JA The Resort

★★★★★Jebel Ali, DubaiExit 13, Sheikh Zayed Road, Jebel Ali, PO BOX 9255Specialist pick

Overview

JA The Resort is three sister hotels — JA Beach Hotel, JA Palm Tree Court and JA Lake View Hotel — sharing one million square metres of grounds in Jebel Ali, with a private beach and more than 40 activities between them. It suits families who want everything done for them for a weekend: golf, watersports, pools and kids clubs on one ticket, rather than three separate day trips.

The beach is real sand, roughly 800 metres of it, and you can walk or take a buggy between the three hotels to use any of the seven pools, the golf course, tennis and padel courts, the stables or the Just Splash waterpark next to the Pirates & Mermaids kids club. Staff are used to prams, buggies and toddlers underfoot, and breakfast buffets come with high chairs and plastic cutlery as standard. It has the feel of a small, self-contained village rather than a single hotel — plenty to do without ever getting in the car.

Summer heat pushes most of the daytime activity indoors or into the pool, so this is really a resort that comes into its own from autumn to spring. Families wanting a livelier, more central Dubai base, or a quiet adults-only weekend, should look elsewhere — the size of the place and the volume of children around the pools is the whole point here, not a drawback to work around. Worth deciding which of the three hotels suits you: Palm Tree Court is the more grown-up, all-suite side, Beach Hotel is squarely family-focused, and Lake View leans towards golf and a lifestyle crowd.

three hotels, one resort
800 metres private beach
seven swimming pools
9-hole championship golf course
tennis, padel and squash courts
horse riding stables
Just Splash waterpark
Pirates & Mermaids kids club
25 restaurants and bars
free shuttle to Dubai malls

Rooms

Good to know

Meal plans: Room only · Bed & breakfast · Half board · All-inclusive
Paid at the hotel: The tourism dirham fee and any security deposit
Cancelling: Each room shows its own terms; cancel online from My trips while they allow

Eating and drinking

Sette — Beachfront Italian restaurant with Sicilian and Sardinian-influenced dishes, open for dinner. Smart enough for a date night but relaxed enough that older children will be fine with the menu.
White Orchid — South-East Asian restaurant open for dinner and consistently one of the most talked-about tables on the resort. Better suited to an adults' evening than a quick meal with a toddler in tow.
rePUBlik — Modern gastro pub serving lunch and dinner, casual and easy-going with children. The sort of place you find yourself back at more than once over a long weekend.
Taperia — Spanish tapas restaurant open for dinner with a later, more adult atmosphere, better suited to after the children are settled for the night.
Sports Café — European pub food overlooking the marina, screens for sport and a relaxed setting. The easiest option with children when nobody wants to dress up for dinner.
Phoenicia — Modern Middle Eastern restaurant with menus developed by chef Greg Malouf. A good pick for a grown-up evening if you can get a babysitting slot.
Captain's Restaurant & Bar — Beachfront Mediterranean spot known for wood-fired pizza, casual and right by the sand — an easy lunch with the children still in their swimwear.

Getting there

It's around a 35 to 40 minute drive down Sheikh Zayed Road from Downtown Dubai or Dubai Marina, and roughly 45 minutes from Abu Dhabi. Dubai International Airport is about 40 minutes away, with Al Maktoum International considerably closer. There's valet parking on site, and given the distance from the main tourist strip, a private transfer or your own car makes more sense than relying on taxis for every trip out.

Ask about JA The Resort

Another room type, more than one room, or a date that is not showing — send it over and a specialist replies with what is available and what it costs, usually the same working day.