A spotlight on Dubai

Cloudless cobalt skies, sea-salted breezes and temperatures in the 20s: winter in Dubai is a far cry from the grey and gloomy version at home. The weather is perfect for everything you might want to do.

Spend happy days with the children lazing on soft golden beaches, whizzing around supersized water parks and checking out the theme parks.

Adventure seekers will be raring to head out into the desert to surf the dunes on a sandboard or ‘bash’ them in a powerful SUV – though you can skydive, bungee jump or even tackle a black run on an indoor ski slope without leaving town.

On balmy Dubai winter days, walking becomes a positive pleasure. For a change from cruising the city’s fabulous megamalls – almost a destination in their own right – you could take a tiny wooden ferryboat across the Creek to the scented, bustling alleyways of the spice, cloth and gold souks or browse the designer shops along the Marina waterfront, with lots of al fresco refreshment stops on the way.

Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai

Family fun without the fuss

Designed especially for families, Centara Mirage is brimming with things to keep children amused and happy. It may not be one of Dubai’s more striking buildings, but that hardly matters given the superb beachfront setting and the playful, colourful design of the inside.

Parents will appreciate the age-specific kids’ clubs, the child-friendly menus in all seven restaurants and the treatment rooms for couples in the peaceful spa. As for the younger guests, they’ll be in their element in the sprawling gardens, where watery play areas, a lazy river and waterslides provide hours of fun. If they’ve any energy to spare, there are lots of watersports on offer, including stand-up paddleboarding, and even a child-only section of the spa for them to unwind in.

JA Beach Hotel

For a carefree experience

In extensive leafy grounds (sister properties) beside a private sweep of sand, overlooking a small marina, JA Beach Hotel is a veteran of Dubai’s hotel scene. This graceful all-inclusive resort has been welcoming guests of all ages for more than 40 years – plenty of time to discover the ingredients of a perfect sun-drenched holiday.

The sands of Jebel Ali Beach are a magnet for anyone keen to try their hand at sports such as kitesurfing and kayaking, or just have the occasional paddle between gentle snoozes, while the gardens are large enough to contain a nine-hole golf course. A themed kids’ club sets the grown-ups free to try the spa, while the dining options cover the bases from wood-fired pizza to stylish Asian.

W Dubai - Mina Seyahi

Adults only glamour

The word ‘showstopping’ could have been invented for the W DubaiMina Seyahi, a sleek tower of glass located on the Jumeirah Beach coastline. Inside this adult-only retreat, it’s just as striking, with a design that adds a generous dose of traditional Middle Eastern flourishes to its clean-cut, light-filled spaces.

The mix of opulence, stellar views and fashionable setting has made this somewhere to see and be seen – whether you’re hanging out in the ornate cocktail lounge, the sleek rooftop Japanese restaurant or the buzzing terrace overlooking the sea. Thankfully, the immaculately decorated rooms provide a calmer retreat, as do the spa, infinity pool and private slice of Jumeirah Beach.

Raffles The Palm Dubai

Elegant, opulent and serene

Glittering Venetian chandeliers, gilded walls and carved marble columns: when it comes to sumptuousness, Raffles The Palm doesn’t hold back. The wedding-cake architecture and the equally lavish classic interiors are positively palatial – even King Louis XIV would have approved –and there’s a similarly satisfying plushness to everything from the immaculately pitched service to the wow-factor facilities.

You could spend days drifting elegantly between the 500-metre private beach, the featherbed loungers by the vast pool and the six exquisite restaurants and bars. Venture into the award-winning spa, with its Japanese baths, traditional hammams and cutting-edge treatments, and you may never bring yourself to leave.

Dubai and Maldives - 10 nights

A jaw dropping holiday combination with a flight of under five hours between the destinations. This is an invitation to experience Dubai’s 24-carat gold luxury and the sugar-white sands and blue lagoons of the Maldives. Make it an ever-so stylish stay at Baros Maldives, where overwater villas and swimming with turtles are just the beginning.

Conrad Dubai - 3 nights

Baros Maldives - 7 nights

10 nights Room & Breakfast from £3999pp based on 18 & 20 November 2023 departures on Emirates from Heathrow. Save up to £1824 per couple.

Dubai and South Africa - 10 nights

A city and safari dream team that stops over in Dubai for a slice of the gilded life before swapping mega malls and decadent dining for wine and wild things in South Africa. Tick off Cape Town’s Table Mountain and penguin encounters before a short hop by plane to the Eastern Cape for bucket-list Big Five viewing and evenings lit by fire pits.

JA Beach, Dubai - 3 nights

Pepperclub Hotel, Cape Town - 4 nights

Kariega Game Reserve Main Lodge, Eastern Cape - 3 nights

10 nights Room & Breakfast (Full Board at Kariega Game Reserve) from £3975pp based on 18 & 20 December 2023 departures on Emirates from Heathrow. Save up to £240 per couple.