Where to stay, city by city

Beach resorts, downtown high-rises and old-city guesthouses — Dubai has one of the deepest hotel markets anywhere, and the price gap between areas is large.

The largest hotel market on this site. Rooms are small and prices are high, so the thing that matters most is which zone you book in.

A compact, walkable city where most hotels are small converted buildings — which makes the room description matter more than the star count.

Small rooms, high rates and a tax-and-fee structure that makes the headline price misleading — the borough you book in changes the total more than anything else.

An enormous, extremely well-connected city where the station you stay near matters more than the district, and small rooms are the norm at every price.

Not one destination but a dozen — the town you choose decides whether your trip is rice terraces, surf, cliff-top sunsets or a resort by the airport.