In the middle of the Dubai desert right next to Bollywood and Hollywood theme parks, you will now find a tropical and Polynesian-themed resort…

There’s a Cantonese restaurant inside. The hotel is Polynesian themed. It’s right next door to a French village-style shopping and restaurant complex, as well as an Indian-cinema-inspired theme park. And yes, it’s smack bang in the middle of the sand in the United Arab Emirates.

The new Lapita Hotel at Dubai Parks & Resorts is certainly full of contrasts, and it’s now officially open.

How much does it cost to stay in the 504-room hotel? Well, we just tried to book on the hotel’s website for Tuesday January 31 (just as an example) and the rate came in at Dhs1,370 for a King room with a balcony (although we imagine one of the three private villas would be a touch more costly).

Here’s a wee photo tour…

The hotel is themed around Polynesian design and features lagoon-style pools, plenty of kids activities and wooden South Pacific-style interiors.

Palama---Lobby-Lounge

It’s basically aiming to make you feel like you’re on a tropical island.

Restaurant-wise there’s an all-day dining spot called Waka, a Med’ restaurant called Ari, a lobby lounge called Palama (pictured above) and a rooftop bar called Lana.

The fanciest-sounding restaurant, however, is Hikina, which serves contemporary Cantonese:

hikima-lapita

There’s also a spa, called Ola, which has a hammam room, aromatherapy steam rooms, saunas, vitality pools and ice fountains.

Here’s a glimpse at the hotel room’s bathrooms:

 lapita-dubai-bathroom

This is one of the Deluxe King rooms:

Deluxe-King-lapita-dubai

Here’s a cool design detail from the lobby:

And here are a few more angles of the rooms:

lapita-dubai-bedroom lapita-dubai-3

We’ll let you know when we can show off more angles of the hotel and give you a closer glimpse of the spa and restaurants.

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