one and only the palm dubai

Another week, another news of a grand new hotel to be built in Dubai. This time it's to be a luxe One & Only Resorts property situated on the man-made islands of The Palm. Interesting, seeing as how One & Only already has the One & Only Royal Mirage occupying prime massive oceanfront property right at the base of the Palm, on Al Sufouh Road.
Anyway, the One & Only isn't due to open until October 2010, and when it does it'll join a bevy of other properties springing up among The Palm fronds: Atlantis The Palm, Movenpick Resort Oceana Palm Jumeirah, Fairmont Palm Hotel, Movenpick Resort & Spa Palm Jumeirah, Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, Anantara Resort, Trump International Hotel, and properties from Radisson SAS, Hilton, Metropolitan, Shangri La, Starwood, Marriott, Oberoi, and Kempinski, according to The Emirates Network.
So how will this One & Only try to make it seem like it is the one and only luxury resort on The Palm?
You might be stuck on a man-made island with a million other millionaire McMansions and hotels, but the One & Only is just as eager to get you away as to have you stay. Its private limos and water taxis will whisk you to tee times on Dubai's top gold courses, to dinners at the best restaurants and any other excursion your heart desires.
As for the property itself, it's not going for the typical Middle Eastern look; instead, the influence will be Andalucian and Moorish, as though you are vacationing on Spain's Costa del Sol and not in the United Arab Emirates. While we're not sure how we feel about this, we are drooling over the prospect of private cabanas with pools and rain showers. There will be 100 rooms total, with 35 of those situated in the "grand manor house" and the others in low-rise mansions and beachfront villas. Each will have 24-hour butler service of course, and just say the word for a slip at the marina, since you'll no doubt be bringing your yacht along. We know we will.
Have you figured out the importance of the opening date yet? October 10, 2010...10/10/10. So we suppose if you aren't getting married on that day or attending a wedding, then maybe keep your ears open to hear about what celebs are no doubt partying at the opening.
Dubai; Well FooDiva was back at the new One & Only The Palm Dubai, this time to try out Zest, the all-day dining restaurant. For those in the know, you can tell I am building up to the finale; Stay and Yannick Aleno’s Michelin star fine dining experience.
It was Zest’s al fresco seating overlooking the infinity pool that really appealed to the romantic in me and my visitors. Having rocked up for an impromptu weekend lunch, the waiter asked if were in-house guests and upon my denial, asked us to wait while he checked availability. Honestly there was not a soul around, in or out – anyhow, he finally escorted us to a table. The menu is well thought through and divided into Asian, Middle Eastern and Western cuisine, as well as mezze and vegetarian sections. Gosh, where does one start? Thanks to the tourists in town, we settled upon a selection of Arabic mezze as appetisers; cheese sambousek, falafel, tabouleh and labneh with zaatar. The labneh was served as mini-balls coated in dried zaatar, whilst both the sambousek and the tabouleh were as per normal Arabian spec. The disappointment was the falafel, just way too overfried. The accompanying bread was a mix of very thin naan, and traditional almost Greek-like pitta – beautifully warmed.