Inside the Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk - Ultra-luxury for a rock-bottom price

French hotel giant Accor has 5400 hotels around the world and plans to open 1200 more in the next five years. It is expanding in the Middle East, where in 2020 it opened Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk, a 51-level property that bills itself as elegantly merging modern French style and ancient Egyptian heritage with the essence and culture of the United Arab Emirates. It’s ideal for “bleisure” travellers — those combining business and leisure. Here’s a look at what’s inside the hotel, built at a cost reported at more than $2 billion.

Location: Just a 10-minute drive from the airport, so perfect for those on a quick stopover.

Price: Dubai rates plunge in the hot (and sometimes humid) months in summer – by about 30 to 40 per cent. Rates start at NZ$254 a night, and I was quoted $432 for two people to stay in a luxury club room. That’s with generous food, drink and great service.

What it’s like: For a city where many buildings are already over the top, this gets a wow. There’s an 18m-tall Egyptian obelisk just outside the grand entrance, which is guarded by Anubis dogs. In the grand lobby, there are 18m-tall columns to the ceiling, mimicking those in the Valleys of the Kings and Queens in Luxor, engraved with hieroglyphics from ancient Egypt. There are two giant stained-glass chandeliers inspired by Tiffany lamps, in the shape of the Nile lotus flower, which weigh 3 tonnes. The real showpiece is the gold-plated falcon (the national bird of the UAE) hanging above the reception desk. It has a 9m wingspan.

The falcon with a 9m wingspan in the lobby of the Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk. Photo / Grant Bradley

Rooms: On check-in, which was smoothly done at 6am, I was upgraded to a luxury room and later this was extended to club access. The place had only a sprinkling of guests. My room on the 29th floor was enormous at about 60sq m and had a commanding view of the main part of the city, including the Burj Khalifa, through the heat haze and dust of early July. It had rather nice Art Deco touches and was in neutral tones. There’s a 55-inch TV with scores of channels, or you may wish to Chromecast your own content.

Bathroom: Huge. Double basins, huge shower and lovely deep tub. Balmain hard soaps and flowing products in large containers, constantly replenished by diligent housekeepers.

On the tools: The room had a big workstation — with a view. Being new, it bristles with top-notch technology in rooms and the WiFi is excellent. The 51st-floor lounge is a great place to work, with many quiet corners and two desktop computers. The hotel has a big focus on the meeting market, with more than 2300sq m of meeting space including 10 flexible venues. The names of the meeting rooms represent the grand voyage of the Luxor Obelisk (1832-1836) from the Temple of Luxor in Egypt to its arrival in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. If you get the time, pause to have a look at the replica artefacts around the hotel — they tell a great story.

You get excellent views if working in your room in the Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk. Photo / Grant Bradley

Food and drink: On site, there are five food outlets. I tried two: the pool lounge, where a mezze plate for $17 is a fine lunch, and the superb Brasserie Boulud, a beautiful space designed by celebrity chef Daniel Boulud, who has a two-Michelin-star restaurant in New York. Set dinner options were part of my package, but a beef rib main off the main menu for two cost $90, as an indicator. There’s a superb-looking bar, but alcohol is notoriously expensive in Dubai. Wine appears to start at around $145 a bottle. Otherwise, there’s a Japanese restaurant (closed when I was there), a British restaurant and gastropub with sport on TV, which is handy as there’s not a lot of international sport on TV in your room. There’s a patisserie in the lobby, which is popular with locals. Tipping is an option, and while you don’t feel any pressure, it’s hard not to add a few dirhams for the friendly service you’ll get around the hotel.

Facilities

The club lounge (Club Millesime) is on the 51st floor with panoramic views to all points and was barely used when I was there, but fully staffed by a very obliging crew. It’s beautifully decorated, and there is an incredible array of small plates and drinks throughout the day. There’s personalised check-in and check-out, complimentary breakfast (open from 6am to 11pm), a dedicated butler service for suites and pressing up to two clothing items per stay. If money is a consideration for your firm or your family, it’s well worth doing the maths on club access — you could quite happily do all your eating and drinking there during a stay in Dubai.

The pool at the Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk. Photo / Supplied

The pool

You’re able to get a straight-line swim of about 40m in the key-shaped pool, which is superb. Again, low season (mid-summer) meant few people were there, and although it was 44C and a little humid during the day, it was a great place to fly and flop. And it’s even better when the heat eases in the evening. The gym is big and has a great view of the overground metro, where trains are frequent.

In the neighbourhood

The hotel is joined to the Wafi Mall, which has boutique stores, a large and good-value Carrefour supermarket for those last-minute gifts, and cinemas showing big international movies. For reference, the Dubai Frame is nearby and most attractions including museums and the souks are a 15-20 minute ride by car or metro from a station near the hotel.

What about families?

The kids will love it. The cool (in every sense) AstroKids Club on the same level as the pool would be a great spot to drop off small children (at no extra cost) for an hour or more. There’s a friendly supervisor in the club, which draws its inspiration from The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) children’s book. Outside is a dedicated shallow kids’ pool with water features. There’s a ritzy spa — on the pricey side — on site too.

Contact: www.sofitel-dubai-theobelisk.com

Grant Bradley has worked at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.

- The Herald travelled to Dubai courtesy of Emirates