Hotel brands
Start from a brand you already like, then pick the hotel: the kids’ club, the pools and the family rooms change from one address to the next. Sofitel’s four Dubai hotels run from a beach resort on Palm Jumeirah to a tower linked to The Dubai Mall.
The brands, by segment
Luxury
- Hotels in our lists: 4
Dubai has four Sofitels, and each one gives your family a different holiday. Our pick, Sofitel Dubai The Palm, has 500 m of private beach and a Kids Club for ages 4 to 12 until 19:00, while Sofitel Dubai Downtown opens its Le Petit Prince Kids Club at 09:00, a skywalk away from The Dubai Mall.
How does Accor group the brands in our family list?
Accor files its brands by segment, from Luxury to Economy, and the 12 hotels in our Dubai family list fall into four segments. Luxury holds most of them: Sofitel, with four hotels, then Fairmont, Raffles and Banyan Tree, a partner brand listed on all.accor.com whose Dubai resort is co-managed by Banyan Group and Ennismore. Rixos, with one hotel on Palm Jumeirah and one at JBR, is a Lifestyle brand. Mövenpick is Premium, and Adagio and Mercure are Midscale.
The segment describes the level of service a brand aims for. It does not tell you how well a hotel suits children. The Midscale Aparthotel Adagio Premium The Palm sells one-bedroom apartments of 61 m² for up to 5, with a kitchen and in-room laundry, and has direct access to a private beach. The Luxury Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach publishes no kids’ club at all. Read the segment as a first filter, then check each hotel’s club, rooms and pools on its card.
What does each brand offer children in Dubai?
Sofitel ties its family offer to Le Petit Prince: Le Petit Prince Kids Club and the Kids & Family Room at Sofitel Dubai Downtown, the AstroKids Kids' Club themed on The Little Prince at Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk, and the Family escapade by Le Petit Prince offer at Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach. Fairmont The Palm runs the Fairmont Falcons Kids' Club from 18 months, the youngest start in our list. Raffles The Palm Dubai has The Young Voyager for ages 3 to 8, a programme devised by a Children's Butler, with mini golf and a pirate playground.
Both Rixos hotels name a Rixy Kids Club; at Rixos The Palm Hotel & Suites its activities are included in the Ultra All Inclusive rate and the club has a pool of its own. Banyan Tree Dubai sells a Family Room of 108 m² and a Family Suite of 164 m², both for six. Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Village Triangle has the only aqua park on site in the list. Mercure Dubai Barsha Heights and Aparthotel Adagio Premium The Palm sell apartments, up to 105 m² for six at the Mercure.
Do two hotels of the same brand offer families the same thing?
No, and the four Sofitels in Dubai show how far apart they can be. Three run a kids’ club for ages 4 to 12, each on its own hours: 10:00 to 19:00 at Sofitel Dubai The Palm, 09:00 to 18:00 at Sofitel Dubai Downtown and 10:00 to 20:00 at Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk. Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach has none. Children under 12 stay and dine free at The Palm and at Downtown, while the other two publish no free-stay age. Only Sofitel Dubai The Palm has a private beach, 500 m long.
The two Rixos hotels differ as much. Rixos The Palm Hotel & Suites is ultra all-inclusive, with family suites of 215 and 250 m² on a private beach, while Rixos Premium Dubai JBR, a 35-storey tower on The Walk, sells suites of two to four bedrooms, up to 390 m², with direct beach access.
The Sofitel brand page sets its four Dubai hotels side by side. For the other brands, each hotel’s card in Best family hotels in Dubai gives its club, rooms and pool.
Frequently asked questions
How does Accor group its brands?
By segment, from Luxury to Economy. In our Dubai family list, Sofitel, Fairmont, Raffles and Banyan Tree are Luxury, Rixos is Lifestyle, Mövenpick is Premium, and Adagio and Mercure are Midscale. The segment describes the level of service a brand aims for; the kids’ club and the family rooms are set hotel by hotel.
Which Accor brand has the most hotels in our family list?
Sofitel, with 4 of the 12 hotels in Best family hotels in Dubai, including Sofitel Dubai The Palm, our pick at No. 1. The other three Sofitels sit at No. 7, 8 and 10. Rixos has two hotels in the list, and Fairmont, Raffles, Banyan Tree, Mövenpick, Adagio and Mercure one each.
Is Banyan Tree part of Accor?
Banyan Tree is a partner brand: Banyan Tree Dubai is listed on all.accor.com and co-managed by Banyan Group and Ennismore. It is No. 5 in Best family hotels in Dubai, with a 500 m private beach on Bluewaters Island, a Family Room of 108 m² and a Family Suite of 164 m², both for six, and children up to and including 2 free in an available cot.
Which brand’s kids’ club takes the youngest children?
Fairmont. The Fairmont Falcons Kids' Club at Fairmont The Palm takes children from 18 months, daily from 10:30 to 19:00, with under-3s charged and advance booking mandatory. Among the Sofitels, only Le Petit Prince Kids Club at Sofitel Dubai Downtown takes children under 4, as long as a guardian stays with them.
Which brand do we pick for a family holiday in Dubai?
Sofitel, through Sofitel Dubai The Palm, first in Best family hotels in Dubai. Its Kids Club takes ages 4 to 12 every day from 10:00 to 19:00, children under 12 stay and dine free, and the resort has 24 family apartments with a kitchen and a 500 m private beach. Its dedicated Kids Club Pool was listed as temporarily closed.