Beating a retreat

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Claire Ferris-Lay lives it up in Fujairah, Dubai’s quieter neighbour.

There aren’t many places to which you can flee to escape Dubai that don’t involve going via the airport. But the quiet emirate of Fujairah, just a 90-minute drive away from the city, is one of them.

Nestled next to the Omani mountains, Fujairah is one of the UAE’s smallest emirates with a population of just 130,000. It is one of the only emirates to experience regular seasons and is home to some of the longest, sandy beaches — as yet unspoiled by the UAE’s insatiable appetite for construction and cranes.

So it is no wonder that Fujairah was the first choice for Jal Hotels, the chain of hotels owned by Japanese Airlines, when it first opened its doors in the Middle East.

Hotel Jal Fujairah Resort & Spa is a ten-minute drive from the more popular strip of hotels in Al Aqah, which has allowed the hotel to utilise 500 metres of pristine beach — one of its biggest selling points.

Unfortunately the Jal Fujairah Resort & Spa is not hard to miss. The long, mess of coral coloured buildings, jutting out from the beachfront resemble a beachside university, rather than the plush Japanese inspired hotel the brochure would have you believe.

But don’t let that put you off booking a weekend trip at the two-year-old hotel, as the interior and service inside could not be further removed from the exterior. Inside, guests are checked in, in a typical Japanese manner — prompt, polite and eager to please — in the light and airy reception before being directed to their room.

And once settled in your room, it’s easy to understand why the Jal Fujairah is housed in such a long series of buildings – because every single one of the 257 guest rooms has a sea view, allowing each guest to take advantage of the bathroom’s open plan design and bathe while looking out across the 500 metres of sandy white beach.

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