With modern architecture inspired by a sailboat, the enormous InterContinental Dubai Festival City is striking in both scale and design. The cavernous lobby is no less impressive, with huge polished-stone pillars and sleek marble reception desks. The ambience is high-end and adult, though with enough chic touches -- vibrant modern artwork, contemporary-style chandeliers, and undulating wood-slate corridors -- to keep it from feeling stuffy or overly formal. That said, the hotel's refined and serene atmosphere isn't suitable for families with young noisy kids, and most guests here are either wealthy tourists or business travelers with hefty expense accounts. 

The hotel is part of Dubai's Festival City complex, which consists of retail, office, and leisure facilities positioned on the eastern shore of Dubai Creek. The Intercontinental sits adjacent to its sister hotel -- the Crowne Plaza -- and next to a large shopping center that is currently undergoing expansion (which comes with inevitable noise and disruption). There's not much within walking distance aside from an adjacent mall, and while the airport is only 10 minutes away by car, the hotel is removed from most of Dubai's main tourist attractions. 

The InterContinental has over 500 rooms -- including over 120 suites -- all of which are pleasantly decorated with fresh and contemporary, yet homey and welcoming, interiors. Standard amenities include free and fast Wi-Fi, iPod docks, and large flat-screen TVs with satellite channels, DVD players, and pay-per-view movies. Bathrooms all include free-standing tubs -- some with city views -- in separate wet rooms with fixed and moveable showers and high-end toiletries. Large windows also provide plenty of natural light and some have views over Dubai Creek -- though others look straight over a construction site expanding the mall next door. 

The health and fitness facilities are particularly good at the InterContinental, the highlight of which is a temperature-controlled swimming pool with an overhanging glass floor section and views over the creek. The luxurious spa is also impressive -- with saunas, steam baths, and great views from its 10 treatment rooms -- while the gym features a good variety of modern fitness equipment. Dining is also a real draw, and the hotel has four restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire. The Eclipse Champagne bar offers an opulent experience, with dizzyingly high views in a sophisticated -- and suitably-expensive -- setting.