The 25hours brand has launched in Dubai with a hotel that promises to blow the sparkly brass taps off the UAE’s signature five-stars. The 25hours brand is best known for their fun-loving, offbeat hotels found in major cities across Europe.
It’s well located for work and play, with a host of features designed to attract a new generation of digital nomads. It’s close to the Dubai World Trade Center and in view of the long-awaited Museum Of The Future.
Every nook, corner, and shelf-space of this talking-point property has a story to tell, honoring the art of the hakawati (an Arabian storyteller). It’s impossible to go far without being sidetracked by a vintage toy vehicle, a gramophone, or a throwback ghetto blaster. Showpieces were collected from junk and second-hand stores across Dubai and are a jumble of antiques, garish bric-a-brac, and old heirlooms.
The beds will take you whole, making it impossible to leave – but pillows and duvets aren’t the only indulgences available in your accommodation. The room had a macramé swing as well as a really comfortable desk with plenty of USB outlets. An analogue phone in the bathroom was far less functional but enormously interesting.
A copy of the Quran and a prayer mat are located in the wardrobe, and a street art motif of a compass on the ceiling indicates which direction is east.
Artwork may be found throughout the hotel, from colossal hanging chairs in the foyer to small handmade dioramas in the elevators. Keep an eye out for the spinning cloud-covered globe in the lobby. Myneandyours, a muralist whose fluffy motifs can be spotted all around town, created it.
The plant-filled top floor of 25hours is an exotic retreat in the sky amid a financial district made of concrete and steel. The first mixed gender saunas in Dubai can be found in many wooden pods, and a pool with sunbeds is a great area to take up the views and the sun.