The Opus and Al Faya Lodge: two UAE hotels named best in the world

Leading British architecture and design magazine Dezeen has chosen its top 10 hotels for 2019 and two UAE properties have made the cut.

Al Faya Lodge, which is based in Sharjah, by Dubai firm Anarchitect, made the list, as did the yet-to-open The Opus by Zaha Hadid Architects, a 20-storey development by Omniyat located in Downtown Dubai that will be home to the first ME by Melia hotel in the Middle East.

The former is a stark yet stunning five-room boutique hotel and saltwater spa located in the Sharjah desert. The latter is an eye-catching mixed-use building of two conjoined towers featuring an irregular void in the middle. The designs for The Opus were first revealed in 2007 by architect Zaha Hadid, who died in 2016, and the building was originally due to be completed in 2018, however due to construction delays the opening date has been pushed back. The hotel is currently set to open in February 2020.

These are the only two properties on this new list from the UAE and wider region. Other selected hotels are based in parts of Europe, China, Mexico and Africa's Cape Verde.

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