Discover how Arabian Nights inspired this landmark new hotel

This article first appeared in Mix Interiors #223

Words: Harry McKinley
Images: Mark Bolton

Dubai is a sprawl perennially in flux – as much a study in civic planning and ambition as a living city. At Dubai Harbour, where there was once only a stretch of coastline and open water, reclaimed land and marina development now provides birthing for up to 700 yachts; shiny new residential skyscrapers lining its edge. Once complete, the area is set to encompass 20m sq ft and feature a shopping mall, the ultra-contemporary Dubai Lighthouse (with a 135m high observation deck), and a bustling entertainment cluster with restaurants and events space. It’s on the Dubai Harbour shore that the recently unveiled W Dubai Mina Seyahi has opened its doors – a 318-key, 31-storey property that fuses a youthful sensibility with Arabesque design.

In the guestrooms, interiors were overseen by the Bangkok-based BLINK Design Group. The studio looked to the Al-Halqa tradition for inspiration, ancient storytelling circles where captivating yarns were classically woven by masters of the form, often drawing crowds. Given UNESCO status in Morocco, this art form is still practiced in pockets of the UAE.

“The more we researched the history of Dubai – the generations of traders and storytellers coming together to build this shimmering city by the sea – the more excited we became,” says Clint Nagata, BLINK’s founder and creative partner. “We set out, from the ground up, to imbue this hotel with the soul of storytelling and the spirit of the souk, a place for people to meet and share the stories of their travels; a haven for modern day traders, wheelers and dealers.”

Leather headboards evoke the shapes and silhouettes of the Dhow boats that traverse the city’s creek, while fabrics are ornamented with calligraphy-inspired motifs. Elaborate light fittings introduce buoyant colour, with a palette “straight from Arabian Nights”. In the bathrooms, black and white treatments are intended to suggest ink on paper – another nod to calligraphy.

“We play with the secrets behind the veil,” continues Nagata, describing the walk-in wardrobes with billowing curtains in gradient sunset colours, that “echo the hues of the bay”. Across guestrooms, design is brazen and energetic, but with a level of polish and in places, even restraint, representing the W brand’s gradual pivot away from a ‘party’ personality and towards something more rarefied.

In the public areas there’s a similarly evolved aesthetic, with design here helmed by local agency, Stickman Tribe. Although sharing F&B outlets with other Marriott Mina Seyahi properties – including The Westin and Le Meridien – the W features its own all-day-dining space, Ginger Moon, with a more formal Japanese eatery set to open imminently and a beach club arriving in2023. A large lobby is a space to socialise, work and – with a cocktail bar – play.

“We developed the overall design concept, which BLINK had to capture the essence of and build into the rooms,” explains Marcos Cain, Stickman Tribe’s founder and principal. “Mina Seyahi, meaning Port of Travelers, accentuates the high culture and low mass culture; sacred and profane; literacy and orality that can be found in the metropolitan city of Dubai. Storytelling, then, is key to Dubai’s unique past and future. Tales keep the Emirati heritage and culture alive. The ancient Arab art of oral storytelling acts as an intricate and rich narrative style – using tools from visual spectacle to music to satire.”

This narrative style is manifest in vivid, theatrical design flourishes from the entrance onwards: a depiction of an Al Hakawati storybook seeing crystal pages floating in the air, symbolising the “pages of time turning”. A reception-adjacent ‘flying carpet’ appears to burst into brightly hued gems, another reference to Arabian Nights and the region’s folkloric legacy, while visions of snake charmers are conjured with a basket-inspired feature wall, snakeskin reception desks and a serpent-like mosaic path leading guests to check-in.

“The rest of the lobby space, to the left of the entrance, is designed as ‘The Gold Souk’,” says Cain. “A contemporary version of an oryx sculpture, made of black and brass steel wire, forms the central design element, with gold trinkets hanging from its antlers. The space features warm hues and gold accents often associated with these traditional markets.”

Here, a beaded feature wall directly speaks to Arabian Nights; each bead embellished with the name of a tale from the collection. In the lobby bar, an ‘Arabian Leopard’ theme sees animal print cushions atop emerald green sofas and wildly patterned wallpaper.

The W Dubai Mina Seyahi takes the tropes of the region and spins them into something strong with both whimsy and humour. In its design it skirts pastiche, offering visitors to the city a fanciful vision of Dubai’s culture and past, as well as its enterprising present and future – enjoyably unsubtle, it is a feast for the senses fit for a fairy tale.