Team What's On pick their favourite things in the UAE right now

These are our favourite things in the UAE right now…

Escaping the city for a relaxing stay at… Mandarin Oriental, Muscat

One of the great joys of living in the UAE is having so much to discover right on our doorstep. And when the city starts to feel a bit all-encompassing, there’s nothing I love more than escaping for some much-needed fresh air. So this week, I took a 40-minute flight from Dubai to Muscat for a blissful weekend of relaxation at Mandarin Oriental, Muscat. The hotel opened back in June, so it’s still a newcomer to Oman’s hotel scene, perched on the beachfront in Shatti Al-Qurum. It’s only a 20-minute drive from the airport, and while the resort is modern and sophisticated in style, it’s laced with lovely warm Arabian touches and exemplifies Omani hospitality, so you instantly feel at home. The pool area, dotted with swaying palms, is a lovely spot to soak up the sun, and we loved dining Tuscan-style at Essenza, their signature restaurant. A spa, in collaboration with renowned Omani fragrance brand Amouage, was the perfect place to start a Sunday morning. – Alice Holtham-Pargin, Group Editor

@mo_muscat

Treating my skin to a revitalizing new treatment at… Athena Clinic

Anything that promises a “non-surgical facelift” has enough to get me booking a treatment, particularly in the throes of Dubai’s non-stop events season. And that’s exactly what InMode offers with its FormaGlow facial, now available at the beautiful Athena Clinic in Onyx Tower, The Greens. Designed to give glowing skin, reduce fine lines, and stimulate collagen production, in a 40-minute session, a heated wand is used to deliver gentle radiofrequency into your skin cells, gently heating but not in an uncomfortable way, to stimulate collagen production. Tricking your body into reparing the treated tissue, it tightens and brightens the skin all in one, and best of all there’s no pain and no down-time, meaning you’re event ready right after your session. – Alice Holtham-Pargin, Group Editor

@athenaderma

Levelling up to the next phase of fitness logistics with… WHOOP

Tracking apps like Apple Fitness and Strava, aren’t just great for keeping you accountable, they also make it fun. Earn trophies, chase personal bests, and share your personal milestones with your friends. A smart watch enhances the experience yet further by offering better monitoring capabilities and progress metrics. And after my recent acquisition of a fabled WHOOP device – the gains have got even more gratifying. You can really get nerdy with your progress, dive into every aspect of your workout, identifying what you need to tweak to make it to the next level. And with the calorie-torching madness of Dubai Fitness Challenge going on right now, and all the race events packed into the next few months, there really is no better time to upgrade your exercise accessories. Trust me, it’s a game changer. – Miles Buckeridge, Deputy Editor Dubai

@whoop

Enjoying a desert Champagne oasis with… Arabian Adventures

This week I got to experience the new Veuve Clicquot Desert Experience by Arabian Adventures. You can read the full review here, but – the headline is “by far the best example of desert dining I’ve ever experienced. And by quite the meaty yardstick”. And that’s outside of and separate to the fact you get picked up in a G Wagon, borderline IV fed premium Champagne, get to enjoy what might be Dubai’s best sundowner view and experience the most monumental majlis of stars. It’s an 11/10. – Miles Buckeridge, Deputy Editor Dubai

arabian-adventures.com

Enjoying life’s simple pleasures with… a Twix bar

Not fancy or bougie enough? That’s the point. Twix has been around for a long, long, time, and it’s crazy how two little bars of chocolate, biscuit and caramel filling wrapped in golden packaging can bring you so much joy. Forget the grams of this and kilocalories of that, this is a great little pick-me-up at about Dhs5, and a little indulgence occasionally never hurt anyone. Enjoy. – Dinesh Ramanathan, Deputy Editor, What’s On Abu Dhabi

@twix

Appreciating an all-time winner with the… BMW X5 E70

Yes, they might make ‘em newer, smarter and sleeker, but few automobiles can match the sturdiness and tank-like build of the X5 E70. This second-gen variant holds its ground in any setting, and is one of those cars you’ll have a hard time parting with, no matter how sweet the deal – thanks to its power, luxurious finish and a stance that proves why you shouldn’t skip leg day. Special mention for those “fine leather seats”. – Dinesh Ramanathan, Deputy Editor, What’s On Abu Dhabi

@bmwmiddleeast

Trying things I never would have otherwise at… Tang Town

I went to a dinner this past week – it was a unique dinner, because in almost every course I tried something I wouldn’t normally have and that’s what I love the most about my job. Tang Town is a sleek eatery tucked away in a corner of Dubai Mall Fountain Views and offers Imperial Chinese food, which is quite different from your standard Chinese takeout. Each round of this several-round dinner was as exquisite as it gets, and I sampled things like bird’s nest and jellyfish head. My motto is to try everything, even if I don’t like it, but Tang Town’s food is delicious, uber authentic and presented with perfect service. If you’ve got a curious palette, I recommend you visit ASAP. – Manaal Fatimah, Junior Reporter 

@tangtown_dubai

Joy, light and Bollywood bangers from the 90s at… Diwali

I don’t celebrate Diwali, but I love festivals and festivities – Diwali in Dubai is an exciting time and a celebration perhaps lesser known to some of our readers. Dubai’s massive Indian diaspora is distributed across many parts of the city, but you’ll really feel the Diwali delight when you visit the parts of Mankhool and Karama, the areas where the community is concentrated. Here, come Diwali, almost every window and balcony is adorned with different lights, creating a beautiful, chaotic pattern of colour and sparkle. That is the essence of the festival, and if you take a drive around the small winding lanes, you’ll be captivated by the sheer volume of it. A little story in every window. Like every year, we took a drive to be part of that, and coupled with some Bollywood of the 90s, I didn’t want to go home. – Manaal Fatimah, Junior Reporter 

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