah is right next door and the Sofitel The Palm and Atlantis are fairly close neighbours, but you still feel pleasantly marooned at the resort, which has a 400-metre-long beach and good views of the skyline. It’s eight kilometres to Dubai Marina and 11.5km to Mall of the Emirates.

The room

My “lagoon view room” feels more like a suite or the ground floor of a villa. It has a rear terrace with swimming access to an artificial lagoon. There is a nice lounging area built into the corner of the bedroom and a large bathroom (though my room has no bath).

The bed is large and comfortable and, with the back doors open and birds singing, a weekend stay here felt like a mini-holiday until the air conditioner started rattling. When I turned it off I was woken by the loud conversations of patrolling security guards at various intervals.

The service

The hotel was still fairly new when I visited and staff seemed exhausted from the pre-launch phase. There was a queue for an outside table at breakfast and most of the time I found I had to personally commandeer staff to get served.

The scene

I’m told wealthy Gulf Arabs and Russians tend to favour the resort for its enormous overwater villas, the first in the Middle East, and its beach villas, which offer both space and privacy. Around the resort I saw mostly European and Russian holidaymakers. The water is clear for swimming, making it a place for groups to congregate.

The food

The hotel’s signature restaurant, Mekong, is its best asset. Serving Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese food, the interior is sophisticated and the outdoor areas feature tables around rickshaw seats. The Ho Chi Minh Rojak, a cold salad of cucumber, tofu, bean sprouts, Asian pear, peanuts and bread in a caramelised fish sauce dressing (Dh45), was great a starter, while the Thai duck curry with pineapple, lychee, cherry tomato and red curry sauce (Dh85) was outstanding. The bok choi with mushrooms (Dh50) was tasty but heavy.

At the Beach House, the Piedmontese pizza with mushrooms, mozzarella and a slightly spicy tomato sauce (Dh70) had a great crispy base and was eaten in less than five minutes.

The vegetable curry (Dh60) at Crescendo, the all-day dining restaurant, was fresh and zingy; in the same restaurant, the organic breakfast station serving mango sticky rice was also a highlight.

Loved

The spa had not opened when I visited but staff treatments were available in-room. I had a Thai massage with Suphamat from Koh Samui who expertly conducted her treatment on a table on the patio at sunset – a great way to start the weekend. The watersports centre on the beach offers stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking and a small catamaran (at extra cost), which is a good way to start the day.

Hated

The night-time disturbances. In the room, tempting bar snacks are laid out near the minibar, but come with hefty charges.

The verdict

A good place for a relaxing getaway; I would return to eat at Mekong.

The bottom line

Double rooms at Anantara Dubai The Palm cost from Dh1,275 per night including breakfast (dubai-palm.anantara.com; 04 567 8888).

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Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

Tuesday results:

  • Singapore bt Malaysia by 29 runs
  • UAE bt Oman by 13 runs
  • Hong Kong bt Nepal by 3 wickets

Final:
Thursday, UAE v Hong Kong

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Lamsa

Founder: Badr Ward

Launched: 2014

Employees: 60

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: EdTech

Funding to date: $15 million

The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Results

6pm: Dubai Trophy – Conditions (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m 

Winner: Silent Speech, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby
(trainer) 

6.35pm: Jumeirah Derby Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (T)
1,800m 

Winner: Island Falcon, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor 

7.10pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (Dirt)
1,400m 

Winner: Rawy, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer 

7.45pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m 

Winner: Desert Fire, Hector Crouch, Saeed bin Suroor 

8.20pm: Al Fahidi Fort – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,400m 

Winner: Naval Crown, William Buick, Charlie Appleby 

8.55pm: Dubawi Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m 

Winner: Al Tariq, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watsons 

9.30pm: Aliyah – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 2,000m 

Winner: Dubai Icon, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor  

GROUPS AND FIXTURES

Group A
UAE, Italy, Japan, Spain

Group B
Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Russia

Tuesday
4.15pm
: Italy v Japan
5.30pm: Spain v UAE
6.45pm: Egypt v Russia
8pm: Iran v Mexico

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
The%20specs
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The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol

Power: 154bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option 

Price: From Dh79,600

On sale: Now

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

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If you go

The flights

There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.

The trip

Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.

The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.

 

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?

Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.

They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.

“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.

He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.

Company%20Profile
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Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

Company%20profile
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if you go

The flights

Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.

The hotel

Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.

The tour

Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg

Four tips to secure IoT networks

Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:

- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version

- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number

- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently

- Always create a different guest network for visitors

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
EA Sports FC 25
Company%20Profile
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if you go

The flights

Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.

The hotel

Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850

 Events and tours

There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com

For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art. 

More information

For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com

Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

The line up

Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego  

Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh  

Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Vikram%20Vedha
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Gayatri%2C%20Pushkar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hrithik%20Roshan%2C%20Saif%20Ali%20Khan%2C%20Radhika%20Apte%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Name: Brendalle Belaza

From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines

Arrived in the UAE: 2007

Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus

Favourite photography style: Street photography

Favourite book: Harry Potter