5. TELAL RESORT AL AIN

This boutique hotel, ringed by trees and tucked within the peaks of Remah desert, hides two pools, a spa, zip line, sand zorb ball, quad bikes and a restaurant. Once a

Bedouin stamping ground, it remains popular with rare antelopes, the

Domani, Reem and

Arabian oryx. Pretty Al

Ain, “The Garden State” is close by and it’s just two hours from Dubai airport, less from Abu Dhabi. The largest villa has four bedrooms, plus a private pool and spa. Authentically Emirati standard rooms have wicker-covered ceilings, elaborately carved furniture and striped, red al sadu weave fabrics. Bring your own nightcaps, as Telal isn’t licensed.

Double rooms from AED800/£167 (00971 3 702 0000; telalresort.ae).

6. JUMEIRAH AL WATHBA

Neat and beige with brass bedside lanterns, the rooms are pristine at one of the newest desert resort in the United Arab Emirates – and its air-conditioned stables are almost as spotless. Daily pampering sessions, nutritious treats and adoring handlers account for the amiable nature of the horses. The guided rides, at sunrise and sunset, are a highlight of any stay here. Other activities include off-road fat-biking (the vehicles’ oversized tyres are especially suited to traversing dunes) and slacklining, a bit like tightrope walking across lines of webbing elevated above the sand. Home to a Talise Spa, a yoga pavilion, a 10,000 sq ft infinity pool and a children’s pool and multiple restaurants, the resort offers much to occupy body and mind.

Double rooms from AED725/£151 (00971 2 204 4444; jumeirah.com).

7. ANANTARA SIR BANI YAS ISLAND

Arriving on Sir Bani Yas Island by private plane sets a decadent tone. Seaplanes and boats also service this designated conservation area, earmarked for preservation by the first president of the United Arab Emirates. The Arabian Wildlife Park is occupied by more than 10,000 animals and three Anantara-managed properties; inland, Al Sahel Villas on the sand offers the most authentic safari experience. Wildlife to spy through binoculars includes Arabian oryx, exotic wildcats, giraffes, gazelles and the lesser Egyptian jerboa, which looks like a mouse-sized kangaroo. Daily guided tours are the main draw.

Al Sahel Villas from AED1,500/ £313

(00971 2 801 4300; anantara.com).

8. QASR AL SARAB DESERT RESORT BY ANANTARA

Proof that the trend for glamping rages on, this season, Qasr Al Sarab is suggesting guests camp out, leaving their charmingly rustic rooms and villas. The camp – Bedouin-style tents, tucked in the silky dunes of the luminous Liwa desert – is reached by camel. Entertainment takes the form of archery and falconry, and dinner is flame-grilled on the sand. Back at base, desertinspired dining is also on the menu at alfresco Al Falaj, where smoky meats appear in clouds from the ground, cooked in an Arabian zarb oven buried in the earth.

Double rooms from AED1,400/£293; (00971 2 886 2088; qasralsarab. anantara.com).

9. ARABIAN NIGHTS VILLAGE

The village approach is dramatic, with twin fortress watchtowers emerging from behind a gigantic dune, and then the smell of freshly-brewed cardamom-spiced coffee mingling with the woody perfume of bakhoor, the local incense made using hand-me-down recipes. Paths shaped like palms, ambiently lit like Christmas trees by night, weave through clusters of spacious tents and stone rooms, 36 in total, their walls lined with al sadu weave or palm frond latticework. At Al Maqam, guests feed their inner Bedu with meats and Arabian flatbreads after days of camel trekking, quad biking, dune bashing and sand boarding.

Double rooms from AED750/£157

(00971 2 207 8989; arabiannightsvillage.com).

SHARJAH

10. AL FAYA LODGE

In the Sixties, a grocery store, clinic and petrol station were built an hour’s drive east of Dubai on a lonely road snaking between mountain and desert deep within Sharjah. Typical of midcentury modern architecture in Britain at the time, the single-storey blocks with steel-framed windows were later abandoned and might have crumbled to dust. But the local authorities had another idea: design firm Anarchitect was commissioned to turn the plot into a five-room boutique retreat, incorporating the original buildings and adding a spa, a pool and a terrace restaurant with atmospheric firepits. The effect is compelling, with one lone rusting BP pump standing in what’s now the lodge’s forecourt as a sculpture and reminder of the region’s past.

Doubles from AED715/ £149 (al-faya-lodge. hotels-sharjah-uae.com).