Dubai in February: The Case for the Second Half of the Season

Dubai runs its villa season backwards from Europe: the good months are November to April, and the peak fortnight is the same one everyone else is paying for. February gives you the same mid-twenties days, the same flat sea, and a rate that can be half the festive figure.

The address decides the week. Palm Jumeirah gives a private beach and a marina view with neighbours closer than the photographs suggest. Emirates Hills gives the largest floor plates in the city for two families travelling together. Jumeirah Bay is newer, smaller and the most discreet of the three.

Almost all of the stock is privately owned, so what sits inside the rate varies house to house. A house manager, daily housekeeping and pool care are normal; a chef, a driver and a boat are not. Price them at the same time as the villa or the comparison is meaningless.

Distances are short and traffic is the only variable — twenty to forty-five minutes from the airport to most villa districts, and a driver on standby is worth more here than a second car.

Check Ramadan and the Eid dates against your travel plans before you shortlist. The city works normally through both, but the calendar around restaurants and guides changes.