Combining the tranquility of the desert with a contemporary spa, Al Maha, A Luxury Collection Desert & Spa, offers a complete escape within easy reach of the city

Since the beginning of time, mankind has known that the desert can be a sanctuary, its space, serenity and silence providing an environment that allows the mind to be free and the body to unwind. A mere 45-minute drive from the city, yet seeming a whole world away, Al Maha is set at the end of a long, private road amid the thousands of hectares of Dubai Desert Conservation Area; its peace is inviolable and its connection to the desert and to the emirate’s cultural heritage emphasised in every detail. Scattered across a vast dune and shaded by ghaf trees, each of Al Maha’s tented suites has its own infinity-edge pool with grandstand views of the desert and distant mountains.

Just below the suites, Al Maha’s Timeless Spa sprawls along the crest of a smaller dune. Inside, you are transported into a world within Al Maha’s private world – it seems deliberately designed so that you lose yourself in its labyrinth of rooms and, in the process, lose the stresses of the outside world. Tailored to both men and women, treatments at the spa combine Middle Eastern, Asian and Western traditions Balinese massage to hydrotherapy. Alongside traditional oils used in Oriental and Eastern therapies, the spa offers treatments using two widely praised product ranges that are entirely derived from natural ingredients: Babor, from Germany, and Sodashi, from Australia. And, as a bonus, you can buy these products to take home, so as to extend the spa’s benefits over the weeks and months to come.

When you stay at Al Maha for a few nights, your spa treatments will be enhanced by the deep peace of the desert night; however, if your schedule is too busy to squeeze in that unique benefit, Al Maha now offers privileged access by the day, with a package of spa treatments, lunch and plenty of time to relax beside the pool with views of the desert.