Ras Al-Khaimah – an hour’s drive or a short hop on a seaplane – is positioning itself as the new alternative destination within the United Arab Emirates. If Dubai is where you go to shop, party and date, Ras Al-Khaimah is where you retreat to unwind in real luxury. At the Emirate’s flagship Waldorf Astoria, even the trained falcons that keep the pigeons from defacing the roof are fed only quail.
The 346-room beachfront hotel, which opened last August, is just as sprawling and as opulent as you’d expect in a part of the world where there’s plenty of land and apparently no shortage of marble. It looks and feels like a palace.
Ras Al-Khaimah’s ruler is Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi.
Less than a decade ago the main industry was pearl diving. Companies like RAK Pearl will still let you pry your very own trophies from oyster shells. However, to really impress your date head inland into the Arabian desert where – you can arrange to explore the seemingly endless horizons by 4×4.
