#11 in Top 20 Dubai for A Honeymoon · ★★★★★
Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort
Overwater villas on the Palm, the Maldives-of-Dubai honeymoon proxy.
Overwater villas on the Palm, the Maldives-of-Dubai honeymoon proxy.
"The 2013 Anantara on Palm Jumeirah, over-water villas, the working Maldivian-style Dubai resort."
Why this rank, Anantara The Palm Dubai opened in 2013 on Palm Jumeirah's eastern crescent, the working Maldivian-style Dubai resort with overwater villas (the first hotel in Dubai with this format). 293 rooms, suites and villas across the property; the Anantara Pool Villa with over-water deck and direct lagoon access is the signature accommodation. The dining programme includes Mekong (Asian), Bushman's (South African), and Crescendo (Mediterranean). The 800-metre private beach combined with the over-water villa product gives the property the Maldivian-resort register at one-third the Maldives-resort cost. The Anantara Spa is the working wellness anchor. The Palm eastern-crescent position is fifteen minutes by car from Dubai Marina and twenty from Downtown. Best for the working Maldivian-style stay in Dubai at the entry-level Anantara rate.
Best room: One-Bedroom Over-Water Villa, lagoon view
"Overwater villas on the Palm, the Maldives-of-Dubai honeymoon proxy."
Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort opened in 2013 on the eastern crescent of the Palm Jumeirah, the property holds the only working overwater-villa product in the Middle East and is the Maldives-style honeymoon alternative for couples who can't or won't fly to the Maldives but want the working overwater-villa experience. Three hundred and ninety-three rooms and suites, the upper-tier Three-Bedroom Beach Pool Villa and the Over-Water Villa (the only such product on the Palm Jumeirah) are the working honeymoon flagships. The asset is the working Over-Water Villa product, the 16 over-water villas on stilts above the Persian Gulf, with private outdoor terrace, plunge pool, glass floor section in the bedroom, and direct lagoon-water access via the villa's stairs. The product is the working Maldives-villa-experience translated to Dubai context, and the working trip combines the Dubai-shopping-and-skyline assets with the Maldives-overwater-villa positioning. Anantara The Palm is the right pick for the honeymoon couple who wants the overwater-villa experience without the Maldives-flight schedule, the trip's working centerpiece is the overwater-villa stay, and the Palm-Jumeirah position handles the Dubai-honeymoon assets (Burj Al Arab visit, mall day, in-house dining).
Over-Water Villa (the only such product in the Middle East, 16 villas, book early) or Three-Bedroom Beach Pool Villa for the multi-bedroom option.
Book the Over-Water Villa 6+ months ahead, only 16 such villas, the booking is the trip's centerpiece. Use the Anantara private lagoon for the working morning swim. The hotel's complimentary boat shuttle to Atlantis The Palm handles day two.
Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort sits within our broader Top 20 Hotels in Dubai for a Honeymoon list. It scored an aggregate 9.6/10 across the three editorial criteria, competitive against the field but, on a honeymoon-specific factors, the angle above is what earned its rank. For the alternatives in the same Dubai neighbourhood, see Palm Jumeirah, East Crescent and adjacent. For a different city entirely, see the related lists below.
If you have already chosen the dates, our editor recommends booking the room twelve weeks ahead. The best suites with the right view orientation go first, and inventory for the popular months is quoted in months, not weeks. Suite-level rooms with private plunge pools or terraces, the ones that earn this rank, are typically the first to sell out.
Editorial · #13 on the Top 20 Hotels in Dubai 2026 list
Anantara The Palm Dubai's case for the Dubai stay is the over-water villa product. The 2013 property on Palm Jumeirah's eastern crescent is the working Maldivian-style Dubai resort with overwater villas, the first hotel in Dubai with this format.
The 293 rooms, suites and villas include the Anantara Pool Villa with over-water deck and direct lagoon access, the Beach Pool Villa, and the multi-bedroom suites.
The dining programme includes Mekong (Asian), Bushman's (South African), and Crescendo (Mediterranean). The 800-metre private beach combined with the over-water villa product gives the property the Maldivian-resort register at one-third the Maldives-resort cost (USD 1,400/night vs the Maldives USD 4,000+/night for comparable over-water villa product). The Anantara Spa is the working wellness anchor. The Palm eastern-crescent position is fifteen minutes by car from Dubai Marina and twenty from Downtown. The property runs at a different register from the larger Atlantis or Raffles Palm properties: smaller-scale resort feel with the over-water villa as the operational signature. Best for the working Maldivian-style stay in Dubai at the entry-level Anantara rate.