Headlines For February 04, 2026 / Why Four Seasons Resort Dubai At Jumeirah Beach Is One Of The Finest Hotels In The UAE / By Christopher Beanland / Publisher LLM Reporters

We travellers are so lucky to do what we do and we seldom sit back and really relish that. It’s a true privilege to enjoy a few nights at a luxury hotel. And staying at Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach feels more like a privilege than usual.

It’s impossible in a Four Seasons to entirely forget the creeping influence of Mike White’s sexy and sublime series The White Lotus. This property leaned into the last season’s Thai excess by doing White Lotus cabanas with themed cocktails, snacks and anti-stress treatments inspired by the latest series of the show all luxury travel devotees devour. For me it’s also become a neat way of bonding with the staff, of letting them know that you’re on their side and you’re not a ‘nightmare guest’ like some of our most beloved TV anti-heroes.

As a writer who has an interest in the human condition I find it fascinating to try and talk to as many people as possible, especially staff. And at this Four Seasons it’s fair to say every person I engaged with went above and beyond.

This is a sprawling Mediterranean-style hotel with lush grounds and 270 metres of private beach facing the Arabian Gulf

They’ve really hired the absolute creme de la creme, each staff member’s energy is so relaxed and interested. It doesn’t seem at all artificial as it sometimes can in places like the US where the fake smile is worn for the sake of a tip.

The people here make the place. Whether it’s the room cleaning teams who are happy to chat, the brilliant security guards and beach life guards who helped me find my lost glasses (yes, I’m a klutz) or the fantastic F&B staff.

The waitresses and waiters who were happy to tell me their stories of life in flung countries like Uzbekistan, Russia, Belarus, Kenya, Italy… and hear mine, really took the experience here to the next level. Those kinds of service standards are really gold dust and it’s a testament to what this property and its people are trying to do.

Yes Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach has everything you’d expect from a Four Seasons hotel. It is opulence marinated in calmness. Chic staff walk through a large lobby filled with ornate art which gives way to an all- day cafe. A spiral staircase leads down to the Jou Jou Brasserie which spills out into the wonderful gardens.

Cabanas line up around two pools – one for families and one for adults. Special treats are brought out: frozen fruit, mini ice creams, canapes.

You can have poolside treatments too.

Palm trees sway in the breeze and the piece de resistance is the private beach. I swim out every day to the pontoon anchored a hundred metres offshore. On the deck are sunloungers and an icebox filled every morning with cold cans of water – they think of everything. In the gym, well-heeled guests keep their influencer physiques in shape and there’s an indoor pool and sauna and steam room which is perfect at the end of each busy day.

Suites offer views overlooking the Arabian Gulf or the beauty of the sparkling Dubai skyline

With a dozen restaurants and bars there is no need to leave. The Mercury Rooftop offers unparalleled views of Dubai’s skyline. At Jou Jou I eat the most delicious seafood pasta – crab and lobster served with an intense sauce and mopped up with perfect pasta. The Jou Jou breakfast buffet is truly next level – fresh pastries, fruit platters, and even chocolate cake bears for kids. The family friendliness of this property is another selling point.

From the windows of my suite I watch the supercars speed over the bridge to Jumeirah Bay Island. In the other direction as dusk falls, I watch the lights of the towers twinkle.

The Burj Khalifa is the star attraction. From Four Seasons you can see the giant tower in all its majesty. This hotel’s location is in a quiet and upmarket area away from the sometimes chaotic thrust of Downtown Dubai.

The calm and classy interiors of the rooms are perfect for unwinding. Colours are cool blues and whites. The peace is perfect for sleeping. Diptyque soap, shower gel and conditioner are perfectly judged additions, their scents waft through the room. Room service is exceptional: their house shawarma is delicious, ditto the fries.

Set in an enclave of lush greenery, The Pearl Spa and Wellness Jumeirah offers 10 treatment rooms, a tranquil indoor pool and a fitness centre with state-of the-art equipment

It is unlikely that many fellow travellers and LLM readers are fans of Agnes Callard’s strange essay The Case Against Travel.

In it Callard questions the philosophical justification for travel. She remembers being in the UAE and visiting a falcon sanctuary but feeling unmoved. Down in the gardens, as I finish Curtis Sittenfield’s excellent novel Romantic Comedy, I hear something stirring up in the trees. A falcon. I am mesmerised by the majesty of this bird of prey – the symbol of the country.

Its handler skillfully tempts it back down to earth and takes it away to wherever it is headed. I can’t stop thinking about this bird and how the travel experiences we have create some memories which will last well into the future. I feel like my stay here in Dubai certainly will.

Factbox

Room rates per night from: £400 low season and £900 high season.

Address: Jumeira St, Jumeirah, Jumeirah 2, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Phone: +971 4 270 7777
Website: fourseasons.com/dubaijb/

Fly to Dubai with Pegasus (flypgs.com) daily from London Stansted via Istanbul from £309.

Blacklane offers airport transfers from Dubai (blacklane.com).

For more information on Dubai, head over to visitdubai.com.

All imagery credit: Four Seasons Jumeirah Beach Dubai