The words “holiday” and “UAE” somehow never really sat in the same space for me, but on a recent trip I was taken to Ras Al Khaimah and I think I’ve changed my mind.
Only an hour north of Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah is where glamorous beach life meets a calm Arabian sea. It is a glittery little oasis in the middle of the desert that has the prettiest views of the very calm Arabian Gulf, some high-adrenaline adventures and the UAE’s highest peak. We chose to stay at Anantara Mina Al Arab, a luxury brand which began in Thailand 25 years ago but now has hotels all over the world. This resort boasts one of the destination’s most enviable settings, a private peninsula of golden sands that overlooks protected mangroves — home to turtles, flamingos and dugongs (sea cows). The stylish accommodations include 174 rooms, suites and the emirate’s first overwater villas, each an eco-sanctuary built in harmony with nature. Like any resort, you can lounge around the pool, use their Thai-inspired Anantara Spa with traditional Thai healing rituals as well as the brand’s award-winning signature treatments, and eat exceedingly well in any of their signature restaurants or the all-day dining (which has the best pizza ever).
Anantara Mina Al Arab has UAE's first overwater villas
Our first meal was at Mekong, their Asian restaurant. Truly superb. We had what was called ‘Sunday brunch’, but dishes just kept coming and coming; great flavours of some predictable but well executed dishes like the pomelo salad, tom yum and dumplings. And then there were the standout ones like stir-fried seafood with Thai sweet basil, the beef massaman with sweet potato, and the ginger lotus sea bass baked in a lotus leaf. The next lunch we went for was at the Beach House. Think Mykonos with great food. We started with a raw seafood platter which had tuna, sea bass ceviche, hamachi, crudo, and oysters, and then went on to a watermelon, heirloom tomato, and feta salad. I’ve never had watermelon and tomato together, but it worked rather well. Lots of lovely appetisers, the octopus calamari fritti, a big seafood platter, scallops, and then for those who want something bigger and more sumptuous, there’s, of course, pasta and risotto. A little bit of the Mediterranean in a beautiful glass setting. Plenty for vegetarians.
Thai delights at Mekong and (right) seafood at Sea Breeze
We had dinner at their all-day dining Sea Breeze which on certain nights has specialties like roasts where they do a superlative lamb shank and Angus steak. But I must say it was the pizza that really impressed; I was reliably informed by the Exec Chef that it is not only the strong 00 flour but sourdough and the long fermentation for 72 hours which makes the difference.
So apart from eating exceedingly well, there are, of course, water sports, as with all resorts, which are very safe and very doable, a beautiful pool in the middle with an island bar and a picture perfect beach with golden sand. It’s the perfect place to just lounge around, read that book that you bought last year and haven’t got around to reading.
At a tour learning all about pearls at Suwaidi Pearl Farm
What was exciting for me was also the activities outside the hotel. There is a wonderful little pearl farm called Suwaidi Pearl Farm, which is about an hour away by car in a little fishing village. A very well spent afternoon learning about the history of pearls, the difference between natural and farmed, how they were originally found by divers and so on. Something which I didn’t realise, being a pearl lover myself, is that the first pearls in the world, documented 7,000 years ago, were from this region around Ras Al Khaimah, and Abu Dhabi.
Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to get to the desert adventures and the desert safaris, simply because they only fully open in season, post October. However, we did go to the highest point in the UAE called Jebel Jais and drove into the Hajar mountain range which is a cross between Petra and Ladakh. At the top, we saw the world’s longest zipline which is 1,680 metres above the Arabian Gulf and 2.83-km-long stretching from one mountain to the other. This is definitely something adrenaline junkies will absolutely love. There have been 70,000 people who have attempted the zipline flight, and zero accidents. So if this kind of thing rocks your boat, this is probably the safest place to do it.
Jebel Jais is the highest point in UAE Shutterstock
In traffic, the drive from Ras al Khaimah to Dubai could be up to 2 hours. If, like me, you love anything to do with the kitchen/dining, do stop at the showroom of RAK Ceramics which is literally on the way. I have been seeing this brand for many years in hotels and restaurants across India but never realised (why would I?) it stood for Ras al Khaimah. Although they sell their stunning porcelain and bone china mainly to hotels and institutions, they retail from this shop on the ground floor of their head office and factory.
On a traffic-free day Ras al Khaimah (in picture) is an hour away by road from Dubai Shutterstock
In Dubai, we went the Anantara route again and stayed at the Anantara The Palm Dubai. In a way it was an extension of the resort feel we experienced in RAK. A drive in a buggy through the meandering lagoon villas to our overwater villa (the only one in the UAE) definitely had a Maldives vibe. The over-water villas means you can experience magnificent Dubai sunsets from your deck or deep bathtub or get a glimpse of the aquatic underworld through glass floor panels, not to mention a view of the pristine 400 metre beach. I had never stayed at The Palm before but it is quite an exciting place to be with beach clubs and restaurants with a real resort feel, away from the hustle and bustle of the city yet only 30 minutes into downtown by car. It's like being in Thailand (especially if someone is taking a scenic sail around Palm Jumeirah on board the hotel’s Thai long tail boat). The sea is warm and calm without waves. The restaurants here are similar to the Anantara Ras Al Khaimah…Mekong and Beach House. We did something called Dining by Design where we had a special dinner in a kind of design bubble (perfectly air conditioned of course) on the beach. The culinary highlight of our stay at the resort was eating at Bushman's, an Aussie steakhouse. A contemporary grill with great food that reflects the rustic outback. Succulent cuts of prime meat – Wagyu and Angus — perfectly cooked on a parilla grill and a surprisingly good selection of dishes for vegetarians.
