New hotels in United Arab Emirates

The UAE's two hotel markets move at different speeds and toward different goals. Dubai has opened at least fourteen editorially notable hotels since Bulgari Resort Dubai's debut in December 2017, a pace few cities anywhere can match, and the roster reads like a checklist of first-in-market brand launches: SLS and Delano's first Middle East hotels, Kerzner International's first city-centric One&Only, and, still under construction, Baccarat's and Six Senses' first UAE properties. Abu Dhabi's confirmed openings since 2016 are fewer — five on this site so far — but each fills a genuinely distinct niche rather than competing directly with what Dubai already offers: a 677-room Corniche tower (Bab Al Qasr Hotel), an ultra-all-inclusive Saadiyat Island resort (Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island), and, more unusually, the hotel industry's first Warner Bros.-themed property (The WB Abu Dhabi).

Dubai: volume, record-chasing and brand debuts

Dubai's openings cluster around a handful of purpose-built districts — Palm Jumeirah (W Dubai - The Palm, Atlantis The Royal, and the upcoming Six Senses The Palm), Bluewaters Island (Banyan Tree Dubai and Delano Dubai, both from Ennismore within a year of each other), and the Downtown Dubai/Dubai Marina towers that fold a hotel into a much larger mixed-use building (SLS Dubai, Ciel Dubai Marina, and the planned Baccarat Hotel & Residences Dubai). Ciel Dubai Marina, which opened in November 2025 at 377 metres, is currently the tallest purpose-built hotel on earth, having overtaken Dubai's own previous record-holder, the Gevora Hotel.

Abu Dhabi: fewer openings, sharper differentiation

Where Dubai often competes on scale and record-breaking, Abu Dhabi's smaller set of confirmed openings leans toward format innovation instead. The WB Abu Dhabi, which opened in November 2021 next to the Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi theme park, themes every one of its 312 rooms and serviced apartments around a Warner Bros. property — a specific, checkable 'world's first' claim rather than marketing language. Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island brought an Ottoman-palace-styled, ultra-all-inclusive resort format to the emirate for the first time in October 2018. Two more brand debuts, Mondrian Abu Dhabi and Nobu Hotel Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, remain under construction, both having slipped past their original target dates.

How we verify openings

Every listing on this site is checked against at least two independent sources — hotel-brand or developer press releases, hospitality trade press (Hotelier Middle East, Hospitality Net, Sleeper) and mainstream travel coverage (The National, Forbes, Time Out Dubai) — before publication. We exclude straightforward rebrands of hotels that were already trading without a documented substantial renovation or change of building; where a property does occupy the site of a prior hotel, such as Banyan Tree Dubai's Bluewaters plot, we say so rather than presenting it as an untouched new build. Status labels — Announced, Open — and target dates for still-unopened hotels reflect the most recent operator statements available, which for pre-opening properties can and do shift.

Frequently asked questions

How many new hotels does this guide track in the UAE?

Nineteen editorially verified hotels across the two cities covered so far: fourteen in Dubai and five in Abu Dhabi, opened or credibly announced between 2016 and 2026.

What is the newest confirmed hotel opening in the UAE?

Ciel Dubai Marina, Vignette Collection, which opened on 17 November 2025 in Dubai Marina as the world's tallest hotel at 377 metres, is the most recent confirmed opening on this site.

Are there other UAE cities on this site besides Dubai and Abu Dhabi?

Not yet. This guide currently covers only Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the two emirates where we have found and verified genuinely notable hotel openings against independent sources; other emirates will be added only once a comparable standard of verified content exists for them.

Which UAE hotel is described as a genuine world-first, not just marketing language?

The WB Abu Dhabi, Curio Collection by Hilton, which opened in November 2021 on Yas Island, is billed by its owner, Miral Asset Management, as the world's first Warner Bros.-themed hotel, built under licence from Warner Bros. Entertainment.

What major UAE hotel openings are still under construction?

In Dubai: Baccarat Hotel & Residences Dubai and Six Senses The Palm, Dubai, both targeted for 2026. In Abu Dhabi: Mondrian Abu Dhabi and Nobu Hotel Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, both also targeting 2026, though each has already slipped past an earlier announced date.