25hours Hotel Dubai One CentralDubai, United Arab Emirates

You’re staying at a hotel, you’ve got a bit of downtime, you’re looking for something to do.

There’s a 500-plus vinyl collection on the first floor, or a Walkman station if cassettes are more your vibe. Maybe you want to go for a drive, so you rent one of the hotel’s MINIs or cruise ride around on one of the Schindelhauer Bikes that are hanging around the hotel.

Fancy the movie ‘Ghost’? Have a crack at pottery making (hopefully without cracks, but hopefully with a Patrick Swayze-like hunk guiding your hands) in the pottery and artist studio. Got an idea for a podcast? Record it in the podcast studio.

If you’re wondering if a hotel offering all this exists – it does. The 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central packs a lot in – and we mean a lot.

What’s incredibly cool about this joint is how extra it all is – in many ways a reflection of its location. The sheer breadth of activities available to each person is so OTT, and so Dubai.

There’s a Farmstay Suite (including hammock and double rainfall shower). The Medium Bedouin draws influence from when Bedouins once resided in Dubai. On top of a luxurious king-size bed there’s a unique rainfall shower in the middle of the room (wtf?) and a hanging chair to kick back and chill.

For true Dubai glam you’ve got to experience the Hakawati Suite. Hakawati means storyteller in Arabic and while that theme features throughout One Central, it’s in this suite that it goes to another level. There’s the “Sheikh-sized” TRIPLE king bed, a double bath, two bars, 10-seat dining area, fireplace and for when it’s time to party - a DJ corner and dancefloor. The suite also interconnects with two additional bedrooms through a secret staircase. Yes, all in one suite. This is Dubai after all.

There’s obviously a rooftop pool with a Pool Bar, and even more obviously a cinema. Tough to leave when the suite is that good. You can request to have a trunk delivered to you with old-school VHS tapes, vinyls, a typewriter and polaroids to help you really disconnect and tap into your creative side.

 

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