Directly across the water from Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, where the Al Maqta Creek opens toward the Arabian Gulf, few hotels anywhere carry quite such an insistent view — and the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr was conceived around that fact. The name translates as gate to the sea, and the ten-storey building, clad in a curtain wall of blue-tinted glass trimmed with warm sandstone-coloured panels, presents its full facade to the waterfront in a horizontal sweep that frames the mosque's domes and minarets from almost every room. Opened in 2011 with 369 rooms and suites, the property was designed to meet that setting with a certain quiet confidence rather than competing with it architecturally. The interiors balance Gulf-facing transparency with material warmth: polished travertine floors in the rooms give way to custom botanical-patterned rugs, upholstered chaise longues on chrome legs, and headboard wall panels dressed in delicate branch-motif wallcovering in cream and charcoal — a palette that keeps the eye moving toward the water beyond floor-to-ceiling glass. The bar shifts register entirely, its darkly lacquered ribbed ceiling radiating outward in a composition that evokes a palm canopy rendered in ebonised timber, with circular banquettes in caramel leather anchoring the room. Outside, a long lap pool lined in aquamarine mosaic tile runs parallel to a private beach, date palms punctuating the terrace at regular intervals against the Gulf horizon.

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Fairmont Bab Al Bahr boasts a prime location at the mainland gateway to the cosmopolitan city of Abu Dhabi. With its striking, contemporary design, this beachfront hotel offers the highest level of comfort and elegance throughout its 366 rooms and suites. Guests can enjoy world class on-site amenities, including private sandy beaches, an Olympic-length swimming pool, covered children’s pool, separate ladies’ and mixed-use gyms, business services and state-of-the-art conference facilities. Add to this an awarding winning portfolio of eight dining options; all delivered with genuine Arabic hospitality - the result is certain to exceed every guest’s highest expectation.