Living In A Hotel Apartment In Dubai: What’s All The Fuss?

Serviced or hotel apartments have long been seen as the domain of the seasoned business traveller – a visiting consultant or off-site employee who is in town for a couple of weeks and needs a convenient place to stay. One with some features of home (like a kitchen so you don’t have to call room service for a grilled cheese sandwich) but also the creature comforts of home (so you’re not thrown into the deep end of navigating an unfamiliar city).

Or it’s the place that your company puts you up in for a month when you relocate for a job. A place you book for visiting family in because your flat is too small. Somewhere you rent for a weekend away with all your best friends.

In short, hotel apartments are seen as temporary accommodation. However, there are several reasons why living in one shouldn’t just be a stop-gap solution, but a viable tenancy option for rental contracts that last at least a year.

But First, what is a hotel apartment?

Hotel apartments in Dubai go by a few different monikers – serviced apartments, apartment hotels, and full-service flats to name a few. But what they all have in common is the fact that the tenants enjoy hotel facilities (such as room service, housekeeping, pool, gym, spa and more) while still maintaining their own sense of privacy and space.

What sets hotel apartments apart from regular hotel rooms is the fact that the former comes with a kitchenette (or a full-sized kitchen for larger units), while of course, hotel rooms usually just have the minibar fridge and a kettle. This means that unlike an impersonal hotel room, hotel apartments allow for the guest/tenant to settle in a bit more – kick off your shoes, turn on the tv and start preparing dinner, akin to how you would in your own home.

In terms of a hotel apartment versus a regular flat, however, the difference lies in the fact that the former comes completely kitted out with hotel-standard furniture and fixtures while the other does not. While furnished apartments may seem to tick the boxes, where they fall short is in terms of amenities that a hotel apartment offers residents. Given that these are often adjoining five-star hotels (that service the apartments), one can generally expect a much higher standard than a typical building gym/sauna.

SERVICED apartments IN DUBAI

In some cases, such as Alef Residences, the tower that houses the residential units is completely separate from the nearby W Hotel, which is the entity that services it. In other cases, such as the Sheraton Grand Hotel, the building has both serviced apartments and traditional hotel rooms – with the operator offering tenancy packages of up to a year for the apartments. Other hotel apartments are not tied to a specific hotel operator (and are in turn, unlicensed for alcohol) but still offer the same level of service and amenities that one can expect from a hotel – often at a more affordable price for longer stays.

benefits of serviced accommodation in Dubai

In a fast-paced city like Dubai, hotel apartments offer busy tenants peace of mind that is hard to replicate in more traditional rental settings. Chief among the factors that are particularly attractive to Dubai newbies is the fact that renting a serviced apartment is far more flexible than a normal flat. Flats usually come with year-long contracts, iron-clad exit clauses and penalties if you want to leave your tenancy earlier. This isn’t the case with serviced accommodation. If you’re unsure about life in a new city, job security or if your five-year plan simply doesn’t allow for more than 10 months in Dubai, it’s far easier to negotiate an attractive deal with a hotel apartment than a landlord who has his pick of tenants willing to sign for a year at the least.

Another benefit is the fact that all you need to do is bring a suitcase when you’re moving. Hotel apartments come with furnishings (including kitchen appliances, white goods and in most cases, cutlery and linen) so all you need to do is bring your clothes – perfect if you have no desire/budget/time to traipse around shops to furnish your place. Although if you needed to, it wouldn’t be an issue since most of the hotel apartments in Dubai are close to shopping malls, metro stations and major highways!

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, is the ease with which you can deal with errands – from room service to housekeeping, laundry and even post, with the peace of mind to not worry about your monthly utility bills like DEWA or gas. You just pay a flat rent month-to-month, and everything else is taken care of. The majority of services are in-house only a short phone call away, 24 hours a day while receiving mail is easier thanks to the fact that most hotel apartments offer residents postal services (including the use of their P.O. Box and of course, receiving and securing courier packages while you’re at work).

Life in a Dubai hotel apartment

We spoke to London-born Alex W, 34, who has lived in the Laguna Tower hotel apartments (serviced by the Movenpick) for the entirety of his time in Dubai – 4.5 years. He admits that moving to what essentially felt like a hotel was a bit of a culture shock initially, and he’s still getting used to seeing an ever-changing variety of hotel guests every time he enters the building. “In London, you walk-in and that’s your flat…it’s your space. Here, I only get that when I walk through my front door. Visitors from home can’t get their heads around it!”

He does concede however that waiting for a lift ride to get that sense of personal space (having lived in the apartment for so long, Alex and his flatmates have personalised the property with posters and knick-knacks) isn’t really all that bad! “It’s living in a hotel,” he says simply, “the amenities are the best part, hotel facilities that are at hotel standard.” Being a tenant, he has a Resident’s Card that entitles him to fantastic deals in the Movenpick’s restaurants, cafes, bars, spa, cheap gym memberships…you name it. And while he is also entitled to discounts on hotel rooms for when friends visit, he is quick to point out that there’s more than enough room for them in his flat, “you really won’t be getting the same space for the price!”

In short, living in a serviced apartment is, ” a seamless part of my life. I can have an action-packed weekend without leaving my building!” However, after 4 and a half years, Alex and his flatmates are considering moving to a villa, mainly because of their love for barbecues. Although he isn’t completely convinced. The superior amenities, the quick turnaround on any service requests (15 – 20 minutes), completely secure environment, not to mention the plethora of amazing restaurants just a short walk away, are all keeping him from signing the dotted line for a new apartment (he admits that he’s been looking at one bedroom apartments in the same building). But another key factor is the fact that he’s fallen in love with JLT – known as much for its easygoing lifestyle, proximity to metro stations as it is for its affordable apartments for rent.

If pressed, he does say that he would consider moving out of JLT, but most likely to another serviced apartment – from his friends’ and his experience, life in serviced accommodation works out more affordable than the alternative, especially once you consider all the features that you’re getting! In fact, living here has convinced him to look for a similar property should he ever leave Dubai – as long as the location is as convenient as JLT!

Interest in hotel apartments at a glance

Unsurprisingly, especially with the lead up to Expo 2020 and the sheer number of tourists who visit Dubai on a yearly basis, hotel apartments are proving to be a popular choice, This is also evidenced by the number of off-plan serviced accommodation that is scheduled for coming years, such as those that are offered by Azizi Developments.

However, as the graph below interestingly reveals, the majority of searches for serviced apartments on Bayut.com are for those available for rent, while the origin of those searches (for units in Dubai) come mainly from people already in the UAE.

With quality amenities, superior maintenance options and convenience, we expect to see the popularity of serviced accommodation and hotel apartments in Dubai continue to rise in the coming years. And popularity and success in a business are always accompanied by competition which pushes for good deals and lower rates in any industry.

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