The Hoxton, the London-born open-house hotel brand, has signed its first property in the Middle East: The Hoxton, Dubai Media City, a partnership between Ennismore and developer Select Group. It's a notable move for a brand that has so far stuck to the UK, Europe and the Americas, with 19 hotels open and new projects lined up in Melbourne, Oslo, Nashville, Mexico City and Bengaluru.

Rather than building from scratch, the Dubai hotel involves a multi-million-Dirham, ground-up reimagining of an existing building in Media City — the district on Dubai's western edge that houses media companies, production studios and digital businesses, with Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lake Towers all nearby. Ennismore's in-house studio, AIME Studios, is handling the design, and the plan is for 230 rooms with the brand's usual residential, layered feel.

Food and drink will be a big part of the pitch, curated by Paris Society, the F&B collective already behind several of Dubai's most in-demand restaurants and clubs. The line-up includes two debuts: Onaka, a Japanese handroll bar created with award-winning French restaurateur Moïse Sfez, and Bleachers, a playful sports bar. They'll sit alongside Il Bambini Club, Paris Society's trattoria concept already running in London, Paris and Cape Town, and Tope, The Hoxton's Mexican-inspired rooftop that has worked well in Barcelona, Portland and Brussels. The lobby will follow the brand's tried-and-tested formula — a place where locals and guests mix, with pop-ups and cultural programming rather than just a check-in desk.

The headline feature, though, is the brand's first-ever wellness club. More social members' club than sterile gym, it will have a large workout floor, movement studios, spa treatment rooms, contrast therapy facilities and a members' lounge, plus Beaum, a healthy café. It's aimed as much at Dubai residents as at hotel guests, which fits the brand's community-first model.

Why it matters for travellers: The Hoxton built its reputation on lively, sociable hotels in neighbourhoods like Shoreditch, Paris and Williamsburg — spaces that feel more like a friend's apartment block than a corporate hotel. Dubai's hotel scene skews glitzy and resort-heavy, so a design-led, community-driven option in Media City gives visitors a genuinely different base, within easy reach of the Marina and the Palm but away from the mall-and-skyscraper circuit. If you like the idea of a rooftop with mezcal cocktails, a trattoria downstairs and a proper gym in the basement, this one to watch — though no opening date has been announced yet. Expect it to become a new regional flagship for Ennismore, which already runs more than 70 hotels across the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa, including Delano Dubai and 25hours One Central.

Story via Sleeper Magazine.