Where to stay in Dubai: the best areas and hotels

Seen from the air, Palm Jumeirah is unmistakable: a trunk, a spray of fronds and an outer crescent, all reclaimed from the sea. On the ground it means one thing above all: beach resorts. The crescent is lined with grand hotels, each with its own stretch of private sand, pools and restaurants, while the trunk has malls, beach clubs and serviced apartments.

The headline act is Atlantis, The Palm, an ocean-themed resort on the crescent with Aquaventure, one of the world's largest waterparks, making it a magnet for families. Couples might prefer a Waldorf Astoria with soft sand and sea-facing rooms, an Arabian-styled Fairmont with eight pools, or a peaceful wellness resort on the eastern crescent. Downtown is around half an hour by car.

Dubai Marina is a canyon of glittering towers wrapped around a yacht-filled waterway, with waterfront restaurants and bars all the way round. Next door, Jumeirah Beach Residence, or JBR, has a broad public beach and a buzzing promenade, and just offshore, Bluewaters Island is home to Ain Dubai, the giant Ferris wheel. The Dubai Tram and metro link it all together.

Hotels here mix beach resort and city break. Choose a 35-storey lifestyle hotel in the heart of JBR overlooking the beach and Ain Dubai, a Hilton on the sand with a kids' club and ten places to eat, or an InterContinental with views across the marina. For a quieter escape, a Banyan Tree on Bluewaters has 500 metres of private beach.

Before the towers went up, Jumeirah was where Dubai went to the beach, and it still feels refreshingly human-scale. Jumeirah Beach Road runs past walled villas, cafés and boutique malls, with public beaches such as Kite Beach and the La Mer seafront along the way, and the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab rising offshore at the southern end. The Jumeirah Mosque welcomes visitors on guided tours, and Downtown is a short drive inland.

Hotels here are few and very fine. A Four Seasons resort has its own stretch of Jumeirah Beach, a short drive from the Mercato mall and City Walk, while a Bulgari resort sits on its own island just offshore, with a private beach, two pools and a spa. For something more urban, a stylish hotel at City Walk puts you among the outdoor cafés and shops, with a pool and full spa.

Downtown is Dubai at its most spectacular. The Burj Khalifa soars over everything, the Dubai Fountain dances in the lake at its feet every evening, and the Dubai Mall, with its aquarium and ice rink, could swallow a day without you noticing. Business Bay, just south, follows the Dubai Water Canal and has some of the city's best views of the skyline.

Hotels are tall, sleek and dramatic. Take your pick from a Taj with views of the Burj Khalifa and the fountain, a 75-storey tower with infinity pools on the roof, the Zaha Hadid-designed Opus building, home to ME by Meliá, or a Sofitel steps from the mall and the metro. There's no beach, but some hotels run shuttles to one.

Sheikh Zayed Road is Dubai's main artery, a multi-lane highway flanked by skyscrapers and the metro line, running from the World Trade Centre towards the Marina. Around it, the Dubai International Financial Centre, DIFC, is the city's business district by day and one of its best dining and gallery quarters by night, with the Museum of the Future just up the road.

Hotels are polished and well connected: a Waldorf Astoria spanning floors 18 to 50 of the Burj Daman tower, One&Only's first urban resort at One Za'abeel, and a Fairmont opposite the World Trade Centre, connected to the metro. A Conrad in the Trade Centre area is a short drive from the Dubai Mall. Great for a work trip, a foodie weekend or a short stopover.

Deira, on the north bank of Dubai Creek, is where the city began, and it's still the most atmospheric part of town. The Gold Souk glitters with window after window of jewellery, the Spice Souk is heady with frankincense and saffron, and wooden dhows unload cargo along the waterfront. Hop on an abra across the Creek for a dirham or two.

Hotels run from a Park Hyatt in the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, with every room looking over the water, to a Hyatt Regency on the Deira Corniche and a country-club-style hotel with an arts programme in green grounds. Dubai International airport is ten minutes or so away, which makes Deira handy for short stays and late flights.

Facing Deira across the Creek, Bur Dubai is old Dubai's other half. The wind towers and courtyard houses of the Al Fahidi historic district are a delight to wander, the Textile Souk sells silks and pashminas, and the waterfront is perfect for an evening stroll as the abras chug past. It's busy, local and refreshingly unglamorous.

This is where Dubai gets affordable. Expect solid four-star hotels and hotel apartments near BurJuman and the metro, a creek-view hotel in the heart of the district, and, just south in Oud Metha, the striking Sofitel Obelisk, shaped like an Egyptian obelisk and attached to WAFI Mall. A DoubleTree a few steps from BurJuman adds a spa.

Al Barsha's big draw is the Mall of the Emirates, a temple of shopping with more than 520 brands, a multiplex cinema and Ski Dubai, an indoor ski slope where you can make snow angels in 40-degree heat. It sits on Sheikh Zayed Road with its own metro station, roughly halfway between Downtown and the Marina.

Stay in a Kempinski connected directly to the mall, or a Sheraton next door with two outdoor pools and a free shuttle to the beach. Handy for families on a mixed shopping and sightseeing trip.