When Interior Design Works

For many of us living and working in the Middle East, cynicism is virtually a way of life. Dubai is the tough little town that grew up too quick, we say, and that beneath the glossy veneer, we don’t honestly expect much to go right.

We have learned to shed whatever illusions we had about the romance and mystery of the East in the face of the day-to-day grind of trying to get things done.

Some of us arrived here as a result of a relocation though our jobs. Some with families. Many simply came out looking to make as much money as possible from a booming new economy.

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But somewhere amongst these groups, there were also the dream chasers. The ones for whom the allure and magic of the East held something more than just a means to an end.

We (and I use the term advisedly) arrived here as part tourists, part adventurers, part professionals, and partly looking for a change, somewhere interesting.

I could be wrong, but I think that’s probably the majority of us. We arrived with our childhood visions of the Arabian Nights still very much intact, and imagined ourselves held enthralled by dusty sunsets and moonlit shores, as the call to prayer echoed across the timeless majesty of the boundless ocean of dunes… Well, maybe.

Instead, most of us found that we were living in a rather aggressive and noisy construction site, which we were given endless opportunity to contemplate from traffic jams and high-rise apartment blocks.

The AC didn’t work, the roads were being dug up for the third time, the sun came down like a hammer on an anvil, and if we didn’t achieve our totally unrealistic work targets by the end of the month, we were likely to be fired. Tough stuff. But we stuck at it, didn’t we?

Our misty visions of wind towers and Silk Road camel trains were quickly replaced with the ultra-modern Burj brothers, Mssrs Dubai & Al Arab. Spectacular? Absolutely. But they don’t offer much by way of Arabic heritage.

You can almost read the inscription at the base of the Burj Al Arab: “Give me your rich, your fabulous, your dispersed opportunists yearning to wear diamonds...”. Aye, it’s hard to keep the cynic in his box, sometimes.

But, gentle reader, be not amazed. In amongst the slings and arrows of Dubai life there is a little design gem that reminds us of everything of the Romantic East. And that is the Rooftop Terrace at the Royal Mirage Arabian Court Hotel.

Operated by the One&Only Group, this marvel is probably best described as ‘indulgently Arabesque with a groovy twist’. But first, there is a journey that you must take before you find yourself looking over The Palm and enjoying the truly unique atmosphere.

That journey begins with your arrival at the hotel, and on walking into the lobby. There are few places you are ever likely to go that create the kind of ‘otherworldly’ feel that this space does. Here, at last, is the magic of the East that many of us had just about given up on ever finding again.

Soaring Arabic archways and huge chandeliers are a perfect complement to the Arabesque detailing that runs through every inch of this interior. There is a pervading sense of coolness and calm, space and ease, but the most encompassing feeling is that you are experiencing the magic of the East.

Walking through the lobby of the hotel towards the Rooftop Terrace, there is elegance in every line of the interior, and the twists and turns that you need to take to get you to your destination create the sense of being in a rather exotic labyrinth.

You can take either the elevator or the stairs to get to the Rooftop Terrace, but to really get the effect of the design journey, you should set laziness to one side and climb the stairwell.