Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Five-Star · ★★★★★
Raffles The Palm Dubai
Versailles on the Palm. Shameless, comfortable, surprisingly serious.
Versailles on the Palm. Shameless, comfortable, surprisingly serious.
"The former Emerald Palace, rebranded Raffles in 2022, Dubai's most theatrical Versailles-pastiche palace, with the service to back the gilt."
Why this rank, Raffles The Palm Dubai opened in 2020 as Emerald Palace Kempinski and was rebranded by Raffles in 2022, a 389-room French-neoclassical palace on Palm Jumeirah's western crescent. The architecture is unapologetic Versailles pastiche, gold leaf, hand-painted ceilings and Murano chandeliers, fronted by a roughly 500-metre private beach facing the Burj Al Arab. Dining runs from Piatti by the Beach (Italian over the sand) and Matagi (contemporary Japanese izakaya) to the French-palace buffet at Le Jardin, with afternoon tea under a Blüthner grand piano in Blüthner Hall. The Cinq Mondes Spa is among the largest on the Palm at 3,000 sqm with 23 treatment rooms. The honest caveat: the far-western-tip address means long transfers, and the maximalist gilt will not suit guests who want restraint. Best for travellers who want Dubai's most theatrical palace stay without the service slipping.
Best room: an upper-floor sea-view suite facing the Burj Al Arab
"Opened in late 2020 as Emerald Palace Kempinski, then taken over by Raffles in 2022, this 389-key palace on the Palm's West Crescent is the loudest expression of Versailles-grand-classical that Dubai has produced, and behind the gilt, a quietly excellent five-star with one of the city's strongest beach footprints."
Raffles The Palm Dubai opened in late 2020, originally as Emerald Palace Kempinski, and was taken over by Accor's Raffles brand in mid-2022, when the property was rebranded and re-launched. The architecture is, deliberately, French neoclassical at scale: gold leaf in the lobby, hand-painted ceilings in the ballroom, Murano chandeliers in the corridors, and a porte-cochère that would not be out of place at the Hôtel de Crillon. The 389 rooms are spread across a single grand-classical palace footprint at the western tip of the Palm Jumeirah, opening onto a 500-metre private beach with a direct view of the Burj Al Arab on the horizon.
The 389 rooms and suites start with sea-facing entry categories around 70 square metres, each with a balcony and double bath, and climb to vast multi-room suites on the upper floors that Raffles markets among the largest on Palm Jumeirah. The point of the place is scale: ceilings, corridors, and a porte-cochère all sized for the photograph. If you want a restrained, contemporary room, this is the wrong address, the design is committed to the gilt.
There are six restaurants and bars. Matagi, the contemporary Japanese izakaya, is the most considered kitchen on site. Piatti by the Beach is the Italian, set over the sand with Burj Al Arab views. Le Jardin runs all-day dining as a French-palace buffet, and afternoon tea is served in Blüthner Hall beneath a Louis XIV Blüthner grand piano. Sola Jazz Lounge keeps a live band most evenings, and Raffles Patisserie handles the pastry counter.
Behind the deliberately maximalist façade, the property runs a more precise five-star service standard than the Versailles pastiche suggests, and the 3,000-square-metre Cinq Mondes Spa, 23 treatment rooms and two hammams, is genuinely a destination rather than an afterthought. The honest trade-off is the address: the far western tip of the Palm means real transfer times to the rest of Dubai. For a guest who wants the city's most photogenic palace stay and will trade location for theatre, this is the answer; for anyone who values being close to the action, book nearer the marina.
The resort's largest top-floor suites are genuinely a celebration setting. Brief the team a few days ahead and they will arrange a private Matagi tasting menu in the suite, a violinist, and a boat transfer to the resort's marina, the kind of set piece the architecture is built for.
An upper sea-view suite, dinner at Piatti, a Cinq Mondes hammam, and a private cabana at the resort beach is the considered Raffles The Palm honeymoon week. The entry sea-view category is the right starting booking; the suite upgrade is worth making for the separate living room.
Two connecting Diamond rooms, the resort's children's programme, and a private cabana at the beach. Less ambitious for kids than Atlantis next door, but considerably calmer, for families wanting a beach-luxury Palm Jumeirah stay without the volume of Atlantis, this is the deliberate alternative.
Rates checked May 2026. Price varies by date and view.
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Editorial · #10 on the Top 20 Hotels in Dubai 2026 list
Raffles The Palm Dubai's case is the West Crescent position and the heritage of the building itself: it opened in 2020 as Emerald Palace Kempinski and was rebranded by Raffles in 2022. The far-western tip of Palm Jumeirah faces the Burj Al Arab across the bay, which is the resort's signature view.
The 389 rooms and suites run from sea-facing entry categories of roughly 70 square metres up to the vast top-floor suites Raffles markets among the largest on the Palm. The architecture is committed Versailles pastiche, the right register for a guest who wants theatre rather than restraint.
Dining centres on Matagi (contemporary Japanese izakaya), Piatti by the Beach (Italian over the sand), and the French-palace buffet at Le Jardin, with afternoon tea in Blüthner Hall. The 3,000-square-metre Cinq Mondes Spa, 23 treatment rooms and two hammams, is among the largest on the Palm. The honest caveat is the address: real transfer times to the rest of Dubai. Best for the traveller who wants the city's most photogenic palace stay and will trade location for the spectacle.