From US$145, without breakfast
– Only 10 minutes by taxi from one of Dubai’s most vibrant areas, Dubai Marina
– The pool feels a little ‘closed in’ with the hotel building rising up close by on two sides
Ibn Battuta, the 14th-century wanderer widely recognized as one of the world’s greatest travellers, would probably feel quite at home in the Movenpick Ibn Battuta Gate — although he would definitely be unaccustomed to such luxurious surroundings!
The well-appointed guest rooms are tastefully decorated with influences from Battuta’s native Morocco, with terracotta-coloured soft furnishings, mosaic-tiled bathrooms and Arabian lanterns. The suites are tastefully themed after the destinations the great explorer visited, with inspiration from regions as diverse as Andalusia, Russia and China. All accommodations have the amenities you would expect from a 5-star hotel such as free wifi, LCD TV, mini bar, and tea- and coffee-making facilities.
The hotel is next door to one of Dubai’s most-loved malls, Ibn Battuta Mall, which is, again, themed around the famed traveller. It’s also a short walk from Dubai’s highly efficient air-conditioned metro.
Restaurants in the hotel are not to be missed and showcase cuisines from Arabia, India, China and the Mediterranean. Dubai is blessed with an abundance of excellent Indian restaurants but if you taste the offerings from Chor Bazaar’s three tandoori ovens you’ll quickly understand why it beat all the competition and was voted BBC Good Food’s ‘Best Indian Restaurant in Dubai’.
Guests at Movenpick Ibn Battuta Gate have the best of both worlds: the convenience of a city hotel and access to the beach via the hotel’s beach club. There are free transfers and entry to the up-market Oceana Beach Club on Palm Jumeirah. So, when you’ve finished exploring the city and shopping, you can relax with a cocktail and dip your toes in the Arabian Gulf on one of the world’s largest man-made islands.
