17 January, 2014

In celebration of the Dubai Shopping Festival, currently in full swing during the month of January, we're taking a look at some of the best shopping malls in Dubai. The festival runs at the beginning of each year and is renowned for its incredible sales. You'll snare amazing bargains on luxury fashion brands by the likes of Jimmy Choo, Armani and Manolo Blahnik, as well as electronics and jewellery, with discounts in the range of 20% to 70%. If you're passing through Dubai during this time of year, I strongly suggest a stopover!

If your time is limited, I'd recommend putting these three at the top of your list. And even if your trip to Dubai doesn't coincide with the shopping festival, a visit to one of these mega-malls is still a must. Shopping is listed as one of the top 10 things 'To Do' in Dubai and after all, who needs an excuse!

Mall of the Emirates

This was my first introduction to shopping, Dubai style, and it certainly made an impression. The Mall of the Emirates features over 500 different brands across multiple levels, including stand alone boutiques by Balenciaga, Carolina Herrera and Galliano, and department stores Debenhams, Harvey Nichols and Marks & Spencer. For the serious shopper, there are two five star hotels onsite - the Kempinski and the Sheraton - and the mall also features a 14 cinema movie complex along with an indoor ski resort. Yes, you read that correctly. Ski Dubai was the first of its kind in the Middle East, able to host up to 1,500 skiers year round on five ski runs - including the world's only indoor black run - all in a temperature controlled complex standing 25 stories high.

The Dubai Mall

In true Dubai style, this mall offers the biggest and best shopping experience you can imagine. The Dubai Mall only opened its doors five years ago, as part of the mammoth Downtown Dubai development which is also home to the striking Burj Khalifa building, the world's tallest man made structure. As the largest shopping mall in the world, it attracted 65 million visitors in 2012, more than the annual number of visitors to New York City in the same year! The mall is home to over 1,200 stores including its own gold and diamond souk (market), along with outlets by Parisian department store Galleries Lafayette and New York's famous Bloomingdales. There is a dedicated fashion precinct named ' Fashion Avenue', which features almost every major fashion brand in the world. Dubai Mall also boasts its own aquarium and underwater zoo, an Olympic sized ice rink, indoor amusement park, 22 screen cinema and the world's largest choreographed water fountain, designed by the same people responsible for the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel. It also features four hotels, as well as the ultra luxe Armani Hotel located inside the nearby Burj Khalifa.

Ibn Battuta Mall

In another world first for Dubai, Ibn Battuta Mall is recognised as the largest themed mall in the world. It was designed to celebrate the travels of famous Arabian explorer Ibn Battuta, and the result is some pretty opulent decor, complete with intricate domed ceilings, carved marble and numerous fountains and ancient artefacts throughout. The mall is divided into six different regions - Egypt, India, China, Andalusia, Persia and Tunisia - each representing a region that the explorer visited and each decorated in the appropriate style. It is also rather cleverly organised into four different 'zones', grouping stores by luxury brands, major department stores, family & convenience and entertainment & leisure. The mall features 275 stores and 50 restaurants located on a single level, perfect if you want to explore each and every shop, and there is also a 21 screen cinema onsite.