The Ritz-Carlton Dubai International Finance Centre

This 14-storey hotel is the perfect expression of understated luxury and elegance. Its lovely limestone façade conceals a range of amenities, and a direct walkway to The Gate at the heart of the Financial Centre. It is also ideally positioned for the city of Dubai. The hotel has 341 guestrooms and suites, including two Ritz-Carlton Suites, and 124 serviced apartments, ranging in size from 125 to 350 square metres, with from one to four bedrooms.

Interiors are in contemporary design style, with references to French Art Deco, and a subtle colour palette. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer views over the hotel courtyard or the Dubai International Financial Centre area. All rooms are business-ready, with internet access and a dedicated work area including a remote connectivity unit. Rooms include bathrooms with natural daylight, dual line telephones with voicemail; in-room safe with socket to recharge laptop computers and mobile phones; complimentary morning newspaper; and 24-hour in-room dining.

Center Cut
The Center Cut restaurant is a steakhouse whose ambition is to enable you to savour the world's finest steaks. This means that staff have an impressive amount of knowledge, because while the French have 35 cuts of beef, the Koreans distinguish between 120! It specializes in Australian and American beef, with unique condiments, and finest red wines. There is a private dining room, and a terrace for open-air dining. Interiors are as luscious as the menu, with colours of dark burgendy and rich butterscotch, which provide an interesting contrast to the wood planking floors and the dark green marble.

LUXOS recommends: Baltic smoked salmon with crème fraiche, capers and Spanish onion, as an appetizer; Australian Wagyu 8+ with Wagyu potato, cream or sautéed spinach, and Center Cut signature butter as a main; Valrhona chocolate fondant with Grand Marnier ice cream as a dessert

Blue Rain
Blue Rain is a signature fine-dining Thai restaurant with minimalist design highlighted by blue and gold accents. A waterwall fountain is continuous with a water feature under the glass floor, inspired by the water in the Court of the Lions at the Alhambra. A hand-blown glass bubble chandelier runs the entire length of the room. In this lovely setting, guests can enjoy authentic Thai cuisine, served on hand-made porcelain.

LUXOS recommends: Nua Yang Bai Cha Plu, grilled Wagyu beef, Thai herbs and betel leaf as an appetizer; Pla Muan Nueng Manao, steamed sea bass, prawns, chili and lime sauce as a main course; Khao Niew Mamuang, mango glutinous rice, coconut milk and pudding as a dessert.

Can Can Brasserie
Can Can Brasserie is an all-day brasserie situated alongside the hotel lobby. There is a spacious outdoor terrace overlooking the landscaped hotel courtyard, ideal for outdoor dining in cooler months. Inside the restaurant, sofas and Parisian-style café tables are distributed in three sections, partitioned by spectacular hand-blown glass screens. The menu features French brasseries classics such as escargots with garlic and parsley butter or sugar crusted crème brûlée with vanilla bean.

LUXOS recommends: Crêpe Forestière, with wild mushrooms, truffle cream and Parmesan emulsion as an appetizer; Duck duo, with confit leg, seared breast and caramelized onion as a main; and Tarte au citron, with lemon cream, crispy dough and meringue as a dessert.

No. 5 Lounge & Bar
This luxuriously-furnished bar provides a mellow, club-type atmosphere, where you can linger with friends or DIFC business clients. Deals are much easier to sign when accompanied by a quaklity single malt whisky or an expertly-made, hand-shaken cocktail. Bar food includes a variety of favourites, from vegetarian mezze to club sandwiches, USDA Black Angus sirloin steaks, cheeses, desserts and an imaginative range of speciality cocktails. "Luxury Tax" is based on hibiscus vodka, vanilla and champagne; "FInancial Recovery" is strawberry, balsamico and rum; and "Long Term Growth" consists of vanilla Tequila, appke juice, lime and vanilla sugar.

Shisha Terrace
At Shisha Terrace, next to the pedestrian bridge linking the Ritz-Carlton to Dubai International Financial Centre, the Shisha Sommelier presents a menu of shisha flavours, that can be paired to guests' food and beverage selections. Décor is inspired by modern Arabian culture, with an outdoor water feature. Ambience is warm and sophisticated.

Lobby Lounge and Terrace
The Lobby Lounge and Terrace overlooks the spectacular waterfall in the courtyard. It offers a setting of discreet style in which to enjoy breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea in a glamorous setting. On Friday and Saturday, midday to 4.00 p.m., the Afternoon tea experience is brought to new levels of enjoyment by pairing it with finest champagne. Delicacies in this experience include Valrhona chocolate fondue, hand-rolled truffles and macaroons dipped in rich dark ganache, and much more.

LUXOS recommends: Veggie panini sandwich, with grilled vegetables, goat cheese, olive tapenade and glazed cipollini; chocolate mousse, with crumble, chantilly and chocolate shavings.

Spa
The spa offers a range of result-oriented, holistic treatments that provide a rediscovered balance between mind and body, nurturing a sense of inner calm as well as producing real results in terms of tone and beauty. Massage is available for men and women, including Swedish, Ku Nye, Lomi-Juma, Thai massages, and reflexology. Express menus include useful treatments such as Express Pick Me Up, Eye Revive, Body Scrub, and Hair & Scalp Restoration. Packages lasting from 90 minutes to three hours provide customized wellness.

The Fitness Centre is open 24 hours a day, with natural lighting, direct access to the indoor swimming pool, state-of-the-art LifeFitness equipment, and private trainers and instructors.

Business Centre
The Business Centre provides high-speed internet access, all business services including deliveries, fax, photocopying, secretarial services, translation services, computer networking amongst individual meeting rooms, and comprehensive audiovisual and technological equipment.