Xva Art Hotel Reviews

The XVA Art Hotel is just the best for travelers looking for respite from modern western-style hotels. Located in old Dubai, it has no street address. From the street, you walk in 200 yards, rolling your luggage. XVA is an old estate with 4 walls surrounding an open courtyard. Room doors are secured inside with a wooden slider. On the outside, doors are secured with padlocks. The chef and server offer up wonderful breakfasts and (I assume, lunch and dinner). Reception staff is customer-oriented. This was my second stay at XVA and I would do it again. (It's also fun to encourage Uber and taxi drivers who have never before dropped off riders at XVA. Location is near Dubai Creek and easy to get transportation to and from. Hospitality, cleanliness, service, food, ambience - it's the best!

Cute hotel on the edge of the old town and close to the creek. Internal courtyard with cafe for breakfast. Charming room with comfortable bed but no outside window. Helpful staff and some restaurants in walking distance. No other facilities.

This hotel is the first stop on the trip to the United Arab Emirates with my 88-year-old mother, and it is also a transit point. Considering arriving by night flight, it is very convenient to stay here. It's just a short walk to the Dubai Grand Canal and Marina, and the old mother was very satisfied. There are actually three courtyards in the traditional Arabic-style courtyard. The courtyard where our room is located when entering, a courtyard for the restaurant, and a small courtyard for the innermost gallery. There is a big tree in the first two courtyards. Because it is an old house renovated, the room is relatively small, but it is fine for the three of us. The hotel staff are also very welcoming.

The hotel is located on the edge of the old city. It is said to have been renovated from a wealthy Arab residence. It is very charming. The two courtyards are comfortable and spacious, and each has a big tree. It has a very homely atmosphere. The breakfast is rich and tasty, and the room is clean.

This hotel is unexpectedly very satisfactory. The room is not big, but clean and hygienic. The most amazing thing is that the breakfast in the hotel is very rich! And everyone here is very friendly and welcoming. If I come to Dubai again, I will definitely stay here again!

If you want time away from the excessive glitz and frenetic pace of the rest of Dubai then this is the hotel for you. Situated behind the Arabian Tea House in the historic quarter it is only accessible on foot, but that just adds to its appeal and tranquility. Set around two courtyards, with impressive central trees, in what was once a large private house it resembles a Moroccan riad. Rooftop terrace. Compact rooms (and beds). Simple but tasty local set breakfast served by the helpful Joy. Extraordinarily good value. Later in our holiday we paid nearly five times the price for a hotel room on the Palm. Nice, but no comparison in terms of price or the authentic Arab experience offered by the XVA. Be prepared to be woken by the "call to prayer"; but magical.

Spent 2 nights here in November. The guy on reception was very friendly and helpful. Breakfast was a reduced choice from the general public menu and a bit disappointing. Bedroom was quaint with a king size bed , good air con but low entrance to bathroom. Nice location for the shops and restaurants by the creek. I can't tell what the upstairs lounge area was like as the guy in the restaurant said we couldn't use it as we'd checked out??

We wanted to stay in the old part of Dubai to get a different experience from the modern city. This hotel was excellent. The staff were very friendly and responded positively to all our requests. Some big 5 star hotels could learn from these people. There is a lovely art gallery on the premises with local art from contemporary artists. We didn’t eat much here because we wanted to explore the local restaurants but can recommend Turkish eggs for breakfast (poached eggs on a bed of natural yogurt with a basket of fresh pita bread). The coffee was excellent. If you want a simple hotel experience in this wonderful historic area you won’t do better than this hotel. Thanks to all of the staff who contributed to our wonderful stay here.

Great little boutique hotel in the old part of Dubai. Great proximity to the souks and creek and walking distance to the transit. Room was small but had what was needed. Large bathroom. Good onsite cafe and art gallery as well. Worth checking out...not at all like the big expensive other hotels in Dubai.

We planned our second honeymoon in Dubai, and not wanting to be in the city, we found this beautiful arts hotel downtown. When we first arrived, it was a maze to find the hotel, and we were slightly surprised by the size of the rooms; coming from the US, we expected a larger space. After bringing our concerns to the owner, Chander, he quickly accommodated us into their largest room. We also learned the room sizes are quaint due to the hotel being created after the historic area was built, leaving no room for restructuring. If any concerns came up, Chander came to the rescue! Once we were settled in, our adventure began. The Arts Hotel was picturesque. We ordered the breakfast package, which was delicious and filling. Additionally, each morning, we were greeted with Joy's smile. Joy works in the cafe and ensured we were taken care of and showed us the different areas we can walk around in the hotel. Outside of the hotel, there were many areas that we could walk to; there were countless restaurants and markets nearby, allowing us to immerse ourselves in the culture. Lastly, we were able to get our gift shopping done nearby as there were so many vendors offering many deals. When it was time to leave, we preordered an Uber, which continued to give us the runaround and eventually canceled 20 minutes after the pickup time. In a state of panic, we rushed to the front desk for help at midnight, and they quickly ordered a taxi for us, which arrived minutes later. The staff at the Arts Hotel made this experience memorable and comfortable. We will definitely be staying there again!

I hate to do poor reviews and held off reviewing it for a while - in the hopes the hotel would communicate about our awful experience, but they didn’t. I enjoy staying at unique and quirky accommodation and the XVA ticked the boxes with the price too. However we were utterly shocked at the condition of our room: We stayed as 2 adults and a young child for just one night. It wasn’t until I felt tickling on my skin whilst in bed, turned the light on and realised the bed and entire room, was teeming with ants. I’m not talking about one or two.. hundreds. With broken sleep and swatting them throughout the night, probably ate a few too.. we woke up early and swiftly left our ant infested room. The bathroom was riddled except they were all dead, including the towels to dry with after a shower. Shudder. We escalated our concerns immediately to management that declined any sort of reimbursement except “maybe a free stay?”. Tempting I’m sure, but no thanks. We tried to email to discuss further however our emails were never replied to. Such a shame as could be great but pest control needed asap. Poor service because of this and I wouldn’t recommend.

A quirky yet comfortable small hotel in the old quarter. Our room was very clean and serviced daily. The staff were friendly and helpful. We arrived very early in the morning well before the official check in time but it wasn't a problem and they let us into our room. The only minus was that it was the hot season (40oC plus during the day / late 30s at night) and the air con was off. We turned it on immediately and left it on the whole time were there but it took a good 24 hours before the room was comfortably cooled. Nevertheless we liked the hotel and would stay again. It's in a handy location about 20-25 minutes from the international airport (expect to pay around 30-50 AED for a taxi depending on the traffic - August 2023). The nearest metro station is around 10 minutes walk away and the abra (water taxi across Dubai Creek) was about 5 min walk. XVA Art Hotel is a bit tricky to find and your taxi will not be able to drop you at the front door. If you are dropped at the Arabian Teahouse, then walk up the lane to the left of it, turn right at the security guard booth, and you will see the entrance to XVA Art Hotel by the sculpture on the right of the big courtyard.

I had visited the café here in 2009, and finally decided to stay here on this trip. The hotel is a unique cultural experience. Used for a long time as a family home with beautiful courtyards, each room is unique and has its own charm. The staff are incredibly friendly and helpful. Bikes are available if you wish to go for a ride, the addition of a gallery, shop and Café in one of the courtyards make this an ideal location especially if you want to explore old Dubai. Highly recommended.

Absolutely excellent experience. Great location on pedestrian street in the heart of old Dubai-Bur Dubai./Al Fajidi area.Walking distance to all the old town sights, the fort, the creek, the souks and Arabian restaurants. Arabian antiques, romantic courtyards, mixed with an eclectic mix of artwork, it's funky and elegant at the same time. Rooms are comfy, and everything spotlessly clean and surprisingly quiet.Very friendly and welcoming staff. The restaurant is excellent too... try the paratha omelet! It's hard to find the first time around, especially if arriving at night but the night manager met us where the taxi dropped us off. We normally stay in more high end hotels but so glad we stayed here and would happily do so again.