The Imperial Villa at Raffles The Palm Dubai

Why it is on the list

Raffles The Palm Dubai has 340 rooms, suites and villas; the Imperial Villa is the largest of them.¹² It has 1,050 sqm on its own grounds: four bedrooms with king beds, a pool on the ground floor, gardens, a spa of its own, a full kitchen, a private entrance and a bathroom in Rosa Portogallo marble, with the Dubai skyline across the water.³ It sleeps up to 10.³ The resort's Raffles butlers work around the clock, and the Raffles Club Lounge is kept for guests of the club rooms, suites and villas.⁴⁵

It is the wrong choice for two people or for a stay in the centre of town. For a couple by the sea, take the Royal Suite at Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab; for Downtown, the Royal Penthouse at Mandarin Oriental Downtown. The Royal Villa at the same resort also has four bedrooms but is 950 sqm; the three-bedroom Royal Suite, at 750 sqm, suits a smaller family who want to be inside the main building.²

How to get it

Call the hotel or write to it and ask for the Raffles Imperial Villa by name: the resort has two four-bedroom villas, and the Royal Villa is the smaller one.² Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out until 12:00.² The resort is 30 minutes by car from Dubai International Airport.¹ Until 4 October 2026 the villas are sold with a package that includes check-in and check-out inside the villa, breakfast cooked in the villa by a chef, a Rolls-Royce or Bentley to and from Dubai Airport, and a 60-minute spa treatment for two; it is paid in full at booking and can be cancelled without charge until 15:00 three days before arrival.⁶ The hotel notes that some services and facilities may run at reduced availability, so ask when booking which will be open during the stay.⁵

Discretion

The villa has a private entrance, and its pool, gardens and spa are its own.³ Under the current villa package check-in and check-out are done inside the villa, and the airport transfer is by Rolls-Royce or Bentley.⁶