Check out some of our favorite hotels in the remarkably progressive, yet highly underrated city.

What springs to mind when you think &ldquo;exotic&rdquo; vacation? An Eat Pray Love tour of Italy, surely; a trip to Bora Bora, or Barbados, or another remote tropical island; maybe even a jaunt down under. It&rsquo;s unlikely that Abu Dhabi, the Middle East&rsquo;s luxurious playground and the epicenter of cultural cool, is your first bet&mdash;but maybe it should be.

The capital of the United Arab Emirates, the city of Abu Dhabi is remarkably progressive yet highly underrated. You&rsquo;d be quick to assume its placid beaches and historic hotspots might be overrun with those hoping to check another box off their bucket lists, but the capital&rsquo;s business mentality, home to the UAE&rsquo;s governmental base, makes it a tourist haven that lacks many actual tourists.

But Abu Dhabi won&rsquo;t stay under the radar for long. While 2010&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEJsV3vLzkU" target="_blank">Sex and the City sequel</a> certainly proved <a href="https://www.arabianbusiness.com/abu-dhabi-tourism-get-boost-from-sex-and-city-2--152782.html" target="_blank">major</a> in the city&rsquo;s branding as a dream destination, the recent <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/opinion/a-new-era-in-the-us-uae-relationship-1.85931">thawing</a> of relations between the United States and the Middle East has also contributed to an uptick in American visitors&mdash;making the city a <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/music/abu-dhabi-gp-concerts-the-weeknd-brings-his-star-power-to-uae-capital-1.795165">must-visit</a> for the rich and famous seeking refuge.

Where to stay?

At the center of the action is the city&rsquo;s superior hospitality, which has surpassed platinum standard, each hotel gleefully rising to the challenge. While Emirates Palace&mdash;the world&rsquo;s most expensive hotel, with its gaudy gold interior reminiscent of a Trump penthouse&mdash;is perhaps the best-known option, it&rsquo;s the Hyatt brand that has established itself as the sole choice for any type of vacation-goer.

With three diverse locations, the Hyatt hotels are best described as attractions rather than accommodations. The 18-degree-leaning Andaz inspires sensory arousal with every step, boasting its own art gallery and a taste bud-altering Middle Eastern-fusion menu that&rsquo;ll make you forget about your local kebab shop back home. The Park Hyatt, situated on Abu Dhabi&rsquo;s only natural beach, specializes in subtle luxury. But it&rsquo;s the Grand Hyatt that truly has it all, with a balcony-cum-running-track around the property, a view that&rsquo;ll induce envy from even your most worldly Instagram followers and a pork-serving cigar bar&mdash;quite a big deal in this Muslim majority city.

The Park Hyatt

The&nbsp;Andaz Capital Gate - Abu Dhabi

The Grand Hyatt

Each are examples of Abu Dhabi&rsquo;s growing Westernization, the byproduct of which is a palpable liberalism running amongst the city&rsquo;s younger generation.&nbsp;The mix of contemporary work and ancient artifacts sourced nationally and beyond at the new French-approved Louvre Abu Dhabi is echoed in many aspects throughout the city. Yas Island&rsquo;s club culture easily rivals the world&rsquo;s party capitals with weekend watering hole, MAD, supplementing its steady rotation of American hip-hop with local and international performers. On nights out, girls forgo traditional garb for teetering heels and mini dresses, ushering in a new Middle East.

Despite its progression, there is still ample opportunity to immerse yourself in the country&rsquo;s historic culture. Fly across the desert dunes (though not for the weak-stomached) via four-wheel drive and arrive to an array of activities like sand-sliding, henna and an up-close-and-personal interaction with camels. Pay homage to Sheik Zayed, the founding president of the UAE, with a visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque&mdash;the biggest mosque in the country, catering to 40,000 worshippers at any one time&mdash;or The Founders Memorial, which features an illuminated monument by American sculptor Ralph Helmick.

Of the world&rsquo;s most bustling metropolitan areas, very few manage to mediate tradition and innovation, tourism and business, luxury and livability; but Abu Dhabi delivers each time. It&rsquo;s a city that caters not only to its visitors, but its locals, too&mdash;facilitating, for the former, an experience like no other.

The Fashionable Guide to Abu Dhabi

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