Inside the Dorchester Collection’s new luxury hotel Lana in Dubai

The United Arab Emirates of Dubai is forever in the headlines for its hyperbolic endeavors: the tallest skyscraper in the world, the first ski slope in the Middle East, the largest shopping mall in the region. In this desolate city—one of the fastest growing in the world, where 88% of the population is foreign-born—conventional wisdom has long held that the more gilded, the more wrapped, the more dazzling, the more more luxurious. But that’s all about to change with the opening of Dorchester’s Lana Hotel.

In 2012, Mahdi Amjad had a modern vision for his adopted country. (He was born in Iraq.) As Dubai became an international business and entertainment hub, the developer believed that so would the tastes of its residents. After the global financial crisis had passed, the government dug a canal from the Dubai Creek to the east, to the downtown location of a planned (and destroyed) military base. The expansion enabled the development of a new quarter, the Marasi Marina in Business Bay, anchored by a lagoon directly opposite the Burj Khalifa (the aforementioned skyscraper in the world) and the “cultural” center known as the Dubai Mall (which billed itself as the most visited country in the world in 2023). The cranes went up – and with them, Amjad’s first step towards building a luxury hotel that would defy the gloom that dominates every other resort in the city, from the Palm Jumeirah to the Burj Al Arab.

Amjad scoured the planet for a partner who shared his vision, eventually joining forces with London’s ultra-stylish Dorchester Collection hotel group. “I come from a residential background, so I always think about living spaces first, even in a hotel,” says Amjad, who is the founder and executive chairman of UAE development company Omniyat. “It doesn’t matter how extraordinary you create a building. If you don’t have an exceptional level of service, you don’t have an exceptional living experience.” And the boy delivered Dorchester.

Guests at Lana – the Dorchester Collection’s 10th hotel and first in the Middle East – enter through a porte cochere, where doormen decked out in breakfast suits with top hats offer a gloved hand to help them alight from the usual estate Rolls-Royces. Inside the 104-room, 121-suite accommodation, they are greeted in the Gallery (aka the Lobby) by sandy hues that reflect the Arabian desert – and zero gold.

The luxury here is not in the gilding, but in the textures, artwork, craftsmanship and amenities. Foster + Partners designed the stunning building, and while it stands out, sways and frames every enviable view of the city, it remains understated and graceful. French designers Gilles & Boissier dressed in a four-story draped chandelier, coffered ceilings, trolley-only bar service, intricate tile work and pink banquettes for afternoon tea.

A reflective wavy ceiling makes everyone look great at Jara, the hotel’s Basque restaurant (another first for Dubai), designed by 12-star Michelin chef Martín Berasategui, using wood-fire techniques. He’s in good company: French chef Jean Imbert runs the hotel’s Côte d’Azur-inspired restaurant, Riviera, on the fourth floor, and High Society, an infinity pool with an adjacent cocktail bar on the 30th floor roof, influenced by ancient sun-worshipping kingdoms. Upstairs, world pastry champion Angelo Musa cooks up an amazing tater tot that may be the best on the menu at Hôtel Plaza Athénée, where he is executive pastry chef. There is also a speakeasy where the bar manager can put whiskey in your favorite cigar for your next visit.

But where Lana really departs from the pack is in her spacious guest rooms. No detail has been overlooked: freestanding bathtubs with a view, Vispring beds (just like British royalty sleep), Dyson hair dryers with custom colors in the suites, floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies (even in the entry-level rooms ) and an amenity we’ve never seen in any hotel anywhere: a double electric clock. (We see you, Hublot fans!) You’ll be tempted to never leave the spacious rooms that start at 600 square meters, but the Dior Spa and gym on the 29th floor await.

Lana officially opened in February, and despite the high prices, the brand says it’s doing brisk business. (As are the adjacent full-service residences.) It’s a marked departure from the Atlantis and the Taj and other top Dubai beach resorts, but if this urban oasis can’t sway Emirati design preferences and immigrants, we are not sure what can. European snobs are already sold. “It’s so beautiful, it’s like a dream,” Alexa tells French pastry chef Musa. “I wanted to cry when it opened.”

You probably won’t cry, but you might recalibrate your feelings about this fast-growing Emirate and its new approach to luxury. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself booking a return trip to the desert oasis before you even get out. Dubai, it seems, has come a long way, honey. And Lana is in charge. Rooms from $925; The Dorchester Collection