What’s On took over Studio One Hotel and it was the weekend of our dreams…

Perhaps you heard: on Friday August 23, What’s On descended on the fabulous Studio One Hotel for an ultimate weekend-long extravaganza. We packed the weekend with What’s On-approved activities – a massive brunch fest, fabulous DJ sets, after-party antics, and active challenges, to name a few. 

To relive the two-day event, let’s take a look back at all the good times we had, the tasty things we ate and drank, and, of course, the photos that captured it all.

There were loads of free treatments to enjoy

Ask anyone who came to the Lock In and they’d probably say the Orientation Room was, erm, pretty hectic. The barbers from Bristles  & Mane were sorting out the lads; N&J by Samer were booking in folks for blow-dries and nail polish changes; The Elixir Clinic were signing up guests to try their famous vitamin infusions; and The Mode was renting out gorgeous outfits for everyone at brunch. Elsewhere, hands were getting massaged courtesy of L’Occitane en Provence; guests were being given Titan energy drinks and hangover preventions from the dashing Bastien from SUP UAE, and everyone was booking in for their all-important brunch spots. In short, it was madness.

And mind-boggling TEPfactor challenges to try

Thanks to the legends at TEPfactor Dubai, guests were entertained over the weekend with cool challenges. Some required team work of the highest level while others simply required brute strength. One thing’s for sure, they were all a lot of fun.

Brunch was epic at both The Maine Street Eatery and Larte

If you’re going to throw a party as epic as the What’s On Lock In, then you’re going to need some delicious food and drink. But because this is the What’s On Lock In, we couldn’t just have some run-of-the mill brunch. To help us out, The Maine Street Eatery and Larte provided brilliant brunches serving the best from their menus alongside unlimited drinks.

A lot of dancing occurred in The Irish Village and BOHO

Post brunch, guests took their many drinks tokens and headed upstairs for the evening’s entertainment at The Irish Village and BOHO, though the surprise hit of the weekend had to be at BOHO. The brand new Indian eatery in Studio One Hotel transformed into the evening’s nightclub as legendary DJ Andy Swift catered to every musical request from ABBA to Smokie.

We started Saturday with a boost

We planned a chilled day for everyone on Saturday, so it was important to start off strong. To help wake you up, Coffee Planet provided some delicious coffee, while Larte sorted out sustenance. After that, it was time for yoga with Dina Ghandour. And seriously, if we could do yoga like this every morning, getting up early would never be a problem. Talk about a boost.

Sunbathing and soreheads followed on the Saturday

For those who couldn’t handle yoga, it was time to nurse sore heads while submerged in a the pool, lying on the pool deck or floating around on Mr. Watson the camel.

Although some managed to get fit with Spartan Race

Fair play to Spartan man Christian for getting people to part from their horizontal positions and get active. Aside from several planking competitions, and an exhausting sand-bag hold, the highlight was the lads’ wade through the water race.

And just before the mass exodus, everyone got their grub on at Mr Miyagi’s and El Chapo’s Tacos

The two quirky venues helped to round out the weekend with a selection of their signature dishes. At Mr Miyagi’s, dishes included the kung pao chicken, dynamite shrimp and chicken katsu curry, while over at El Chapo’s Tacos, guests went crazy for the quesadillas, and fish tacos.

Of course, we snapped plenty of pics

There was just too much going on this weekend to write about it all, so we took plenty pictures too (those are worth what, 1,000 words, right?) So be sure to check out our facebook page for more… hopefully that’ll keep you satisfied until our next What’s On Lock In, coming very, very soon.

— For the best of Dubai straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.

Images: Facebook